Post Twitter Chat Q&A with Caesars Entertainment

By Caesars Entertainment

On October 25, Caesars Entertainment and TriplePundit hosted a Twitter chat to discuss corporate social responsibility at Caesars. Using our eighth annual Citizenship Report entitled People Planet Play as inspiration, we explored topics ranging from environmental sustainability to employee engagement to diversity and inclusion.

The chat was moderated by TriplePundit. Featured guests during the chat included:

• Gwen Migita (@CitizenCaesars) – Vice President Sustainability & Corporate Citizenship


• Sarah Sculpher (@EmpireCasino) – Chief Marketing Officer for EMEA


• Beau Swanson (@HarrahsSoCal) – HRSC VP of Marketing


• Noel Stevenson (@HarrahsResort​​) – PR Director

If you missed Caesars Entertainment’s People Planet Play Twitter chat, you can check out a recap here.

We got so many great questions that we ran out of time to answer them all. Read on to see the other things folks were curious about, plus our responses.

Q23 from @Maximizealot: What are the key INPUTS to employee #well-being @CitizenCaesars #CaesarsPPP @Leadthediff Employee wages and benefits, training and development, diversity and inclusion, employee volunteer time and employee health and wellness to name a few. See the infographic at left for a quick snapshot of important 2016 highlights.

Q24 from @weinrichc: How are you working with other CSR professionals in LV and AC and other areas where you are? #CaesarsPPP We are always interested in creating maximum impact and wherever possible we collaborate with others in the industry to make sure our People Planet Play programs are doing the most good.

Q34 from @rightfuture: Re: Employee Health - do #ServingSizes with regard to food & food waste get discussed? #CaesarsPPP Q37 from @rightfuture Mmm and what about #servingsizes #CaesarsPPP We are not addressing serving sizes at this time, but it’s a great idea.
We are committed to the wellbeing of our team members and fund more than $15 million each year to support our industry-leading, award-winning Wellness Rewards program. Our Wellness Rewards program has consistently achieved high participation rates of more than 80 percent of our eligible 
team members and their spouses. 

Q21 from @LeoRaudys: What if any CSR issues do Caesars customers/guests care about  the most and how do you know/measure? #CaesarsPPP

Our guests care most about employee wellbeing and environmental impact through our CodeGreen environmental strategy. Harrah’s Southern California guests who saw messages about CSR in marketing emails were more likely to recommend Harrah’s and Caesars Entertainment.

Q22 from @dayoungtx: What is Caesars doing with respect to waste management/waste diversion? #CaesarsPPP Q28 from @3blnow: Do you guys still hide the #recycling bins at #casinos? I think people want to see them! #CaesarsPPP

We don’t hide the recycling bins, but on the casino floor in Las Vegas and some other regions, we offer a single stream solution so people can throw recycling into the same bin as non-recycling and it will be sorted behind the scenes.

At our Las Vegas properties, we sort recyclable and compostable items from trash in a comprehensive waste diversion program. Food waste such as fruit and vegetable peelings are diverted for composting in our kitchen, while food waste resulting from unfinished meals are sorted out of unrecyclable waste at our trash docks. We also sort recyclables like paper, plastic, glass and aluminum from unrecyclable waste at our trash docks. Recycling bins are provided at other properties across the nation for guest and back-of-house use.

We have aggressive waste diversion goals. We recently announced our aim to divert 50 percent of total waste from landfill by 2020 and by 60 percent in 2025. We take a multipronged approach to this by addressing recyclables and e-waste. We recycle soap and bottled amenities through our Clean the World partnership.

Q25 from @SustBizPartners: How do you screen your vendors for #sustainability? Guest room soaps, restaurant suppliers, casino chip makers...? #CaesarsPPP Q26 from @EarthShiftGlbl: Where have you used #LifeCycleAssessments in developing/tracking your #sustainability goals? #CaesarsPPP Q29 @TrishaStezzi: Can you share any examples of Caesar's B2B #Sustainability Programs? #CaesarsPPP #CSR

In 2011, Caesars conducted a life-cycle analysis to understand which items in our properties have the most significant environmental impact. Through collaboration with expert organizations like World Resources Institute and CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project), we identified paper, electronics, meat, poultry and eggs to provide the biggest opportunities to take action. For example, with support from The Humane League and other animal rights organizations, we are working with our committed suppliers to ensure a safe, adequate supply of cage-free eggs to achieve a 100-percent cage-free egg supply chain by 2025.

Caesars achieved 71-percent of its targeted suppliers reporting GHG emissions to our Supply Chain Program with the CDP in 2017. To identify and prioritize improvements where they are most needed, we estimate the entire carbon footprint of Caesars’ total supply chain spend, and compare carbon footprints of different expenditure categories. We’re focused on the following high-priority areas to improve the sustainability of our supply chain: seafood, gaming equipment and beverages. ­­­

Q33 from @GrnSup: RT Q from @SusanHeaney: Begs the question... what can casinos do to raise rainforest awareness? #CaesarsPPP

The health of the rainforest is critical to the health of our planet, so we see protecting it as part of our overall climate strategy.

Q27 from @SocialEarth: Maybe a random question, but what about water use in Las Vegas? All those fountains… #CaesarsPPP Q32 from @alexisjmorgan: What happens to the water savings; who gets the savings? That + what is @CaesarsEnt doing to address basin risk? #CaesarsPPP Q38 from @alexisjmorgan: Kinda...surprised that @CaesarsEnt isn't more worried about water given what's happening in the Colorado & Lake Mead. Viability of Vegas? #CaesarsPPP

Largely out of necessity, as well as a natural inclination for innovation, the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) has developed and implemented one of the most progressive and comprehensive water conservation programs in the country. Conservation efforts have helped reduce the community’s Colorado River consumption by 30 billion gallons between 2002 and 2016, even as the population increased by more than 600,000 residents during that time.

Water is a big concern for us at Caesars, too. This year, we were one of only 73 other companies to make CDP’s Water A list due to our work addressing water security. We place great emphasis on measuring and monitoring how much water we use and look for ways to reduce our water use. In the U.S., we have reduced water use by 19 percent since 2008. Our current goal is 20 percent reduction in water use by 2020 and 25 percent by 2025.

Q31 from @SustBizPartners: Do you have goals/metrics for using certified products in your properties, ie #fairtrade, #organic, #biobased, #energystar, etc? #CaesarsPPP

In the last several years, we've proactively engaged our suppliers to identify third party certified products (e.g. Rainforest Alliance certified, Fair Trade Certified, certified organic, Marine Stewardship Council certified) as well as those produced with reduced packaging or packaging made with recycled content. Learn more about our goals and metrics in our 2017 CSR report.

Image credit: Caesars