By Victoria “NIKE” De Dios
Sharing their sustainable journey to inspire everyone in their continuous initiatives by creating long-term strategic solutions for a better future, City of Dreams brandishes its efforts across the 6.2-hectare luxury integrated resort.
Mindful that the success of the company’s sustainability programs is through collaboration — getting more people on board, forging partnerships with other businesses and stakeholders among others.
This is what City of Dreams Manila has been doing since they move forward towards fully integrated sustainability initiatives, by putting sustainability at the heart and center of their business.
Their vision for a more sustainable future echoes louder than ever with various stakeholders becoming cognizant of how sustainable luxury is being achieved by everyone in the team and resonates across the entire organization.
With the growing interest in these initiatives, the resort recently opened its doors to its corporate clients, immersing them on the eco-luxury practices that are seamlessly embedded in the property’s hospitality operations.
In an afternoon of insightful exploration around the property, City of Dreams Manila hosted its corporate clients to a “green tour” to depict how it is becoming to be a carbon neutral and zero waste resort by 2030, in alignment with the ‘Above and Beyond’ sustainability strategy of its parent company Melco Resorts & Entertainment. The tour took the clients to four of the resort’s green facilities — e-bike charging station for colleagues; solar solutions; vermicomposting facility; and herb garden — allowing them to delve into a few of the sustainable practices that enhance the resort’s brand of hospitality service.
The e-bike charging station encourages colleagues on the use of sustainable transportation. Complementing this are the 3,120 PV solar panels that can generate 1,600MWh annually, which also contribute to the property’s decarbonization efforts. The first among integrated resorts to utilize this renewable energy and cleaner energy resource, the solar solution reduces City of Dreams Manila’s reliance on fossil-fuel-based energy sources.
The guests also visited the vermicomposting facility and herb garden at the parking building’s rooftop where they got to experience re-potting of herbs and discover how vermicomposting reduces the property’s food waste. They saw how both facilities result in a circular and regenerative system. In 2022, 145 metric tons of food waste were composted through the onsite vermicomposting facility, providing a nutritious soil amendment for the gardens. Continually nurtured, the vermicompost system has produced over seven metric tons and 3,300 liters of vermicast and vermitea, respectively, over the year. These nutritious fertilizers then support the herb garden, which then provides about 276kg of fresh herbs for the resort’s kitchens.
The tour ended at Haliya, City of Dreams Manila’s modern Filipino restaurant, where a display highlighted the resort’s food and beverage sustainable initiatives, and an innovative Filipino merienda showcased the use of fresh herbs from its rooftop garden.
“Sustainable Luxury resonates with everyone these days, and through this tour, we wish to share with you our commitment to sustainability. We thank you for this opportunity to show you how our resort seamlessly integrates green practices in our guests’ experiences,” says Director of Sales and Marketing Jennylyn Santillan who together with her team hosted the green tour, an initiative to support the ethos of the property enunciated by Property President Geoff Andres, that “sustainability and luxury can be woven together”.
For its sustainable initiatives, Forbes Travel Guide, the globally recognized rating system for luxury hotels, restaurants, and spas, named City of Dreams Manila in 2023 as Finalist in the inaugural Responsible Hospitality Award, for its outstanding level of commitment to sustainable practices at the luxury level. City of Dreams’ three FTG-rated hotels are also recipients of the 2022-2024 ASEAN Green Hotel Award for upholding sustainable tourism through environment-friendly principles, resource consumption reduction, and local community involvement.
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