Melco Resorts & Entertainment has been honored by Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Awards 2021 as winner of the ‘Climate Change Initiative’ category and named ‘Sustainable Resort of the Year’ by International Gaming Awards (IGA) 2021.
The ‘Above and Beyond’ sustainability strategy ensures that Melco achieves carbon neutrality and zero waste across all its global resorts by 2030. The influence of these goals extends far beyond the boundaries of Melco’s business, inspiring guests to rally around a better, more sustainable future for all. The strategy contributes towards Melco’s sustainability focus areas including:
- Zeroing in on food waste. By raising awareness amongst colleagues, the amount of food being discarded has been significantly reduced. Post pandemic, the initiative alone is forecast to save 107 tonnes a year. AI technology has been deployed across Macau and Manila colleague dining areas. This enabled close monitoring of food production levels and reduced pre-consumption wastage by a massive 67%. Now with the same partner, Winnow, Melco is pioneering a new plate waste monitoring process to support further reduction. Feeding over 10,000 colleagues several times daily, the potential reduction in volume is significant.
- Efficiency measures in Macau and the Philippines reduced greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of taking 5,286 cars off the road. Melco’s operations in Manila now use greywater in its cooling towers. This change alone will, when business is back to normal, save 88 Olympic sized swimming pools worth of water annually, meaning it no longer needs to be drawn from the city’s supply.
- Reducing consumption of harmful chemicals. All Melco Macau properties achieved Green Key Awards in 2020, meeting the stringent standards set by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) in a year when sanitization became such a high priority.
- Reduction of single use plastic by targeting guest amenity kits, in-room consumables such as shampoos, as well as tackling the problem of food packaging head on. Furthermore, the installation of NORDAQ onsite filtration and bottling plant has set the most striking example for the industry. In Macau alone, Melco will take almost 15 million plastic water bottles off the table.
Ms. Denise Chen, Senior Sustainability Adviser of Melco Resorts, said, “We are thrilled to be recognized by PATA and IGA for our commitment towards Sustainability. In an industry not traditionally known for sustainability, Melco strives to continue to pioneer more environmentally responsible ways to operate integrated resorts. We will continue to protect the environment for future generations with our passion, ambition and the tough goals set in the ‘Above & Beyond’ sustainability strategy.”
Ms. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, said, “Amid the global disruption to the tourism industry brought by the pandemic, this year it is particularly encouraging to see in the limelight some of the best initiatives across the tourism industry in the Asia-Pacific region, in the multiple areas of marketing, sustainability and social responsibility.”
