Sands Academy takes Team Members on Sustainability Tour through The Venetian and The Palazzo

In January, Sands Academy and Sands ECO360 Global Sustainability hosted a sustainability tour of The Venetian and The Palazzo, continuing Las Vegas Sands’ efforts in our commitment to providing Team Members with a wide range of educational partnerships.  The tour emphasized the efforts that the sustainability department and the properties put into making sure the properties and its Team Members are efficient and always focused on sustainability efforts.

“When the Palazzo was built, 95% of it was built with recycled materials,” Pranav Jampani, Director of Sustainability for The Venetian and The Palazzo said.  “It is still the largest LEED building in the United States.  Within the property, all plants are on a water-filtration system.  The water system knows how much water each plant needs, which allows us to save water by not overwatering.  We have our own well and we use green waste as compost in all the property gardens.”

Within the Waterfall Atrium, Jampani pointed out that the atrium is a natural humidifier in the building, providing cooler air than other parts of the property due to the amount of water in the fountains reducing the temperature.  The glass ceiling also provides natural light, reducing the use of electricity.

Looking outside from one of The Palazzo’s suites, solar panels on top of the Sands Expo Congress Center add additional power and energy reduction.  The panels heat the pools and spas throughout the year and the panels in the Team Member shared garage provide electricity for the entire structure and the charging stations that were installed.  Within the suites, the Sands ECO360 team has made many changes to aid in reduction of water and energy.

“Housekeepers close the drapes, turn off the lights and lower the temperature in the room while they clean,” he continued.  “They also only flush the toilet once during cleaning to eliminate water waste.  When they are cleaning a room, only sustainable cleaning supplies are used and low flow shower heads have been installed in most rooms at The Venetian during the property-wide renovation.”

During The Venetian renovation, all lightbulbs were changed to 100% LED lighting in all suites, with The Palazzo undergoing the same changes within their suites.   Another program that both properties take part in is donation of used items.  Toilet paper is moved to the back-of-house once it’s at mid-roll in the guest suites, very used linens are used to make cleaning rags by Opportunity Village, and guests are also encouraged to reuse their towels and bed linens for the duration of their stay to reduce water and soap waste.

Within The Palazzo recycling dock which services both properties and sorts every single trash bag that comes through the property, there are always at least 12 people working, sorting garbage and recyclable items. The machines automatically press plastic, boxes, and glass to be taken to the city recycling plant. 

“We also sort food waste and take the leftovers to the local pig farm,” he said.  “We also do profit-sharing where we give 50% of the proceeds from the recycled items to the people working the dock.  57% of our trash is recycled and we get paid money from recycling our plastic and cans.  We try to make the most of what we do.  The Las Vegas Rescue Mission gets our leftovers from our employee dining halls and we donate extra banquets meals to local non-profits.  That results in 200,000 meals donated.  We’re always working to reduce more and more.”

About Las Vagas Sands

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is the world's leading developer and operator of Integrated Resorts. Our collection of Integrated Resorts in Asia and the United States feature state-of-the-art convention and exhibition facilities, premium accommodations, world-class gaming and entertainment, destination retail and dining including celebrity chef restaurants and many other amenities.

Our properties include The Venetian and The Palazzo resorts and Sands Expo in Las Vegas, Sands Bethlehem in Eastern Pennsylvania, and the iconic Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Through majority ownership in Sands China Ltd. (HK:1928), LVS owns a portfolio of properties on the Cotai Strip in Macao, including The Venetian Macao, The Plaza and Four Seasons Hotel Macao and Sands Cotai Central, as well as the Sands Macao on the Macao Peninsula.

LVS is dedicated to being a good corporate citizen, anchored by the core tenets of delivering a great working environment for nearly 50,000 employees worldwide, driving impact through its Sands Cares corporate citizenship program and leading innovation with the company’s award- winning Sands ECO360° global sustainability program. To learn more, please visit www.sands.com.