(20/02/23) Marina Bay Sands has become the largest hotel in Singapore to be certified to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Industry Criteria for Hotels and Accommodation.
The GSTC Industry Criteria for Hotels was created to promote the best sustainable tourism practices around four main themes: effective sustainability management; minimising environmental impact; maximising social and economic benefits for the local community; and enhancing cultural heritage.
Marina Bay Sands’ certification is in line with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Singapore Hotel Association’s (SHA) sustainability roadmap which is aiming for 60 per cent of the hotel room stock in Singapore to attain internationally recognised hotel sustainability certification by 2025.
Marina Bay Sands. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com
“We congratulate Marina Bay Sands on this significant achievement,” said Jeannie Lim, Assistant Chief Executive, Policy and Planning Group, Singapore Tourism Board. “Their efforts support our goal to become one of the world’s most sustainable urban destinations, guided by the Singapore Green Plan 2030. We also hope that their example will inspire other hotels to strive toward similar goals in line with the Hotel Sustainability Roadmap. STB will continue to support hotels on their sustainability journey, working together to reduce impact on the environment, maximise the social and economic benefits of tourism, while enhancing cultural heritage and meeting the needs of travellers.”
Having reduced its carbon footprint by over 50 per cent since 2012, Marina Bay Sands also surpasses the roadmap’s ambition for hotels in Singapore to commence tracking of emissions by 2023 and reduce emissions by 2030.
“Congratulations to the team at Marina Bay Sands on becoming certified to the GSTC Industry Criteria. We commend their continued efforts in reducing carbon emissions and environmental impact, prioritising sustainable management, and for their overall commitment to innovative sustainable solutions,” said Randy Durband, CEO of GSTC.
The integrated resort is focused on annual performance goals in energy, waste, water, resource management, sustainable pProcurement, biodiversity and has an ambitious global commitment to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), pledging to reduce Las Vegas Sands Corp’s greenhouse gas emissions 17.5 per cent by 2025.
Just a few of the initiatives that Marina Bay Sands undertakes to minimise its environmental impact, include:
• Reduced its carbon footprint and water consumption by over 50 per cent and 13 per cent respectively from 2012.
• Since 2012, the integrated resort has saved over 9.5 million kWh of energy annually through investments in an intelligent Building Management System, building artificial intelligence data analytics and other carbon-tech efficiency measures.
• Marina Bay Sands uses several technologies including tracking solutions to help chefs measure, monitor, and reduce food waste. In addition to its five aerobic digesters, the integrated resort is piloting a fully circular processing technology converting food waste into a high-calorific substrate that may be used as insect feed, while continuing to work with local food charities to donate unserved food to underprivileged communities. Over 1.5 million kgs of food waste was diverted from the landfill in 2022.
• Adoption of the E3R strategy – Eliminate, Reuse, Replace, and Recycle, guides the integrated resort’s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions arising from the use of single use disposables.
“The GSTC certification is a testament to Marina Bay Sands’ ongoing commitment to minimise our environmental impact while providing our guests with a luxurious experience. Being the largest hotel in Singapore to be GSTC-certified shows our commitment in raising the bar for the industry and inspiring other players to adopt more sustainable practices,” said Meridith Beaujean, Executive Director of Sustainability, Marina Bay Sands.
The GSTC certification follows Marina Bay Sands’ Special Award for Sustainability at Singapore Tourism Board’s annual awards in 2022.
