Mariott goes for Green SCM as well

Filed in archive Sustainability and Supply Chain on January 8, 2009

Bill Mariott has written a new blog post (See it here) about the new efforts of Mariott Hotel chain to green its supply chain. If you want to go green, it doesn't necessarily require a lot of investment or sophisticated models; sometimes starting from small elements in your procurement portfolio creates lots of environmental added-value: That's what I learned from his blog post. As an example of what Mariott has done, I can refer to access cards or pillows:

Now, the next time you check in at one of our hotels, chances are you'll unlock your guest room door with a key card made of 50 percent recycled plastic. Or, you may be sleeping on a pillow stuffed with material that's made from recycled bottles, but it doesn't sound or feel like bottles. It's really very, very nice. You might even put your laundry in a plastic bag that's "oxo-biodegradable." I'm told that means the bag breaks down faster. And, about 500 of our hotels are going to try "coreless" bathroom tissue, which should save about 119 trees, 3 million gallons of water and 21 tons of packaging waste every year.

Even though the blog has been created partly as a promotional lever, I believe there is some value in it, it shows that sustainability starts from simple things. What do you think?