Caesars Entertainment Corporation just reinforced its commitment to fight climate change by setting science-based targets to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the company and throughout its supply chain. 

Targets adopted by companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are considered “science-based” if they are in line with the level of de-carbonization required to keep global temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial temperatures.

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a collaboration among CDP (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project), the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). As of June 14, there are 417 companies participating. 

The initiative’s aim is to make science-based target-setting a standard business practice by 2020 and to help corporations take a leading role in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.

Caesars is one of only 113 companies to have SBTi-approved targets and is the first gaming company to include a Scope 3 goal in its verified science-based targets.

Scope 3 emissions are value chain emissions outside direct operations, including emissions from suppliers, employees and product users.

Caesars has committed to: 

• Reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions (from a 2011 base-year)
  • 30 percent by 2025
  • 95 percent by 2050
• Have 60 percent of suppliers institute science-based GHG reduction targets for their operations by 2023.

“Caesars Entertainment has a well-established track record of successful environmental sustainability progress and establishing science-based targets further demonstrates our commitment to reducing our impact on the planet,” said Mark Frissora, president and CEO of Caesars Entertainment. 

He added, “We are proud to be part of this global effort.”

Environmental stewardship is one of four pillars that comprise Caesars Corporate Code of Commitment. In 2008, the company established the environmental program called “CodeGreen,” an organization-wide strategy to reduce energy use, GHG emissions, waste and water use. 

Caesars has already seen measurable results, including:

• Reduced its total GHG emissions by 22.9 percent since 2011
• Reduced water use by 21 percent per square foot since 2008
• Diverted 41 percent of waste from landfill in 2017

 This month, the company will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a major utility-scale purchase of solar energy in the Las Vegas desert, energy that will be used to deliver power to Caesars’ wide range of properties in Nevada.

In addition, Caesars was recently recognized for the fourth year as one of the most community-minded companies and for the third time as the leader in the consumer discretionary industry by Civic 50, an initiative created by Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service.

The Civic 50 provides a national standard for superior corporate citizenship and showcases how companies can use their time, skills and other resources to improve the communities in which they do business.

“Caesars Entertainment has been, and will continue to be, dedicated to making a long-lasting, positive societal impact on the communities in which we serve,” said Jan Jones Blackhurst, executive vice president of Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility for Caesars Entertainment.

She continued, “Our impact is only made possible by the dedication and care of each and every one of our employee volunteers and the leadership of our Foundation. As they support others, we will continue to support them.”

The Civic 50 winners were announced at Service Unites 2018, Points of Light’s annual conference on volunteering and service held June 18-20 at the Omni Atlanta Hotel in Atlanta, where leaders from across sectors gathered to discuss social innovation, civic engagement and cross-sector collaboration.

“The Civic 50 truly highlights the commitment of community and civic engagement of America’s leading brands,” said Natalye Paquin, president and CEO of Points of Light. 

She continued, “Points of Light believes that people drive change in addressing society’s growing and most profound challenges. The business community plays an important role in creating and delivering innovative solutions that drive social good in the communities where they live and work.”

The Civic 50 survey was administered by True Impact, a company specializing in helping organizations maximize and measure their social and business value. The Civic 50 is the only survey and ranking system that exclusively measures corporate involvement in communities.

To learn more about Caesars Entertainment’s environmental and corporate social responsibility initiatives, go HERE.