The resort property bolsters its sustainability journey with industry-leading practices and initiatives
Aligned with the goal of its parent company Melco Resorts & Entertainment (Melco), City of Dreams Manila steps up its strategies to meet sustainability targets by 2030. Despite the challenges brought by the pandemic, the integrated resort has undertaken projects anchored on its core values of service for colleagues, guests, community, and the environment.
The company’s sustainability strategy led by Melco Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho dubbed “Above and Beyond” outlines ambitious goals including carbon neutral resorts and zero-waste resorts by 2030. As such, City of Dreams Manila’s sustainability endeavors are focused on the environment and social responsibility.
City of Dreams Manila Property President Geoff Andres said, “We are committed to seamlessly integrate sustainability in our guests’ experience whether it be in our restaurants, in our hotel rooms, even in our gaming and entertainment facilities. Inspired by the ‘Above and Beyond’ ethos, we will continue to progress further with our green undertakings and soldier on contributing to a more sustainable future.”
Environmental Measures
Renewable Energy. City of Dreams Manila has initiated the harnessing of renewable energy with the installation of solar panels at the topmost floor of its parking building. Being the first integrated resort in the country to utilize solar solutions, the property’s solar panels have been fully operational since the beginning of 2020. They can generate over 1,600 MWh, which is equivalent to the amount of CO2 absorbed by close to 19,000 tree seedlings grown for 10 years or charging over 139 million smartphones in a year.
Reducing water consumption. Treated greywater is being reused in the property’s cooling towers. This is estimated to save about 88 Olympic-sized swimming pools’ worth of water or about 219,000 m3 annually. Looking for more ways to reduce water consumption, the property’s laundry wastewater is also being reused for toilet flush in employees’ locker rooms.
Elimination of single-use plastic. Since 2020, the property has reported a substantial reduction of plastic waste through replacement of non-biodegradable materials with sustainable alternatives such as using cardboard boxes instead of acetate boxes. Single-use plastic bottled water in all gaming areas have been eliminated, and small toiletry amenity bottles in hotel rooms have been replaced with reusable pump bottles.
Onsite water filtration plant. The resort has installed an onsite water filtration plant and a bottling system with NORDAQ. This is projected to result in the elimination of 11,000 single-use plastic bottles from hotel rooms per day, equivalent to more than 4 million single-use plastic bottles per year.
Economic Strategies
The resort also practices sustainable sourcing, with 86% of its procurement consisting of local products in support of social, ethical, and environmentally responsible local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
City of Dreams adopts a holistic and sustainable coffee program for which it partners with local coffee farmers through the Philippine Coffee Board Inc; procures rice that are 100% chemical-free and 100% traceable from the fertile farmlands of Alangalang, Leyte through its partnership with Chen Yi Agventures; sources fresh vegetable produce grown in hydroponics from Aba Pardes Agritech Corporation; and purchases responsibly-sourced seafood from local fisheries and farms through sustainable seafood companies such as Meliomar and SeaTraceability, Inc.
One of City of Dreams Manila’s most recent sustainable initiatives is switching to a 100% use of cage-free eggs from Bounty Fresh Eggs across all its restaurants. Cage-free eggs are known to be more food safe, of higher quality, and at the same time, more humane to animals. The first among the integrated resorts in the country to fully adopt the initiative, the commitment was made possible through partnering with Lever Foundation, an international animal welfare non-profit organization.
To bolster the property’s sustainability programs and in recognition of the importance of each colleagues’ participation in the success of the property’s initiatives, City of Dreams Manila LAO formed a sustainability committee composed of colleagues from different departments to initiate sustainability projects.
As businesses continue to navigate the uncertainties resulting from the pandemic, City of Dreams Manila continues to align its green activities with Melco’s “Above and Beyond“ sustainability strategy, firmly set on taking positive strides towards a more sustainable future by being a force of good not only in the tourism industry, but also for the people and the planet.
