1. Abstract
As a response to the quickly depleting forest resources in the United Kingdom, Marriott
Hotels & Resorts, with their branch in London, has adopted an initiative to promote sustainable
forestry through their facilities and services. With the help of advertising, public relations, word-
of-mouth and social media marketing, Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), being a corporation
that serves as the information and solutions resource for the whole project, aims to promote
Marriott’s involvement in this shift towards a more environment-friendly chain of hotels. Part of
SFI’s strategy for Marriott would be to build partnerships with airline companies who would
likewise be interested in decreasing their ecological footprint. By doing so, Marriott would not
only be given a loyal set of clients, but also credibility for their other regular customers and, of
course, a good environmental image.
Vivian Espinosa vivian.espinosa@ieseg.fr
Therese Yvan Larroza tere_larroza@yahoo.com
Emeline Legay emeline.legay@ieseg.fr
Marie Sophie Patois marie-sophie.patois@ieseg.fr
Fleur Pichat fleur.pichat@ieseg.fr
Anna Marieta Rellama annamarieta.rellama@ieseg.fr

2. F A L L 2 0 1 1
Environmental Marketing
Sustainable Forestry
An Initiative to promote Marriott Hotel’s Eco-friendliness!
IESEG
This paper was prepared by
Espinsosa, Vivian
Larroza, Therese Yvan
Legay, Emeline
Patois, Marie Sophie
Pichat, Fleur
Rellama, Anna Marieta
What is a Sustainable Forest?
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
A sustainable forest is a forest that is carefully in partnership with
managed so that as trees are felled they are replaced with Marriott Hotels
seedlings that eventually grow into mature trees. This is a Hotel Engineering Association
carefully and skilfully managed system. The forest is a The Local Government of London
working environment, producing wood products such as
Under the guidance of
wood pulp for the paper / card industry and wood based
materials for furniture manufacture and the construction David Fitzgerald
industry. Great care is taken to ensure the safety of Professor, Environmental Marketing
wildlife and to preserve the natural environment. IESEG School of Management
Source: Ryan, V. What is a Sustainable Forest. 2007.
<http://www.technologystudent.com/prddes1/susenv1.html>
Save the Date!
Fun Run 2012 Tree-planting Activity
07/01/2012 04/02/2012
Join us in one of our 3k, 5k, Help sustain our forests by
10k or triathlon races! Prices planting your own tree! Get a
to be given away! chance to label your tree as well!

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ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING FALL 2011
Sustainable Forestry
The destruction of our forests has become an
issue that is nowadays causing struggles. It is
important to look out for it because of three reasons:
ones is our responsibility towards biodiversity;
second is for resource saving and lastly, for the
overall environmental health and human survival.
If these motives are well thought of and
considered, an environmental, economic and
social well-being can be attained, thus reducing the
effects of climate change.
Europe has a lot of forest areas which need
care. Pictured below are the percentages of
woodland in each European country. It can be
observed that Finland and Sweden are the
countries with more green areas, occupying more
than half of the territory, while other countries,
such as Portugal, Spain, Norway, Germany, Italy,
Poland and France are all in a similar percentage
between 25 and 40 percent of green areas. The United
Kingdom, however, is the country with the least
woodland area beneath all, with only 13 percent of its
overall territory occupied by forests.
In line with this, the UK
has expressed great concern for
their woodlands. Just to give
you a picture of how it is, the
forest area in the UK as of 31
March 2011 is of 3.1 million
hectares (forestry.gov.uk).
Recently, the UK has
created and implemented
policies to promote sustainable
forestry in the country. Some of these policies include taking action like:
ü Doing international efforts to combat illegal logging;
ü Creating government requirements to source timber products from legal and sustainable sources;
ü Planning forest restoration programs;
ü Asking for certification of forest management and delivery of certified wood to marketplaces;
ü Encouraging development by the UK forest industries of a sustainability strategy;
In line with all these, we have decided to focus our project on sustainable forestry efforts in the UK.
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ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING FALL 2011
Why sustainable forestry?
Why Marriott Hotel?
According to the World Tourism Canada, etc. The reputation of this hotel is great
Organization, “ecotourism is the fastest for our campaign and permits us to make a lot
growing market in the tourism industry, of people aware of our causes. Furthermore, we
growing at a rate of 5% worldwide and want to have an impact on the airline crew
representing over 11% of all consumer because they will be the ones to convey our
spending”. This new trend, as they say, is sustainable goals to many people all around the
representative of the world evolution. It is really world—that is, a global word-of-mouth.
important for our campaign, therefore, to follow Moreover, Marriott aims to be more eco-
this trend and to use it to make people aware friendly with their new objectives for this year.
about sustainable forestry. According to Marriott’s website, their strategy
Moreover, we can see that “more than for contributing to environmental conservation
46 percent of the companies in the hotel for this year is as follows: “With an increase in
industry collaborate with suppliers, customers global travel comes corporate responsibility for
to achieve sustainable objectives,” thus the hotel mitigating our business impact on the natural
segmentation is the right segment to our environment. Both in our hotels and beyond,
campaign. Indeed, hotels have the desire to be we seek to understand and act on the direct and
eco-friendly and want to make financial effort to indirect environmental impacts of our business
achieve this goal. “Some 66 percent of industry operations.”
players are looking to increase their post- Their main objectives are:
recession sustainability budgets over
the next 12 months, with only 5
percent looking to decrease them.”
Reduce Invest in
Why Marriott hotel? energy and Create green innovative Educate
water construction conservation associates
Marriott Hotels is an consumption standards for initiatives and gests to
internationally-known chain of by 25 percent hotel including support the
hotels. It welcomes a lot of business per available developers rainforest environment
room protection
travelers and it currently has a lot of
partnerships with flight companies
all around the world like Air France,
Air China, Singapore Airlines, Air
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5. ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING FALL 2011
Why Marriott Hotel?
Location
We may have mentioned before that our target
would be the United Kingdom, but seeing that this
scope is still too big, we have decided to target the
Marriott at the center of London. Indeed, according to
the non-profit international Ecotourism society “more
than two-thirds of U.S. and Australian travelers, and
90% of British tourists, consider active protection of
the environment and support of local communities to
be part of a hotel’s responsibility”. British tourists are
really sensible when it comes to sustainability, thus,
we think that it would be beneficial to our campaign.
Our Indirect Targets
Airline
companies • Pilots
• Air Canada • Air hostess
• Air France
• Singapore Airlines
Flight
Marriott
attendants
Targeting Marriott hotel permits us to target indirectly airline companies because of its several
partnerships. This is vital especially since we want to have an impact on bigger companies like Air
Canada, Air France, Singapore Airlines so they can reach to more people as well. This is directly
linked with the fact that we want to also target the flight attendants who stayed or will be staying in
Marriott hotel. If we achieve in making them aware of our causes, they will convey our values as well,
thereby ending up as parts of this environmental movement too. It is also a great way for companies
to be eco-friendly especially for airlines as their environmental footprint is relatively high.
The following are our variables for the flight attendants market:
Demographic Geographic Psychographic Behavioral
frequent stay in
22- retirement UK- London Dynamic people Marriott hotel
Short and long flights
male and female to and from London actors of change loyal to Marriott hotel
air hostess nomadic lifestyle not price sensitive
pilots
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ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING FALL 2011
The Stakeholder Network:
who takes care of which?
For the purpose of this study, the group has welfare and image of the country that they are
identified an exhaustive list of potential in. Because of their power over most people,
stakeholders and from such list were driven the their main contribution would be to give
eight most important ones that would hopefully credibility to our initiative. That is, if they
cover all the dimensions of the study. These are: support it.
• Sustainable Forestry Initiative or SFI The second group of stakeholders, more
(the company that we are representing); commonly known as the lead users, plays a vital
• The local government of London, role in the initiative, as they are the ones who’d
England; be keeping the fire burning. They are the ones
• The tourist authorities; responsible for the spread of word-of-mouth,
• The forest authorities; and they eventually become the determinants of
• Marriott Hotels; the overall success of the campaign. What
• The Airline companies; motivates this group, as opposed to the opinion
leaders, ranges from personal reasons such as
• The Hotel Engineering Association; and
money and personal missions to company
• The community. goals. Included in this group are the
These were further divided into three, each community, Marriott Hotels, the Hotel
being identified as an opinion leader, a lead user
Engineering Association (HEA), the airline
or a network facilitator.
companies and the crew that comes with it.
Opinion leaders, as the name suggests, are Last but not the least is the network
those who have a strong say on what happens in facilitator, that is, the group that regulates the
a certain area or not. They are the influencers—
progress of the whole initiative, the one who
the first-movers. If one needs an idea spread protects the idea and makes sure that it does not
out, therefore, it is best if you let it through fall into the wrong hands, the group that, as the
these groups as doing this will most likely yield
name suggests, facilitates the undertaking of the
you with the most optimized results.
whole initiative. For this study, we have
Stakeholders belonging to this group include the decided to put just one group under this
government and the tourism authorities. category, our company, Sustainable Forestry
As it can be observed, what mainly
Initiative, to be specific, for the reasons
motivates these opinion leaders is the overall mentioned above.
Group Role Motivation Network Contribution
• Government Opinion leaders • Promotion of sustainable • Establishes credibility.
• Tourism Authorities forestry ethics in the • Regulates.
• Forest Authorities community. • Sets the restrictions.
• Better country statistics
• Lighter ecological footprint
• Community Lead users • High credibility of their • Decision-makers
• Marriott Hotels information sources. • Fire-starters
• Hotel Engineering • To save the environment. • Word-of-mouth
Association • To save money
• Airline companies
• Sustainable Forestry Network facilitator • Promotion of sustainable • Initiator.
Initiative Information and forestry ethics in the • Facilitator.
solutions resource community. • Makes it all possible.
• The know-how.
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ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING FALL 2011
Marketing Plan
Marketing Objectives
In order to be able to provide a marketing plan
that will be well adapted to the situation, we need to
know some information about Marriott, particularly
its reputation.
On average, the websites that offer the
customers to give a grade to Marriott hotels
display a grade of four points on five—a relatively waste and reduce the quantity of waste produced
good grade thanks its service quality and each year. Marriott aims at conserving the energy
facilities. Firstly, customers are satisfied by the in terms of heating and light with new systems
cleanliness of the hotels. Being one of the main and materials that helps to reach this goal like
points that determine if customers are willing to energy-saving light-bulbs and re-evaluated
stay or come back again, it has a huge impact on automatic time switches. The new way of
any hotel’s reputation. Customers are also purchasing also needs highlighting: Marriott
satisfied when it comes to the accommodation tends to buy biological and local food and to use
facilities and the high level of service that new eco-friendly cleaning products. Moreover,
Marriott offers. Among these services are the living environment on the whole has been
restaurants, swimming pools, activities for changed into something more profitable for
children, beauty shops, the housekeeping service, environmental sustainability. The furniture, the
the limousine service and some other different decoration items, the towels and the soap are
services, all promoting relaxation, thus making some objects that are now recyclable or come
the customers’ journey easier. Customers also from firms that respect the rules of producing in
appreciate Marriott’s locations as it is each time an environment-friendly way, for example.
Because of the link between Marriott and
well adapted to the place where the hotel is
Sustainable Forestry Initiative, we intend to focus on
settled. If it is in a big town, Marriott would be some measures that concern sustainable forestry
located in the center of the town. If it is on the directly. The majority of furniture in Marriott hotels
seacoast, the Marriott hotel would directly be on now comes from sustainable forests, as do some items
the beach, just to provide examples. Finally, like towels. The hotels are SFI accredited. This
customers grade the company considering a last accreditation is given by the SFI after a checking of
but not the least important aspect: the price. In the different measures taken by some of its members
general, customers are willing to pay more to or partners. Having this accreditation allows Marriott
obtain a high quality of services and quality of to put the logo of SFI in its hotels to show customers a
life. That is the case for Marriott hotels; the price proof of its engagement for the sustainability of the
has been well-adapted to their positioning and environment. Moreover, Marriott hotels follow the
guidelines settled by the EHS (Environment, Health
people don’t mind about that.
and Safety), that is, a set of guidelines which were
As it can be observed, Marriott seems well created by the International Finance Corporation. It
appreciated for some reasons but none about the provides a list of the different measures to take to be
eco-friendly measures it recently took. respectful towards the environment and to take care of
We want people to know the company the safety and health in different situations as well.
took some measures that are respectful towards Our goal is to make customers aware about
the environment. Marriott has reconsidered its Marriott’s involvement with respect to the
water management in order to reduce the environment. We hope that with this campaign, they
quantity used and to recycle it if possible. As for would be more interested in going to Marriott not just
the waste, it has reconsidered its waste because of its high quality service and facilities, but
management and settled a new system to sort also its friendliness towards the environment.
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8. 2
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ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING FALL 2011
and purchase green products. In the study, it
Positioning was found that almost 90% of respondents said
they would pay more to eat at a green
London Marriott Hotel is under the restaurant, and one third said they would pay
management of Marriott® International, a up to 12% more. From a marketing
worldwide operator and franchisor of a broad perspective, this means that ‘going green’ is a
portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. viable and profitable differentiating factor.
As a brand, it is growing globally, embracing
change and satisfying guests in 70 countries and According to the Cornell study,
territories. The brand is currently known for its consumers, particularly companies and
luxury offerings, up to date hospitality-related individuals having higher income, higher
technology and warm hospitality. education demographic, continue to be
concerned about the environmental impact of
With the green initiative, London their company’s and their own behavior
Marriot Hotel will be positioned as an regardless of their reasons and motivations.
environmental-friendly hotel who allows their Their behavior extends to the businesses they
guests which consists of companies, investors, patronize. This represents an opportunity for
corporate owners, associates and private London Marriott Hotel to use the Sustainable
consumers reduce their ecological footprint. Forestry Initiative aspects of their operations to
draw in valuable customers. The Cornell study
shows that consumers are willing to support
and patronize such responsible behavior. The
Luxurious chain of hotels around the world
next step is to effectively market the SFI
Global and open to Warm hospitality and aspects of Marriott Hotel’s operations and to
change new technologies launch a marketing campaign featuring the
hotel’s environmental and green move.
