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Wynn Resorts Announces Corporate Sustainability Goals with Release of Environmental, Social & Governance Report

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LAS VEGAS—Wynn Resorts issued its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, which includes the company’s collective pledges and defined goals to decrease emissions and confront the mounting risk of climate change. The report also outlines how Wynn Resorts’ ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic ran parallel to achieving a gamut of progressive ESG and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) goals, with significant strides made in community outreach and crisis relief efforts, responsible business practices, and protecting human rights.

In the report’s forward, Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox remarked, “A truly great company, one founded on the belief that excellence is not just an aspiration but a necessity, and operating in today’s socially and environmentally-fraught world, is called to a higher standard: to take responsibility, not just for our decisions, but for the all future impacts of those decisions. Impacts we ourselves may not live to see, but will have caused, nonetheless. Decision-making with careful consideration to the impacts 20 or 30 years from now isn’t just essential, it’s an existential imperative. That is what the future demands of us.”

The Wynn Resorts sustainability program, known as Goldleaf, houses scientific solutions to the wide range of environment and climate challenges that are unique to each resort that Wynn Resorts operates. Under the direction of CEO Matt Maddox and Chief Sustainability Officer Erik Hansen, the company has committed to the following Wynn Resorts Corporate Sustainability Goals:

  • Net-Zero by 2050: To reduce or offset all carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by operations no later than 2050.
  • Carbon Dioxide Emissions Peak by 2030: To stop and reverse year-over-year growth of operational carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2030.
  • Fifty Percent Renewable Energy Procurement by 2030: To increase Wynn Resorts’ supply of renewable energy produced or procured to at least 50 percent of total consumption by 2030.

The above commitments are aligned with the recommendations made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for limiting global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius, as referenced in the 2015 Paris Climate Accord. In 2020, Wynn Resorts completed several major projects in renewable energy, waste diversion, and emissions reduction, many of which were years in the making, including:

  • Wynn Resorts installed 23 Megawatts of solar power capacity in the United States,which offsets 100 percent of the energy consumed in the 560,000 square-feet of convention space in Las Vegas, and up to 75 percent of the peak power demands of the entire 10-million-square-foot Las Vegas resort.
  • Wynn Las Vegas reduced its annual energy consumption by 20 percent in 2020 relative to 2015 through capital investments in critical energy-reducing technologies and operational efficiencies, most notably the 160-acre Wynn Solar Field and a concerted effort on preventive systems maintenance.
  • Encore Boston Harbor received 100 percent of its energy from renewable and green sources of powerand is the first integrated resort in the United States with an onsite microgrid balancing solar energy production, combined heat and power co-generation, and battery storage.
  • Wynn Las Vegas reduced Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions by over 80,000 metric tons from 2019 to 2020, achieved by offsetting energy procured from traditional fossil fuel-based generation with renewable and green energy products. This emissions offset is equivalent to powering 9,705 homes for one year or driving a passenger vehicle for 202 million miles.
  • Encore Boston Harbor diverted 100 percent of waste from the landfill in 2020 during its first full year of operation, utilizing its comprehensive waste management infrastructure of recycling, composting and waste-to-energy conversion to ensure no waste goes to a landfill, ever.

Additionally, the report showcases long-standing corporate values and core behaviors that govern fair, transparent, and ethical behavior. Under the pillars of Our People, Our Communities, and Our Planet, highlights in the key areas of COVID-19 pandemic relief, social impact, corporate governance, DEI, and human rights include:

  • Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox spearheaded the creation of the hospitality industry’s first science-based Health & Safety Plan, which Maddox presented during the White House Business Council on Reopening. The plan became the preeminent roadmap to a successful reopening effort, with policies adopted by several other international brands and industries.
  • Wynn Las Vegas collaborated with University Medical Center (UMC) to open the UMC COVID-19 Vaccination Center, the first vaccination site to be located onsite at a resort, which administered over 50,000 vaccinations to eligible Nevada residents.
  • Wynn Las Vegas built and opened the Lighthouse Lab COVID-19 testing facility, a 3,000-square-foot facility at the resort staffed by medical professionals from Lighthouse Lab Services who administer up to 7,000 PCR tests per day, helping usher the return of convention business and group events.
  • Globally, Wynn Resorts donated $23 million USD in funds and in-kind donations to charities in 2020, which includes $4.75 million in direct COVID-19 relief efforts, nearly $1 million in food and meals, and over 2.5 million pieces of personal protective equipment to recipients like the Nevada National Guard and the Macau Government. In addition, Wynn Resorts global workforce volunteered over 34,000 hours of time in 2020.
  • The Wynn Resorts Human Rights Policy broadened in 2020 to include specific expectations and core principles for diversity, inclusion, and non-discrimination. In addition, the Wynn Resorts Diversity Council drafted the first Wynn Resorts DEI Policy to codify goals that foster a culture of inclusion, embrace a diverse workforce, and develop vendor partnerships that create a fair and equal economy.
  • Extensive training and security procedures were enhanced in 2020 to combat human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, including the development of a company-wide training program for trafficking awareness that will be mandatory for all employees.

The Wynn Resorts ESG Report presents information that references select Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and Sustainability Accounting Board Standards (SASB).

The full report is available at www.WynnResponsibility.com.

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