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Marriott Scores High for Business Ethics

Marriott International has
been named by Business Ethics magazine as the only hotel company on its
“100 Best Corporate Citizens” list, according to the Spring 2005 issue.
All companies on the Russell 1000 index are considered, and rankings are
based on eight different categories: total return to stockholders, the
community, governance, diversity, employees, the environment, human rights
and product. “Being named to this important list only confirms Marriott’s motto, ‘How
we do business is just as important as the business we do,’” said J.W.
Marriott, Jr., chairman and CEO, Marriott International. “This recognition
reinforces our longstanding commitment to employee- and community-focused
programs.”

Marriott has often been recognized for its positive employee culture,
which is based on the theory that if you “take care of your employees,
they’ll take care of your customers, who will return again and again.” For
eight consecutive years, the company has been featured in Fortune
magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list.

More than 16 years ago, Marriott became the first lodging company to
establish a diversity program and continues to set the standard for the
industry. Just this week, Marriott was ranked #12 by DiversityInc’s “Top
50 Companies for Minorities.” The National Association for the Advancement
of Color People (NAACP) has ranked Marriott at the top of the lodging
industry six out of seven times in its annual lodging industry report card.

Marriott’s global “Spirit to Serve Our Communities” program includes
partnerships with non-profit organizations, financial and in-kind
donations, associate fundraising and active volunteerism, including
Marriott’s worldwide day of service in which the company’s 133,000
associates can volunteer in their local communities. Projects range from
city and beach clean-ups to serving the hungry and building homes for
Habitat for Humanity International. On May 18, more than 1,800 associates
at Marriott’s headquarters and hotels in the Washington, D.C., area will
volunteer for this year’s special day of service.

“What distinguishes the ‘100 Best Corporate Citizens’ from their peers is
a commitment to higher standards,” said Marjorie Kelly, editor of Business
Ethics magazine. “The list represents the top ten percent of Russell 1000
firms when it comes to corporate social responsibility—those that
perform to a higher standard in serving a variety of stakeholders with
excellence and integrity.”
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