Sustainable Meetings: A Case of Marriott’s Connect Responsibly Program

The MICE industry is increasingly focused on sustainability. In response, Marriott International launched the Connect Responsibly Program in October 2024, helping event planners reduce their events’ environmental impact at Marriott Bonvoy properties. The program provides Meeting Impact Reports detailing carbon and water footprints, food waste, and plastic reduction, and partners with South Pole to offer carbon offset options. However, challenges include the time and resources required for smaller hotels to track data, lack of standardized reporting guidelines, and uncertainty over whether organizers will invest in carbon offsets, given the need to balance sustainability with profitability.

MICE（会展及奖励旅游）行业正日益关注可持续发展。为此，万豪国际集团（Marriott International）于 2024 年 10 月推出了“负责任连接”（Connect Responsibly）计划，旨在帮助活动策划者降低在万豪旅享家（Marriott Bonvoy）旗下酒店举办活动时对环境造成的影响。该计划提供“会议影响报告”，详细列出碳足迹、水足迹、食物浪费和塑料减量等数据，并与南极碳资产管理公司（South Pole）合作提供碳抵消方案。然而，该计划在实施中仍面临诸多挑战：小型酒店在数据追踪上需要投入大量时间和资源、行业缺乏标准化的报告指南，以及在平衡可持续发展与盈利能力的前提下，主办方是否愿意出资购买碳抵消服务仍存在不确定性。