Marriott Energy Savings Earn EPA's Sustained Excellence Award

Going Green Makes '$ense:' Saves Energy - Saves Money - Saves the Planet

BETHESDA, Md., March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- For the third straight year, Marriott
International (NYSE: MAR) has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) with its Sustained Excellence Award. Among a long
list of "green" accomplishments, the EPA noted Marriott's energy reduction
strategy, through which the company and its owners avoided $1.3 million in
costs; decreased greenhouse gas emissions by 3 percent per available room; and
increased its total number of ENERGY STAR hotels to 275, the most of any hotel
company.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090217/MARRIOTTINTLLOGO )

"Now, more than ever, helping to preserve the planet makes good business sense
and is vital to the future of our company," says Chief Financial Officer Arne
Sorenson, who co-chairs Marriott's Executive Green Council. "We continue to
take steps to save energy, reduce waste and involve our employees and
customers in new ways that they can help improve the environment."

Building on 20 years of energy conservation experience, Marriott is committed
to protecting the environment and addressing climate change. Some of the most
recent outcomes from the company's Spirit To Preserve(TM) strategy include:

-- Marriott hotels worldwide will participate in Earth Hour on March 28
at
8:30 p.m. local time. From Washington, D.C., to Sydney, Australia,
and
Shanghai, China, many of Marriott's 3,100 hotels will dim all
non-essential lighting for one hour, joining tens of millions of
people
in this call for global action on climate change, initiated by the
World
Wildlife Fund.

-- The company's corporate headquarters in Bethesda, Md., is pursuing
LEED-Existing Building status by the end of the year. Next week,
Marriott Headquarters will be the first site in the D.C. area to
introduce Connect by Hertz. A fleet of four SmartWay cars will be
available for employees who use public transportation or carpool to
commute to the office, but need to run an errand or attend an off-site
meeting mid-day. Last year, the building diverted 64 percent of its
total waste from the landfill. This included 450,000 pounds of paper,
food waste, computer components and other items. Much of this success
was achieved first by transitioning to biodegradable disposable
containers in its cafeteria, and then ultimately migrating to all
permanent-ware. Soon, the cafeteria will also begin having its used
cooking oil refined into biodiesel fuel.

-- In February, Marriott launched "Green Your Hotel Stay." When
guests book a room on Marriott.com or visit Green-Brazilian
Rainforest,
they can help protect the 1.4 million acres of the Amazon rainforest
in
Brazil. Guests can offset the carbon generated during their stay for
as
little as US$10, or US$1/day for 10 days [Watch our video to learn
more
and see the rainforest: www.youtube.com/marriottgreen.]

-- Marriott has been greening its $10 billion supply chain, replacing its
plastic key cards, towels, pens, toilet paper, pillows, and paint with
more environmentally-friendly options.

For more information on Marriott's eco-friendly initiatives, visit
www.marriott.com/spirittopreserve and follow Marriott Green on Twitter. Also,
join the conversation about traveling green by becoming a fan of Travel Green
on Facebook.

About ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992
as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
through increased energy efficiency. Today, ENERGY STAR offers businesses and
consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money and help protect
the environment for future generations. More than 12,000 organizations are
ENERGY STAR partners committed to improving the energy efficiency of products,
homes, buildings and businesses. For more information about ENERGY STAR, visit
www.energystar.gov or call toll-free 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937).

Click here for Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) company information.

SOURCE Marriott International, Inc.

Beth McGlasson of Marriott, +1-301-380-7431, elizabeth.mcglasson@marriott.com