Press Releases Green Buildings

Sands Expo and Convention Centre awarded prestigious LEED® Platinum Green Building Certification

Published by Marina Bay Sands Singapore

June 28, 2019

Singapore (27 June 2019) – Marina Bay Sands has achieved the LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum for its state-of-the-art Sands Expo and Convention Centre. This marks the industry’s first MICE venue in the Asia Pacific to attain this recognition for Building Operations and Maintenance.

Developed by the U.S Green Building Council (USGBC), the LEED rating system is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. It recognises buildings designed, constructed, maintained and operated at the highest levels for improved environmental performance. The accolade comes at the back of a similar recognition attained by the integrated resort’s ArtScience Museum when it secured the LEED Gold certification last year.

Ian Wilson, Senior Vice President of Non-Gaming Operations, Marina Bay Sands, said: “The LEED green building rating system is a global symbol of sustainability recognition. It’s a world standard that sustainable operators aspire to achieve. With this recognition, Marina Bay Sands is now placed alongside some of the world’s most sustainable and innovative buildings. Being the first convention centre in Asia Pacific to be LEED Platinum certified strengthens our commitment to lead the industry and inspire others to join us towards a more sustainable future.”

“Sands Expo and Convention Centre’s LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, President and CEO, USGBC. “LEED was created to make the world a better place and revolutionize the built environment by providing everyone with healthy, green and high performing buildings. Sands Expo and Convention Centre serves as a prime example of how the work of innovative building projects can use local solutions to make a global impact on the environment.”

The following sustainable efforts contributed to the decision to certify Sands Expo and Convention Centre LEED Platinum:

Utilising energy saving initiatives e.g. LED lights, programmable lighting and air conditioning system, enabling the convention centre to be 42 per cent more energy efficient than similar rated buildings in the world
Adopting a rigorous waste management strategy that resulted in over 50 per cent of all operational waste – such as paper, cardboard and plastics – being recycled
Installing water efficient indoor plumbing fixtures to achieve 66 per cent more water efficiency than similar rated buildings in the world
Ensuring that 100 per cent of convention operations are carbon offset
Educating and engaging the convention centre’s staff about sustainable practices such as measuring and recycling waste through activities and events

Asia Pacific’s most sustainable MICE venue

Reducing environmental impact lies at the core of Marina Bay Sands’ overall operations. Within the convention centre, sub-metering of MICE floors allows organisers to effectively track energy usage across specific areas. Motion sensors are fitted to lights in all 250 meeting rooms, saving up to 2.9 million kWh of energy each year.

Additionally, Marina Bay Sands is working with service providers on renewable energy credits to offset carbon emissions of the convention centre, making the entire operations of the MICE facility carbon neutral. This makes every meeting and conference held at Marina Bay Sands a sustainable one, to begin with, at no additional costs to organisers.

Since the integrated resort opened in 2010, it has brought in over 650 new-to-Singapore events and increased the number of green meetings from just five to over 480 last year. The leading MICE venue also hosted over 3,600 events and welcomed over 1.4 million delegates last year.

Two green events that have been held at Marina Bay Sands were the Schneider Electric Global Innovation Summit (20-21 September), as well as the 7th Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development (RBF) (11-12 October), organised by Global Initiatives (GI) in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

For both events, specially created ‘Earth-friendly’ menus containing a higher-volume of certified environmentally-friendly products were used.

The Sands Expo and Convention Centre was also the first MICE facility in South East Asia to obtain the ISO 20121 Sustainable Events Management System certification in 2014. It is also a Green Mark Platinum building, certified by Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority.

About Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd

Marina Bay Sands is the leading business, leisure and entertainment destination in Asia. It features large and flexible convention and exhibition facilities, 2,560 hotel rooms and suites, the rooftop Sands SkyPark, the best shopping mall in Asia, world-class celebrity chef restaurants, a theatre and an outdoor event plaza. Completing the line-up of attractions is ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands which plays host to permanent and marquee exhibitions. For more information, please visit www.marinabaysands.com