Our Approach to Sustainable Events

Sustainability is a strategic priority for many public and private sector organizations around the world. Naturally, sustainability thinking extends into events. At MGM Resorts, we have designed a portfolio of unique venues and offer a comprehensive set of ideas to help clients enhance the social and environmental benefits associated with their events.

Sustainable Venues

Many event clients hold sustainability as a strategic corporate priority and look to champion their commitment in their events. At MGM Resorts, we are proud of the unique environmental attributes of our large event venues, including the Mandalay Bay Conference Center, which features America's largest contiguous rooftop solar array. We optimize energy and water use, increase our use of renewable electricity and adopt extensive materials and waste reduction programs into our venues, recognizing that a venue’s environmental programs and practices drive much of its carbon footprint.

Environmental Initiatives Across MGM Resorts:

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Featured Venues

Mandalay Bay

Mandalay Bay is one of the largest meeting facilities on the Las Vegas Strip, with more than 2.1 million square feet of space.

Rooftop Solar Array: One of America’s largest contiguous rooftop solar arrays sits atop the convention center.
Fresh Food: Food & Beverage teams at Delano at Mandalay Bay use upcycled glass containers and source produce from onsite gardens.
Efficient Electricity: Reduced electricity per square foot by 11% between 2012 and 2019, saving electricity equal to the average annual consumption of more than 900 U.S. homes.
Green Certifications: Mandalay Bay currently has five Green Keys, Four Green Key Meetings and Four Green Globes for Existing Buildings.

MGM Grand

MGM Grand has more than 850,000 square feet of flexible meeting space adaptable to the needs of groups of all sizes and types.

Extensive Health & Wellness: With the world’s largest portfolio of StayWell® guest rooms and meeting rooms, MGM Grand offers a unique experience for wellness-oriented events.
Robust Energy Management: MGM Grand uses energy-efficiency lighting, heating and cooling systems throughout the resort.
Towel and linen reuse programs promote water conservation and help reduce our footprint on vital resources across the country.
Sustainable Building and Operations: MGM Grand Las Vegas was awarded four Green Keys, five Green Keys for Meetings and four Green Globes for Existing Buildings.
Health and Safety: Electronics, batteries and lightbulbs are safely disposed of after use to eliminate the possibility of introducing hazardous substances back into the environment.

ARIA Campus

With the 2018 expansion, ARIA features more than 500,000 square feet of meeting space and an abundance of naturally lit and outdoor space options.

Cogeneration at the ARIA Campus: ARIA has an 8.2-megawatt combined heat and power plant onsite, efficiently generating approximately 30% of the resort's electricity needs, while using waste heat to warm water.
Green Building Certifications: The ARIA Campus earned six LEED Gold certifications, making it the world’s largest privately funded LEED Gold certified development upon opening in 2009.
Sustainable Wood: More than 50% of all wood products used are from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified forests
Water Efficient Building Design: The ARIA Campus conserves an estimated 33% of water with efficient plumbing fixtures.
Ultra Efficient Energy Design: Energy efficiency measures at the ARIA Campus result in 30% savings in energy use, the equivalent to powering 8,800 households annually.

Bellagio

With more than 200,000 square feet of elegant meeting space and unique amenities such as the world-famous Fountains of Bellagio and stunning Conservatory, Bellagio offers an artful blend of imagination, sophistication and creativity for events of all types.

Water Source Innovation: Fountains of Bellagio fed with water from wells onsite, circumventing the use of potable water from Lake Mead or the Colorado River.
Nature Connectedness: The Conservatory at Bellagio celebrates nature with seasonal displays. 90% of the trees, flowers and plants are composted after use.
Sustainable Hotel Certifications: Awarded five Green Keys, the highest level of certification from Green Key Global Hotel and Meetings Programs, the leading international environmental certification body for the hotel and meetings industry.
Efficient Lighting: Bellagio is lit using LED lighting. In all, more than 1.5 million LEDs light MGM Resorts venues.
Robust Recycling Program: We separate recyclables from trash and boast an innovative food waste program that diverts food scraps to a local pig farm.