An environment friendly hotel
Help corporations and consumers reduce their
ecological footprint
In the past few years, environmental
initiatives were trending in hospitality industry.
There were a lot of hotels ‘going green’ and
executing ‘sustainability’ campaigns. However,
as the recession happened, hospitality
marketing’s focus shifted from
emphasizing environmental awareness and
initiatives to emphasizing value.
However, a study by Cornell University
(2010) demonstrates that consumers didn’t
forget about environmental concerns during the
recession; in fact, they are increasingly willing
to pay a premium to patronize green restaurants
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9. ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING FALL 2011
Communication Objectives
› Inform at least 65 percent of the target market about the pressing environmental issues (global
and in the chain of hotels) and the positive impact and benefits of the initiative in Marriott
hotels within one year.
› Increase the proportion of the target market who have positive attitudes towards the initiative
› Reduce the proportion of the target market who have misunderstandings and misconceptions
about the costs
› The biggest advertising investments are in business sectors that represent a large portion of the
individual ecological footprint: food, transport, energy
› Example: Airline Industry
› The position they hold and the influence they have over consumers give them an
undeniable responsibility. This industry consumer a lot of non-renewable energy in
their operations. There is always the danger that their operations create substantial
adverse consequences for the environment and society. This fact is known publicly,
thus, they need to take steps towards reversing their ecological footprint. Conversely,
they can inspire and orient positive changes in behavior if they continue their
partnership with London Marriott, a green hotel.
› Take advantage of the partnership with airline companies.
› Partnering with an airline company who would want to publicize their relationship
with a green hotel such as Marriott will give the hotel an opportunity to penetrate its
communication channels which includes the airline company’s website, inflight
magazines, etc.
The values attached to the idea of sustainable development are now deeply rooted in social
and regulatory attitudes, and Marriott needs to communicate to their clients (corporations and
individuals) that they are there to help them realize the problem and implement their initiatives in a
rational way.
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The Promotions Mix
As it is part of the promotions mix, Marriott’s hotels in the airports of airlines;
advertising will be used in order to increase the The availability of in-flight magazines
awareness of Marriott hotel’s involvement in endorsing the Marriott chain of hotels for
environmental actions. For this study, we will use
travelers;
different channels to achieve this objective:
Radio: All our advertisements will be The airlines’ websites;
channeled through BBC Radio 2, one of the Upon booking, a client will have the
main stations in the United Kingdom and possibility to tick a Marriott booking
the most popular one with 13.7 million option at the end of his flight booking;
listeners. The sending and emailing about the
Magazines: The most popular ones were closest Marriott hotel according to the
selected to maximize reach. Examples of customer’s destination after a flight
which are « The Daily Telegraph » booking and, more innovatively, the
publishing 843 000 copies and « The sending of SMS. Indeed, SMS was
Times » publishing 617 000 copies in order adopted by the youngest and 56% of
to inform the largest amount of English people aged more than 40 years are using
people. Moreover, we decided to publish it. It’s an innovative tool of
ads about the Marriott’s hotels and their communication as it was for the email 10
green initiative in a more targeted magazine years ago. This tool has a high reading
such as « The Economist » providing 102 rate (90%), it’s used by all, involves high
million copies per publication. memorization, a high reactivity of the
Internet: Advertisement in the form of target, and a quicker setting than emailing.
banners will be placed on specialized With consent from the airline companies,
their customer database will be used to
websites such as www.theecologist.org
appropriate our services to different
which gets an audience of 95 000 persons customers (with a box ticking system at
per month. the end of the flight booking to allow
Marriott’s hotels to use data such as phone
For the public relations aspect of the numbers or e-mail addresses).
promotions mix, journalists from “The
Economist” (1,2 million copies) and the Regarding the other promotional methods,
“Environment Industry Magazine” (30 000 copies) we plan to redesign the existing Marriott website
will be asked for public releases about Marriott’s focusing on environmental issues and well-being
of customers. In the same way, we will develop
hotels and especially their green initiatives in order
Marriott accounts on social networking sites such
to stress awareness and increase credibility. as Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed and LinkedIn.
Indeed, nowadays, websites have been overtaken
The group then thought of establishing
by social media as it is considered as a good
partnerships with United Kingdom bound airlines
means to collect consumers’ data, increase the 2.0
to promote Marriott’s eco-friendly actions in
visibility, and demonstrate the credibility and the
exchange of special offers provided for flight
expertise of Marriott’s hotels, the exchange of
attendants. This initiative will be based on:
behaviors and mutual aids.
The publication of visual ads and posters of

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