Save the Eadth, Hug a Hotel

Dec. 21, 2008 Save the earth, hug a hotel The Las Vegas desert greener than you think BY ALEZA FREEMAN Vegas.com as Vegas is viewed by most as a city of excess. We seem to have and waste too much of everything: Food, lights, money, booze, Elvis impersonators. You may think our “We get a bad rap l concept of “going green” is drinking in Vegas as Sin City, tinted beer on St. Patrick’s Day. But truth be told, when it comes to Las Vegas, image is everything. but the reality is that Behind the scenes, many of the city’s biggest Las Vegas is an energy hotel conglomerates — including Harrah’s Entertainment, Las Vegas Sands Corp. and efficient city.” MGM Mirage — are working overtime to — Eric Dominguez, reduce their carbon footprint and become more Director of energy and environmental environmentally friendly. services for Harrah’s Entertainment “We get a bad rap in Vegas as Sin City, but the reality is that Las Vegas is an energy efficient city,” said Eric Dominguez, director of energy and environmental services for Harrah’s Entertainment. “For example, we lead the nation in terms of solar production per capita. And we’re constantly looking for ways to make things better.” Clockwise JUST LETTING OFF STEAM from top of recycle graphic: Like an underground city, the chiller and CityCenter, seen in boiler rooms at the Paris Las Vegas are located a rendering, will seek among a series of plain, conservatively lit LEED certification when hallways, tucked below the casino level. it opens in 2009; Rooms While there are certainly many sexier sights at the Palazzo have air conditioning controls that use in Las Vegas, these often unseen facilities are less energy when the rooms are empty; Many of the light actually the hotbed of energy savings at this bulbs in the casino at Paris Las Vegas are energy efficient. (Courtesy photos) Harrah’s property. The extra steam from the boilers’ blow down, for instance, is used to heat the facility’s water and run equipment in the BRINGING IN MORE GREEN LEED certification is a premium certificate The 18-million-square-foot, seven-building emergency generator room. This recycling of While energy and monetary savings are awarded to environmentally responsible proper- property (which includes ARIA Resort & Ca- heat is using energy that would have otherwise expected, Todd Moreau, vice president of food ties by the U.S. Green Building Council. sino, The Harmon Hotel, Spa and Residences, been lost. and beverage for Harrah’s and Bill’s Gamblin’ Palazzo, which opened earlier this year, Vdara Hotel, Mandarin Oriental, Veer Towers Some of the energy saving equipment was Hall and Saloon, said there are also some actually conserves enough water to provide each and Crystals retail and entertainment district) is already in place when Paris Las Vegas opened unexpected advantages of going green — it Nevada Citizen with 266 eight-ounce glasses of being constructed with preference to materials in 1999, but there are many instances at helps the company make more money. water a year and saves enough energy to light made with recycled content, reclaimed materials Paris and some of Harrah’s older properties It started in May, when Moreau spearheaded a 100 watt light bulb for 12,100 years. or those that could be manufactured locally, as where the equipment has been or soon will a project to find a reusable solution for water “We are committed to developing sustainable well as paints, sealants, adhesives, carpet and be upgraded. bottles as part of a CodeGreen team. He properties,” said Nicholas Rumanes, vice composite wood products that do not contain “Through conservation we’ve been able to found that in 2007, Harrah’s was disposing president of corporate development for Las toxic substances. reduce the need for fossil fuels, which has of close to 300,000 one-liter bottles of water Vegas Sands Corp. “It’s a larger action as a good Plans also include: made a huge environmental impact,” said in restaurants citywide. corporate citizen, and also to set an example for • A co-generation plant providing about Dominguez. “We conserve 130 kilowatt of Moreau decided that keeping these bottles out the rest of the industry to follow. It helps out 10 percent of the property’s electricity. The energy a year, which is like taking a property of landfills was a challenge worth tackling. our business plan, it helps out the environment, throw-off heat from the plant will be used to like Paris off the grid.” The outcome was a one-liter glass reusable it helps out the health of our employees and heat the property’s water. Harrah’s Entertainment established its bottle produced by AquaHealth. The stylish also the health of our visitors.” • Specially-coated windows on ARIA and commitment to conservation in 2003 and bottle, which is available in