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

With more than 240,000 square feet of vertically integrated space for meetings and conventions, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas offers unique spaces, unrivaled experiences and impeccable catering for events.

Sustainable materials: disposable utensils and plates used during Banquet functions are made from bamboo. Pads of paper and water station cups are made from recyclable materials
Food donations: leftover food product is donated to the Las Vegas Rescue Mission, an organization that feeds several hundred homeless people each day
Recycling: Lamp tracker to recycle batteries, lamps/bulbs and other consumable items containing mercury
Energy efficiency: all audio-visual equipment is compliant with either Energy Star or RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances)
Efficient lighting: all meeting space lights are on timers to go off overnight and when no functions are scheduled

Our Accolades

As of December 31, 2020, our portfolio of integrated resorts and entertainment venues earned several certifications for green building design and sustainable hotel operations. They include:

14 LEED Certifications
9 resorts with Green Globes Certification
16 resorts with a Green Key Eco-Rating
7 resorts with a Green Key Meetings Eco-Certification
1 resort with ISO 14001 Certification
1 resort with ISO 50001 Certification

Further details about green building certifications at MGM Resorts can be found in our Design & Development section.

Sustainable Events Program

Our approach to sustainable events aims to save water and energy, reduce materials and waste and engage the community. For this, we focus on four areas: venue and space, décor and signage, food and beverage, and outreach and education. To assist clients in improving the environmental efficiency of their events, MGM Resorts has designed a custom deck of playing cards featuring 52 sustainable event ideas. The ideas also support one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGS), which are also visually highlighted on the cards, as well as an assessment of the likely cost impact. The ideas on the cards combat the common misconception that environmental and societal benefits from events are cost prohibitive.

Venue & Space

We support our clients by offering low-carbon, environmentally sustainable venues.

Examples

Offer environmentally certified venues
Ensure robust health and safety protocols
Power venues with renewable electricity
Undertake food waste diversion

Décor & Signage

We offer décor and signage options that help reduce waste and increase circularity of material flows.

Examples

Incorporate biophilic design in event and meeting space
Take advantage of circular economy opportunities
Support diverse-owned suppliers and vendors
Offer digital signage

Food & Beverage

We have an extensive offering of sustainable food and beverage options and have a best-in-class program to manage event-related food waste.

Examples

Offer enticing vegan and vegetarian items
Reflect seasonality in menus
Selectively offer organic meats and produce
Offer certified coffees and teas
Utilize reusable dishware and utensils

Outreach & Education

We help meeting planners communicate the sustainable event elements implemented and offer detailed sustainable event reports to help quantify impacts and benefits.

Examples

Help communicate sustainability efforts to attendees
Provide accessibility accommodations for attendees
Offer wellness experiences

Other Sustainable Events

Food Donations

One of the most socially beneficial materials and waste programs at MGM Resorts relates to food donations. We have developed a robust program in which we safely donate unserved food to the food insecure in the communities in which we operate. We donate three major food types: unserved perishable prepared food from events, perishable unprepared kitchen food from kitchens and non-perishable food from minibar and warehouses. In collaboration with the Southern Nevada Region’s primary food bank, Three Square, we also helped establish the core infrastructure needed in Las Vegas to safely collect, transport, and store food from hotels.

Digitally Forward Meetings

At MGM Resorts, we embrace innovation and continuous improvement. While the COVID-19 pandemic affected our events and banquets business, it also required us to create digitally forward ways of doing business. For events, this digital transformation has also spurred environmental benefits. What began as a health and safety measure, such as digital event registration and mobile check-ins, has become a best practice for reducing paper waste – a significant waste stream in events. Additionally, offering virtual attendance options to our guests helps lower the carbon footprint of our clients’ events.

Examples