MACAU, Oct. 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Melco Resorts & Entertainment continues to support the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment spearheaded by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in collaboration with UN Environment Programme. As the world’s first hospitality and integrated resort company to sign up to the global initiative to tackle plastic waste and pollution, Melco is also the industry’s only company to be included in the first New Plastics Economy Global Commitment 2019 Progress Report. Published at the Our Ocean Conference in Oslo on October 23, the report provides an unprecedented level of transparency on how almost 200 businesses and governments are reshaping the plastics system.

As a signatory of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment since March 2019, Melco is driven by a strong focus around environmental sustainability which is core to its strategy and daily operations. Melco has committed to reducing the use of problematic plastics and promoting circular economy across its global operations, including at its integrated resorts City of Dreams Macau, Studio City, Altira Macau, and City of Dreams Manila.

Ms. Denise Chen, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer of Melco Resorts & Entertainment, said, “We realize the amount of plastic consumed at integrated resorts is considerable and could make a substantial difference. As such, we are pleased to have become the first hospitality and integrated resorts company to sign up to New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, developing roadmaps across our global operations to address the use of single use plastic (SUP). Whilst it is undoubtedly a massive initiative to undertake, we are committed to doing so, and stand in support of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the UN Environment Programme’s call for more businesses to sign up to the commitment to help eliminate problematic packaging.”

Key points from the Melco progress report include:

• The anticipated achievement of the commitment to remove all SUP bottles throughout Melco’s employee areas by the end of 2019. SUP water bottles have been replaced with the provision of refill/drinking stations, saving approximately 244,000 bottles per year, representing 3.5 tonnes of PET plastic.
• The continued development of a roadmap to reduce SUP. The scope of this SUP roadmap will cover amenity kits, garbage bags, plastic bottles, straws, disposable food and beverage (F&B) containers and utensils. The first comprehensive waste audits of the Company’s integrated resort operations were undertaken this year, which identified the key sources of plastic packaging in our operations.
• By weight, the majority of Melco’s branded plastic packaging comes from beverages served in SUP bottles. The Company is seeking alternative solutions which not only eliminate the use of SUP in its operations, but also enhances the guest experience.
• The Company is replacing SUP F&B containers and cutlery with non-plastic alternatives, which will help reduce 9.5 tonnes of SUP.

About Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited

The Company, with its American depositary shares listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (NASDAQ: MLCO), is a developer, owner and operator of casino gaming and entertainment casino resort facilities in Asia and Europe. The Company currently operates Altira Macau (www.altiramacau.com), a casino hotel located at Taipa, Macau and City of Dreams (www.cityofdreamsmacau.com), an integrated urban casino resort located in Cotai, Macau. Its business also includes the Mocha Clubs (www.mochaclubs.com), which comprise the largest non-casino based operations of electronic gaming machines in Macau. The Company also majority owns and operates Studio City (www.studiocity-macau.com), a cinematically-themed integrated entertainment, retail and gaming resort in Cotai, Macau. In the Philippines, a Philippine subsidiary of the Company currently operates and manages City of Dreams Manila (www.cityofdreamsmanila.com), a casino, hotel, retail and entertainment integrated resort in the Entertainment City complex in Manila. In Europe, the Company is currently developing the City of Dreams Mediterranean integrated destination resort project (www.cityofdreamsmed.com.cy) in the Republic of Cyprus, which is scheduled to open in 2021 and expected to be the largest premier integrated destination resort in Europe. The Company is currently operating a temporary casino, Cyprus Casinos, the first casino in the Republic of Cyprus and three satellite casinos with a fourth satellite casino scheduled to open by the end of 2019. Upon the opening of City of Dreams Mediterranean, the Company will operate the City of Dreams Mediterranean integrated resort and continue to operate the four satellite casinos. The Company also holds equity interests in Crown Resorts Limited (“Crown”), a company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and which operates two of Australia’s leading integrated resorts, Crown Melbourne Entertainment Complex and Crown Perth Entertainment Complex. In the United Kingdom, Crown operates Crown Aspinalls, a high-end licensed casino in London. Crown’s development projects include the Crown Sydney Hotel Resort at Barangaroo on Sydney Harbour. Crown also holds equity interests in the Aspers Group and Nobu and has interests in various digital businesses. For more information about the Company, please visit www.melco-resorts.com.

The Company is strongly supported by its single largest shareholder, Melco International Development Limited, a company listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and is substantially owned and led by Mr. Lawrence Ho, who is the Chairman, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

About the New Plastics Economy

Over the past four years, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative has rallied businesses and governments behind a positive vision of a circular economy for plastics. Its 2016 and 2017 New Plastics Economy reports captured worldwide headlines, revealing the financial and environmental costs of waste plastic and pollution.

For further information: newplasticseconomy.org | @circulareconomy

About the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment

At the heart of the Global Commitment is a vision of a circular economy for plastic, where plastics never become waste. Each signatory formally endorses the vision and the need to work towards achieving it.
Read the entire vision: newplasticseconomy.org/assets/doc/npec-vision.pdf

About the Ellen MacArthur Foundation

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was launched in 2010 with the aim of accelerating the transition to the circular economy. Since its creation, the charity has emerged as a global thought leader, putting the circular economy on the agenda of decision-makers around the world. The charity’s work focuses on seven key areas: insight and analysis; business; institutions, governments, and cities; systemic initiatives; circular design; learning; and communications. With its Knowledge Partners (Arup, Dragon Rouge, IDEO, and SYSTEMIQ), the Foundation works to quantify the economic opportunity of a more circular model and to develop approaches for capturing its value. The Foundation collaborates with its Global Partners (BlackRock, Danone, DS Smith, Google, H&M Group, Intesa Sanpaolo, Philips, Renault, SC Johnson, Solvay, Unilever), Core Philanthropic Funders (The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation, SUN, MAVA, players of People’s Postcode Lottery (GB)) and its CE100 network (businesses, universities, emerging innovators, governments, cities, affiliate organizations), to build capacity, explore collaboration opportunities and to develop circular business initiatives.

Further information: ellenmacarthurfoundation.org

For media enquiries, please contact:
Chimmy Leung
Executive Director, Corporate Communications
Tel: +852 3151 3765
Email: chimmyleung@melco-resorts.com

Source: Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited