It is not often that I receive an article that sets me off quite like the one I received yesterday announcing the new program partnership between Marriott and Conservation International.  The article, Marriott International takes up water issues in China, highlights a recent donation of 500,000 USD to Conservation International “in hopes of finding a solution to the country’s ongoing water crisis.”

….in hopes of finding a solution to the country’s ongoing water crisis

To the average reader, this would seem to be a great program.  Water is a HUGE issue in China, and Conservation International’s Southwest water program is a needed one.  For me, it is a HUGE greenwash, and here is why.

Last year, I stayed two nights at the recently opened Marriot Northeast hotel while attending the 2009 Smartgrid forum in Beijing. One of Beijing’s newest hotels, one of the first things I noticed was the fact that its none of its water fixtures were water saving.  The toilet was a 4.5L (maybe 6L) tank, the shower head was like a fire hose, and the bathtub… well, I could have done laps in it.

In short, this facility was doing little to do its part to conserve water, and was only contributing to the well known and well DOCUMENTed water shortages that have forced Beijing to draw water from other provinces.

Which leads me to my point.  If Marriott were truly concerned about water, it would stop using NGOs as springboard (note: Marriott also announced its China expansion plans on the same day) and practice what it preaches, stop being a part of the problem, and install water saving equipment in all of its hotels.

Globally.