Marriott International and the World Environment Center (WEC) announced today the launch of an innovative partnership to further strengthen the environmental commitment of Marriott's Costa Rican suppliers by reducing energy and water consumption, minimizing waste and raw material usage and lowering operating costs. Marriott is the newest member of the World Environment Center. This initiative is part of a program called "Cleaner Production Private Sector Partnerships" supported by the United States Department of State.

Building on more than 20 years of energy conservation experience, Marriott is committed to protecting the environment and addressing climate change through their Spirit To Preserve™ program. The greening of Marriott's $10 billion supply chain is a key part of this effort.

Through the WEC partnership, a group of Marriott's small and medium-sized local suppliers in Costa Rica will be trained by WEC to improve their manufacturing operations and maximize efficiencies in their facilities, resulting in energy, water, raw material and economic savings. This training, and the follow-up given to the participating companies, will allow Marriott suppliers to minimize environmental effects while improving their productivity and competitiveness.

"At Marriott we are committed to working with our suppliers on a global scale, to build a sustainable supply chain of worldwide value and recognition," said Bill Hartwig, Marriott's Vice President, Supplier Relations and International Procurement, "and we work with the suppliers to incentivize them to use specific tools and training that will help us achieve that goal together."

Hartwig emphasized that through this partnership with WEC in Costa Rica, supplier best practices will be developed that can help strengthen the many communities where the company operates.

Terry F. Yosie, WEC's President and CEO, said that the partnership with Marriott will encourage sustainable economic development in the local communities where the suppliers operate. He added, "Minimizing the environmental impact, taking full advantage of the resources, and achieving sustainable clean production are our main objectives."

The program is managed by Ernesto Samayoa, WEC's Director of Operations for Latin America, with the direct cooperation from four of Costa Rica’s Marriott hotels:

Los Suenos Marriott Ocean and Golf Resort, Costa Rica Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott San Jose Escazu and Residence Inn by Marriott San Jose Escazu.

The partnership between WEC and Marriott was officially launched on January 18th at the Costa Rica Marriott.

About Marriott International
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC. (NYSE:MAR) is a leading lodging company with more than 3,300 lodging properties in 68 countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Bulgari brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club, The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club, The Ritz-Carlton Residences and Grand Residences by Marriott brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers. The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, USA and had approximately 146,000 employees at 2008 year-end. It is recognized by FORTUNE® as one of the best companies to work for, and by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as Partner of the Year since 2004. In fiscal year 2008, Marriott International reported sales from continuing operations of nearly $13 billion. For more information or reservations, please visit our web site at www.marriott.com. For an interactive online version of Marriott's 2008 Annual Report, which includes a short video message from Chairman and CEO J.W. Marriott, Jr., visit www.marriott.com/investor.

About World Environment Center

WEC is an independent, global non-profit, non-advocacy organization that advances sustainable development through the business practices of member companies and in partnership with governments, multi-lateral organizations, non-governmental organizations, universities and other stakeholders. WEC's mission is to promote business and societal value by advancing solutions to sustainable development-related problems. WEC has 45 multinational companies that are industry leaders in Corporate Social Responsibility, including: Coca Cola, IBM, General Motors, Dow Chemical, Intel, CEMEX, Shell, F. Hoffman La-Roche, Boeing, Wal-Mart Stores, and Marriott International.

World Environment Center

World Environment Center

The World Environment Center advances sustainable development through corporate business practices. Headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in Europe and Latin America, WEC creates business solutions through Executive Roundtables on key sustainability challenges, builds capacity of small enterprises in emerging markets, and honors industry excellence through its annual Gold Medal Award. WEC is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization. For more information, please visit www.wec.org.

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