Marriott Cluster Makes Strides Towards Operating Its Hotels More Sustainably

Marriott Hotel & Marriott Executive Apartments, Al Jaddaf and Marriott Executive Apartments, Dubai Creek reduce annual CO2 emissions by nearly 500 metric tons, eliminate 250,000 plastic bottles a year, introduce more sustainable food offers

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Dubai, UAE – 17 July, 2024:? This year, Marriott Hotel & Marriott Executive Apartments, Al Jaddaf and Marriott Executive Apartments Dubai Creek have seen an increased focus on improving sustainable practices across their operations. Driven by a passion and determination to reduce their ecological footprint while innovating in the hospitality space, the properties’ engineering team has invested into new projects and new technologies to reduce electricity and water consumption, while the Al Jaddaf culinary team have focused on introducing more sustainable food offerings across its F&B outlets.

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This year’s electricity saving initiatives in Marriott Hotel & Marriott Executive Apartments, Al Jaddaf have resulted in reduced consumption of electricity equal to 329,500kWh per year. This represents a saving of 229 metric tons of CO2, equivalent to the amount of CO2 absorbed by 3,785 trees over a period of ten years*. Specifically, the initiatives include replacing 1,500 halogen lamps in the ballroom dimming system with a high-efficiency LED lighting control system, replacing the conventional heating system for the swimming pool with a high-efficiency heating system - which in itself reduces electricity consumption by 70% -, and equipping both public and back of house spaces with motion sensor-operated lights. Furthermore, the implementation of low-flow taps and shower heads have reduced the hotel’s water consumption by 11% year-over-year, while the installation of water filtering systems will see Marriott Executive Apartments, Al Jaddaf cut its use of plastic water bottles by 250,000-280,000 a year.

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At Marriott Executive Apartments, Dubai Creek the team have recently finished a crucial project of upgrading to air-cooled chillers across its two towers. The recent installation will see the property reduce its electricity usage by 380,000 kWh annually, reducing CO2 emissions by a staggering 265 metric tons. Put into context, this equals the amount absorbed by 4,400 trees over a ten year period*.

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On the culinary side, Marriott Hotel & Marriott Executive Apartments, Al Jaddaf’s Executive Chef, Alaa Shawqi Moustafa recently initiated a partnership with Fresh On Table, an organization dedicated to promoting local farms and enhancing food security in the UAE. The collaboration will not only reduce the hotel’s carbon footprint but also supports the local economy by keeping production and consumption closely linked. Parallel to this project, Chef Alaa worked alongside Multi-property Director of Marketing & PR, Karin Cohen – an avid advocate for plant based living – to roll out an all-new collection of fresh and vibrant vegan dishes across the hotel’s four own-operated F&B outlets, catering to the growing demand for healthy and environmentally-friendly options. Each venue now has its own plant-based a la carte section to reflect the unique culinary concept and dining experience with dishes such as home-made cashew feta and avocado flatbread, roasted vegetables with butter bean mash and sundried tomato pesto, and sticky tofu ‘ribs’ with mashed potato, green beans and corn on the cob.

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Multi-property General Manager, Saad Al-Ghamdi emphasizes that the combined efforts of the team are in part aimed at inspiring steps towards change: “We believe in doing our part for the environment and our community by operating our properties more sustainably, but perhaps just as important is inspiring a mind-set of planet-positive thinking among our associates and peers. We encourage our teams to learn about sustainable practices, and empower our associates to implement sustainable ideas into practice wherever possible. Once we start shifting people’s mind-sets around the impact of even the smallest actions, we can achieve great things together.”

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In recognition of these efforts, Marriott Executive Apartments, Dubai Creek, has been awarded the Silver designation in the Dubai Sustainable Tourism Stamp for 2024, further solidifying its position as a champion of sustainable tourism within the region. Marriott Hotel, Al Jaddaf and Marriott Executive Apartments, Dubai Creek have both been awarded the Green Key Certification, a prestigious acknowledgment of their commitment to adhering to the strict criteria set by the Foundation for Environmental Education. These efforts underscore the properties' commitment to the hotel group’s wider mission to create a positive and sustainable impact in the markets that it operates in.

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* Calculations based on data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency