Marriott Executives Inspect "Nobility Of Nature" Progress

A delegation of Marriott International executives led by Asia Pacific president Arne Sorenson recently visited Pingwu County in Sichuan province to see for themselves the first-year performance of its "Nobility of Nature" program –an ambitious fresh water conservation project.

Announced in Spring 2010 at the World Expo Shanghai, "Nobility of Nature" is a collaboration between Marriott International and Conservation International to support fresh water conservation and assist rural communities build sustainable business that put less stress on the environment. Marriott International has invested USD500,000 seed money to the “Nobility of Nature” program. The fund is used to provide grants, training, resources and community development for local villages in Sichuan Province where the world's largest water source is located. Guanba Village in Pingwu was one of the first sites to receive the support of "Nobility of Nature". The funding helped to provide bee hives, state-of-the-art bee farming knowhow and other infrastructure for the Guanba Bee Farming Cooperative.

The members of the Marriott delegation included Arne Sorenson, Asia Pacific president; and managing director, Simon Cooper; Asia Pacific COO Craig Smith; regional vice president — marketing, Dominic Sherry; executive vice president global communications and public affairs, Kathleen Matthews; and the managing director of JW Marriott Hotel Beijing, Robert Fabiano; as well as eight associate representatives from the Marriott hotels in mainland China and Hong Kong. The group visited Guanba Village and the Wanglong wild panda conservation park in Pingwu.