some Harrah’s Key elements of the Palazzo’s earth-friendly Vdara that help reduce heat transfer into the became the first casino to receive the EPA restaurants, can be filled with water from an on- initiatives include: building by reflecting light. Quality Award in April 2008. Many of the site filtration system, then washed along with • Artificial turf, drip irrigation and moisture • Settings on the rooms’ remote system in properties have CodeGreen Teams made up the restaurant’s other china, and reused. sensors in planted areas as well as water ARIA, The Harmon and Mandarin Oriental of employees focused on reducing the use “We ran a test for 30 days in Bally’s Steak- efficient shower heads, high efficiency toilets allowing guests to green their stay by indicating of natural resources, conserving energy and house and what we found out was that when and low-flow faucets inside their preferred light level, room temperature promoting reuse and recycling. There are more we featured something green, that brand name • A solar heating system that heats the and frequency of linen and towel changes. than 74 major conservation projects in place at had a bigger impact than any other sparkling property’s swimming pools and directs extra Systems can also be programmed to turn these individual Harrah’s properties, including: or still waters,” said Moreau. “We’ve had, year solar heat into the hotel’s hot water system. settings down or off when the guest is not in Lower water flow control in guest areas • to date, zero customer complaints.” There are also solar panels located on top of their room. A five megawatt co-generation facility at • And along with helping the environment, to the facility’s parking garage. CityCenter is expected to save 50 million the Rio hotel to create and use electricity on Moreau’s surprise, the program’s profit margin • Air conditioning controls in the guest gallons of water each year as a result of water site and recapture waste heat for hot water increased. rooms, which automatically set back several conservation efforts, such as efficient irrigation Employee training on environmentally- • “We thought, ‘Wow, first we went green degrees when guests are not in their rooms. systems, low-flow faucets and showers and friendly practices and as now a company we are making better Lighting occupancy sensors in team member low-flush toilets throughout the development. LET THERE BE LIGHT revenues off of it,’” said Moreau. services areas that shut off the lights when no The property will even offer incentives for one is in the area. guests and workers to use alternative forms of Another major initiative of the Harrah’s BORN GREEN “The part of our green effort here that I transportation. properties is the substitution of traditional light The Palazzo is the largest Leadership in really like is harnessing the solar energy,” said bulbs with more energy efficient ones. GETTING WASTED Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rumanes. “Living in Vegas, it’s 87-and-a-half The Paris, the Rio and Caesars hotels have certified property in the world, and currently the percent sunny a year. We get probably the most Another environmental effort by MGM- replaced thousands upon thousands of light only LEED certified property on the Strip. direct sunlight of anywhere else in the United Mirage is a program implemented by Mandalay bulbs both inside and out. Bally’s is in the States. And if you really thought of the long Bay Convention Center to recycle trade show process of replacing 4,000 bulbs in its sports term effect if everyone went this green way, waste. book sign alone. In the back of the house at we would prevent the construction of these The program enabled Mandalay Bay to Paris, every other light was removed. polluting, $5 billion coal power plants down recycle upwards of 74 percent of the trade That certainly doesn’t mean the City of Lights the road.” show’s garbage. has gotten any dimmer. The building itself was constructed using In a four month period, with 29 trade shows, “Whenever we can, where the guest doesn’t eco-friendly materials and more than 70 percent more than 6,000 cubic yards of recyclables were realize, we’ll change to more energy efficient of the property’s waste during construction was collected, while only 2,000 cubic yards went light,” said Jeff McGillivray, assistant director of diverted, thanks to a waste recycling program. into a landfill. facilities for Paris and Bally’s. “It uses five times The steel used averaged more than 95 percent Like most of the eco-friendly initiatives less energy, still looks good and it lasts longer, recyclable content, while the concrete was 26 at Las Vegas hotels, these recycling efforts so we don’t have to change it as often.” percent.

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