Sands China Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding at The Londoner®Macao with the Macau Fair & Trade Association (MFTA) Wednesday during the Global Exhibitions Day 2022 event (GED2022) to mark their joint commitment to promoting and strengthening the sustainable development of the convention and exhibition industry in Macao.
“This key strategic initiative for Sands China represents our mutual cooperation with MFTA and our support of the Macao government’s target of net zero emissions, and links into the carbon neutrality goals of the central government’s 14th Five-Year Plan,” said Dr. Wilfred Wong, president of Sands China Ltd. “We are working hand-in-hand with each other to seek a carbon neutral exhibition venue through a series of green principles and measures. As the MICE venue provider, Sands China has a special role to play in minimising our impact on climate change, together with the industry.”
The Green Development and Carbon Neutrality MOU between Sands China and MFTA calls on them to cooperate with joint efforts to meet sustainability aims in promotion of green development, carbon neutrality and maintaining alignment with the Environmental Protection Planning of Macao for “Building a Green Macau with Low Carbon Footprint.”
Carbon neutrality is achieved by calculating a carbon footprint and reducing it to zero through a combination of efficiency measures in-house and supporting external emission reduction projects such as clean energy enterprises like wind, solar or hydroelectric plants.
Sands China, in partnership with MFTA, will promote the upcoming 2022 MIECF in August as Macau’s first carbon neutral exhibition at The Venetian® Macao’s Cotai Expo. Both parties also endeavour to jointly develop training programmes for the industry that focus on green education and that highlight the importance of reducing energy consumption, waste and usage of single-use equipment; reusing; and offsetting the carbon footprint when operating events in Macao.
In addition, Sands China’s operations teams are executing MICE activities with the Green Meetingsprinciples of the Sands ECO360 global sustainability strategy – which is heavily based on the United Nations sustainable goals – utilising a variety of proactive measures to decrease the carbon footprint of events.
“Since the launch of Cotai Expo in 2007, the Macao MICE industry has developed rapidly and extensively,” said Tony Lam, president of MFTA. “Meanwhile, the increase of waste and carbon emissions generated by exhibition activities has imposed environmental burdens. Thus, MFTA has been promoting green development throughout the years. We also fund the development of a carbon emission calculator for the industry. MFTA looks forward to the joint commitment with Sands China to help build a green Macao with a low carbon footprint.”
Guests of honour at the GED2022 event and the signing ceremony of Sands China’s memorandum of understanding with MFTA included Vincent U, representative of the Secretary for Economy and Finance of the Macao SAR and acting president of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute; Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macao Government Tourism Office; Victoria Kuan, director general of the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Center; Cui Wenlong, general representative of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Representative Office in Macau; and Zhao Xin, director of the General Affairs Group of the Trade Office of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR.
Sands China has maintained a steady commitment to the continuous strengthening of its environmental sustainability. The company’s carbon footprint has seen a 32 per cent decrease in Scope I (direct) and Scope II (indirect) emissions since its baseline year of 2018, which includes the impact of the operational downturn associated with the global pandemic. The 2025 target is a 17.5 per cent reduction from the 2018 baseline, with an objective to reach net zero emissions by 2050, aligned with the environmental protection and planning from the Macao SAR’s second Five-Year plan.
Since 2019, Sands China’s various measures have resulted in 26 million kWh of annualised energy savings and its solar thermal hybrid system generated 275 GJ (gigajoules) of renewable energy in 2021.
Sands China’s environmental sustainability efforts are part of the Sands ECO360 global sustainability strategy of parent company Las Vegas Sands Corp. Sands ECO360 is designed to utilise measures like energy saving, resource recycling, conservation, and community engagement in order to help minimise the company’s environmental impact and lead the way in sustainable building development and resort operations. More information about the programme is available at https://www.sands.com/responsibility/planet/#our-program-sands-eco360 and Sands China’s 2021 ESG report is available at https://www.sandschina.com/esg/download-reports.html.
Global Exhibitions Day is a global event designed by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (“UFI”) and the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (“IAEE”) since 2016 to celebrate the development achievements of the global convention and exhibition industry in accelerating the pace of economic recovery.
