Mandalay Bay Building on Successful Green Meetings Initiative

During last month's Sustainable Meetings Conference in Portland, Ore., I had an opportunity to sit down with three representatives from MGM Resorts International--Gordon Absher, vice president public affairs, Chris Brophy, vice president energy and environmental services, and Martie Sparks, vice president of catering & convention services at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. Much of the conversation had to do with the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino and what Sparks and her team there have done to green up the meetings held at the 3,220-room hotel that has 1.7 million square feet of meeting space. Sparks told me that it all started in 2007 with recycling.

Today, 92 percent of the waste is recycled off of the show floor. A total of 5,900 tons was recycled in 2010. At the end of each trade show during final billing, the client is told how much waste was saved from going to the landfill. Communication with clients is paperless and Brophy says the restaurants at the hotel are approaching zero waste. New lighting in exhibit halls is dimmable and can run at 50 percent during trade show setup/tear down. Last year, the new lighting saved energy equivalent to running 365 homes. Supplies left over from shows is donated to teachers in the Las Vegas area and useable food is donated to area food banks. Menus featuring sustainable items have been created and food waste that cannot be donated to a shelter is sent to a pig farm.

Sparks says her team is in the process of putting together a "quick sheet" for meeting planners that will summarize all of the hotel's green initiatives. That is important, Brophy added, because most of the meeting planners approaching the Mandalay Bay about meetings are asking about sustainability.

All of the associates at MGM Resorts International benefit from being able to easily share best practices with one another. "We've implemented a massive communication program with our employees," Sparks says.

The efforts by Sparks and others at Mandalay Bay resulted in the property earning a 5 Green Key rating as part of the Green Key Global Eco-Rating Program. The hotel is one of the few in North America to earn a "5" rating.