LAS VEGAS — As environment and eco-friendly practices become more prevalent, MGM Resorts International continues to implement innovative programs into their hotels and meeting spaces.

“We work to provide our meetings and conventions guests, and all of our guests for that matter, with the same luxury Las Vegas experience they’ve come to expect, but doing it in a way that’s better for the environment,” said Chris Brophy, Vice President for Energy and Environmental Services for MGM Resorts International.

To emphasis its committment to environmental concerns, MGM Resorts International  joined the Convene Green Alliance, uniting one of the major players in the U.S. meetings and convention industry with a prominent environmental organization.

Among the offerings for their green meeting areas are on-site filtered water, energy efficient lighting in the most prominent areas, and a way to track the environmental footprint left by each event.

“We can offer a wide range of assessment options. From the basic, whereby we would review the average consumption of resources for the property and simply assign the proportionate percentage to the specific meeting, to the extremely detailed,” Brophy said.

The World Travel and Tourism Council Annual Summit opted for the thorough tracking.

“In this instance we are tracking everything from energy, water, paper and fuel consumption, to waste generated and diverted, to recycled content of materials used, and percentage of organic and local food/materials consumed,” Brophy said.

MGM Resorts International also offers recycling for after each show. Mandalay Bay Convention Center recycles nearly 92 percent of the waste produced during a trade show.

“A show can have thousands of attendees all staying in the same facility as the show itself, and have enough on-site activities and gourmet meals so that they’d never have to leave the property, thus eliminating the need for additional show transportation,” Brophy said.

MGM Resorts’ participation in the Teacher Exchange Program also helps in the elimination of waste.

“By offering the ability to participate in the Teachers Exchange, where we donate unused meeting supplies to local schools, or by donating unused non-perishable food items to local food banks, organizers can meet both environmental and social goals.”

The Green Key Eco-Rating Program ranks hotels and resorts on a scale of one to five in areas such as conference and meeting facilities, indoor air quality, community outreach, and food and beverage operations. From among the MGM Resorts International properties, 12 have received the Green Key Award for their environmentally-friendly ways.

“Our Green Key Ratings are primarily driven by our own internal desires to validate the efforts we have undertaken. And with five out of five Green Key properties, we are very happy with the results. In all seriousness though, what I would hope is that when a conference or trade show organizer is looking at venues to host their events, and they value ‘sustainable’ operations, they can feel confident that our efforts are not just a check-box on a survey, and that our Green Key ratings support that,” said Brophy.

Six buildings in CityCenter received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – New Construction (LEED – NC) Gold certification in 2009. This award comes from the U.S. Green Building Council, and it encompasses how the design, construction and operations factored in environmental practices.

“When we set out to build CityCenter, we wanted to create a ‘city of the future.’ With that in mind, we recognized that to have a ‘city of the future,’ we would need to make sustainability a core aspect of the project. We wanted to create a sustainable urban community that supported the concept of a ‘shift’ in the paradigm of Las Vegas luxury. Eighteen million square feet of LEED Gold certification later, we feel we’ve met that goal. But that was just a part of the story.

“We have already incorporated many of the lessons learned as well as other innovative technologies and process improvements into all of our other properties. From changing out light fixtures to LED and efficient fluorescent bulbs and replacing slot machine lights with energy-efficient LED technology, to retrofitting boilers with computer controlled combustion systems, MGM Resorts Las Vegas properties alone have saved enough energy to power over 9,500 homes per year in the last four years, without ever compromising on the world class experiences we have always provided,” said Brophy.

MGM Resorts International has also received the 2011 American Forest and Paper Association Business Leadership Recycling Award, 2010 Earth-Minded Award, 2010 Best Green Owner Award, 2010 “Friend of Glass” Recycling Award, 2009 Forest Stewardship Council Award and 2006 SNWA Water Hero Award.

“While each one of these awards helps validate our leadership, what they really represent are tangible reductions in our environmental impacts,” Brophy said.

As for food wastes, MGM Resorts International Strip resorts have recycled 41 million pounds – about 20 thousand tons – of food scraps, most of it at R.C. Farms, Inc., in North Las Vegas, where pigs consume what tourists leave unfinished on their plates in many Company buffets and restaurants.

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The Convene Green Alliance is a grassroots, industry initiative spearheaded by several high-profile associations that seek to effect positive environmental practices through national, regional and local outreach and education. This initiative was developed in response to members’ demands that their association (and the meetings and events they sponsor), reflect best environmental practices. CGA was founded and is managed by IMN Solutions, a leading association, foundation and meeting management company. Learn more at www.convenegreen.com.