Marriott Vacation Club Key Cards to be made from recycled plastics

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Leading lodging company Marriott International will be replacing over 1.2 million plastic key cards annually for its timeshare brand, Marriott Vacation Club with those made from 50% recycled material. This new plan will reportedly save around 4 tons of plastic from being dumped in landfills.

“Continuing to eliminate more waste from landfills and find innovative ways to ‘green’ our supply chain only strengthens our commitment to being an industry leader in environmental stewardship,” said Dirk Schavemaker, senior vice president of resort operations for Marriott Vacation Club. “We firmly believe that it is our responsibility to demonstrate how responsible resort management can be a positive force for the environment.”

The new key card is just one of many advances the brand has made to help reduce its global environmental footprint in recent months.

In addition to the new cards, 800,000 guest arrival pieces, which are printed annually in the U.S. and distributed to owners and guests upon check-in, are now printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper and purchased from an FSC certified paper merchant. The FSC is a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world’s forests, ensuring that the paper meets strict standards in each step of the paper production and printing of the collateral.

Vacation Club resorts have also switched to pens made of 74 percent pre-consumer recycled material. More than 1.5 million pens are purchased annually, which equates to approximately 9 tons. Each eco-friendly pen has 1.2 miles of write-out, allowing the pen to be used longer before it is eventually discarded.

Also, over 50 Marriott Vacation Club resorts worldwide have already installed energy efficient lighting, low-flow showerheads and toilets, and participate in a robust resort-wide recycling program.

In addition to the corporate senior-level green committee established to lead division-wide environmental efforts at Marriott Vacation Club International’s corporate headquarters, each Marriott Vacation Club resort has formed its own “green team” which carries out and oversees environmental efforts at the site level. Marriott Vacation Club International (MVCI) began the journey to reduce the division’s carbon footprint in February 2008 with the launch of its MVCI Green Initiative at its corporate headquarters with continued roll-out to its corporate offices and resorts worldwide.

For more information on the steps that Marriott Vacation Club is taking to keep things green, visit www.marriott.com/marriott-vacation-club.

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