Marriott International has confirmed its collaborative involvement with the International Tourism Partnership (ITP) and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) on a groundbreaking initiative to unite hotel industry efforts to calculate and communicate carbon impact by agreeing on a standardised methodology and metrics informed by the GHG Protocol standards.

Pictured: The Courtyard Chevy Chase in Maryland, is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED Gold certified, uses 100 per cent renewable energy and maintains high energy efficiency and water conservation standards

For the first time, Marriott along with other hotel industry leaders are collaborating to reach a consensus on a single methodology for calculating carbon footprints and consistent metrics for communicating emissions.

“We are proud to be ‘at the decision-making table’ for this historic effort; it continues our more than 20 year commitment to conservation and preservation, said Tim Sheldon, Marriott’s global operations officer and co-chair of the company’s executive green council.

“With the increase in global travel, we have a responsibility to ease our business impact on our natural environment.

“Working through this partnership to create consistency in carbon calculation is a major step for the hotel industry and helps to support our sustainable initiatives.”

Carbon Measurement Working Group

The Carbon Measurement Working Group driven by hospitality members within ITP and WTTC includes along with Marriott, Accor, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group, MGM Resorts International, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Red Carnation Hotel Collection, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., Premier Inn - Whitbread Group and Wyndham Worldwide.

The Phase One methodology has had input from Greenview Consulting and has been reviewed by the World Resources Institute.

The Working Group was formed to address inconsistencies in hotel companies’ approaches and to devise a unified methodology based on available data.

Currently, carbon measurement metrics vary widely which can lead to confusion. Additionally, the number of methodologies and tools in use make transparency within the industry difficult to achieve.

WTTC president, David Scowsill, explained: “The hotel industry recognises its responsibility to mitigate its environmental impact.

“Indeed many hotel chains globally have set carbon reduction targets. Through this initiative the industry is furthering its commitments to corporate and individual consumers by helping them to understand their environmental footprint.

“A harmonised approach to quantifying and communicating the sustainability of the industry’s products is a firm step towards accomplishing this.”