With almost 1,000 hotels in 76 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa region, Marriott International believes it can play a meaningful role to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals that aim to make the world a more sustainable place. From carbon reduction to the guest experience, sustainability is embedded into the company’s business strategy.
Saudi Arabia has moved decisively toward a more sustainable future with the 2016 unveiling of Vision 2030. The Saudi Green Initiative, launched in 2021, unifies sustainability, energy transition, and environmental protection projects in the Kingdom with the main goals of reducing emissions, expanding the use of renewable energy, and tackling climate change.
Marriott Riyadh Diplomatic Quarter achieved the highest standards for energy and environmental design, winning the LEED Gold Certification. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is an independent, nonprofit, third-party rating system established by the US Green Building Council.
As a hospitality industry pioneer, Marriott promotes environmental responsibility during the building process and sustainable habits during operations. Muin Serhan, cluster general manager of Marriott Riyadh Hotels, said: “Business travelers are increasingly choosing to stay or have conferences and meetings in environmentally friendly hotels. We, at Marriott Riyadh Hotels, are motivated to ensure our loyal guests share the same values by following the highest green standards, and are committed to go deeper each year by meeting with lawmakers and the surrounding communities to discuss new implementations toward sustainability that benefit our community and go hand-in-hand with the overall goal of Saudi Vision 2030.”
Environmental protection must be a top priority when supporting and developing a business strategy that serves the hospitality industry.
“At Marriott Riyadh Hotels, we embrace sustainability because, without it, we would not be able to preserve our standards. We need to address sustainability coming from all directions and at all scales. Economic development is crucial, but it may be one of the most contentious aspects of sustainability and this is the reason why we are working day and night to implement sustainable projects at our properties,” the company said.
“At Marriott Riyadh Diplomatic Quarter, we use energy from the sun to heat 45 percent of the water at the hotel, which translates to more than 20 percent saving, by using 200 kW installed solar panels since 2019.”
