Sands China Signs Memorandum of Understanding with MFTA on Global Exhibitions Day 2022
Mutual cooperation to promote Green MICE
(Macao,
June 1, 2022) – 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 Meetings principles 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.
Photo caption: Sands China Ltd. signs the Green
Development and Carbon Neutrality memorandum of
understanding with the Macau Fair & Trade Association (MFTA)
Wednesday at The Londoner Macao 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.
Photo caption: Dr. Wilfred Wong, president of Sands
China Ltd., speaks Wednesday at The Londoner Macao during
GED2022 where Sands China signed a memorandum of
understanding with MFTA.