Home Publisher's Point of View ‘Serious Play’ Pays Off for Caesars Entertainment as It Reaches Energy, Water...

‘Serious Play’ Pays Off for Caesars Entertainment as It Reaches Energy, Water Goals Early

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Caesars Entertainment recently released its Corporate Citizenship Report 2013-2014. Entitled “Serious Play,” the report outlines the company’s successes and challenges in areas including people, guests and communities, and planet. The report is one of many that have been released in recent months by our industry’s largest companies. In this column I will highlight just a few of Caesars Entertainment’s accomplishments in the area of environment.

Take a quick glance at the report and you will notice the company made significant improvements in how it deals with waste. From 2012 to 2013, the company’s diversion rate increased from 24 percent to 34 percent. “We recognized that was a big opportunity,” said Gwen Migita, Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship at Caesars. “We brought someone in at the corporate level to oversee it. In Las Vegas we worked on food waste diversion. Food waste was going to an organics company but now it is going to pig farms. We are working on other initiatives—piloting mulchers, for example.”

In the area of water conservation, Caesars has already exceeded its 2020 goal of reducing water consumption per 1,000 air-conditioned square feet by 15 percent (baseline year 2008). According to Eric Dominguez, Corporate Director Facilities, Engineering & Sustainable Operations for Caesars, many initiatives have contributed to the water savings.

Focus on Cooling Tower Efficiency

“We’ve taken a multifaceted approach that involves employee engagement, operational change and investment in technology,” Eric told me. “Examples of engagement include pushing out best practices to employees such as reporting water leaks to engineering, serving water on request in restaurants, not leaving water running in kitchens to soak pots and pans, and making sure we don’t leave water running when cleaning out sinks or tubs. On the operational side we’ve revamped our water treatment program to maximize cycles of concentration in cooling towers. We’ve also installed metering on all cooling towers so that we can quickly identify anomalies such as a stuck float valve or a leak.

“Another example of an operational change is implementing a towel and sheet program where sheets are not changed nightly and guests can choose to not have their towels laundered by hanging them up,” Eric added. “From a technology perspective, we’re migrating over to low-flow fixtures such as showerheads, urinals, toilets and sink aerators in existing buildings and for all new projects. We’ve invested in tunnel washers at our central laundry facility. And we’re using less sod and more drought-tolerant landscaping (particularly in Las Vegas). Additionally, we’ve really pushed hard to improve energy efficiencies at our properties. Strategies like moving to LED bulbs don’t bring water to the top of mind, but they do have an indirect impact on water by reducing cooling load resulting in less evaporative loss in our cooling towers.”

Speaking of energy efficiency, Caesars has already reached its 2015 goal of reducing energy consumption (fossil fuel based) per 1,000 air-conditioned square feet by 20 percent (2007 baseline). Gwen told me it is the bigger investments in larger properties (especially in LED lighting) that have made the most difference. Since 2002, Caesars’ corporate efficiency program has received more than $70 million in approved funding. Initiatives range from lighting retrofits to energy-efficient HVAC installations, from guestroom thermostat controls to installing improved insulation.

Company Aligns with Like-Minded Suppliers

All of Caesars’ environmental initiatives fall under its CodeGreen program. In addition to waste, water and energy, green purchasing is also a focus. Approximately 50 percent of Caesars’ suppliers now participate in the Carbon Disclosure Project’s sustainable supply chain management program.

Moving forward, Caesars will be resetting its water conservation and energy reduction goals, as well as its short-term goal for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Caesars met its 2013 goal of reducing absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent (2007 baseline).

To access Serious Play to learn more about Caesars Entertainment’s recent successes in environment and other areas of corporate citizenship, click here.

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