Las Vegas Sands was recently recognized on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), with placement on both DJSI World and DJSI North America for the fifth consecutive year. To learn more about Sands’ initiatives, I took a look at its latest ESG report that covers activities through 2023. The company’s commitment to sustainable development and operations is reflected in the People, Communities and Planet pillars that make up its corporate responsibility platform. For this blog I took a look at the progress Las Vegas Sands is making under its Planet pillar.
Emissions & Energy Efficiency
Compared to its 2018 baseline, Las Vegas Sands had reduced its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 50 percent.
The foundation of its energy efficiency initiatives is the Sands ECOTracker program, which guides identification of improvement projects to reach targets. The program led to savings of 14,722 MWh of electricity globally in 2023. In 2023, the company generated 1,300 MWh through its own renewable energy sources. In addition, it procured 285,000 MWh of renewable energy certificates, resulting in 22 percent of global energy sourced from renewable sources.
Water
Las Vegas Sands has a 2025 target of a 3 percent drop in potable water intensity. By the end of 2023 it had reduced potable water intensity by 12 percent (2019 baseline).
Waste
In 2023 Las Vegas Sands diverted 20 percent of its operational waste, a 3 percent increase from the 2019 baseline. In 2023 the company prevented, rescued or diverted 23 percent of its food waste, well on the way toward its target of 25 percent by 2025. In Las Vegas, it set a goal to divert 75 percent of waste generated during its corporate headquarters’ construction and exceeded that goal with 86 percent diverted from landfill. As of the end of 2023, Las Vegas Sands resorts had donated over 9,000 kg of unserved food and 86,900 kg in total since 2014. Las Vegas Sands has a 2025 target of having Sands-branded water bottles be reusable or made from sustainable materials. By the end of 2023, the company had reached 61 percent of its goal.
Biodiversity
Marina Bay Sands engaged WWF to review procurement activity and evaluate its supply chain for deforestation hot spots created by commodities such as beef, palm oil, timber, coffee and cocoa. The assessment will increase understanding of potential biodiversity impacts and dependencies. As part of the three-year engagement, WWF will produce a report to guide the industry.
