Operators rise to the challenge of corporate social responsibility

Published: 04 January, 2012

Social responsibility is never far from managers’ minds in the gaming and amusements sector, thanks to their efforts to prevent and help with problem gambling.

But many are going beyond that, with projects that aid local communities, charities and the environment in a plethora of other ways. Such generosity has even been elevated to a philosophy, in MBA-land: corporate social responsibility, or CSR.

And though CSR may be a rather grand tag to apply to smaller businesses’ philanthropic activities such as sponsorships, in larger gaming and amusements organisations it can become a matter of policy as much as spontaneous wallet-opening.

Some give, outright, in cash or in kind. Hard Rock International, for example, donates “millions of dollars annually” to good causes such as WHY Hunger and The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Also in theU.S.,Detroit’s Greektown Casino-Hotel last month donated more than 3000 books to two schools in the city, theMarcusGarveyAcademyandRose-HillAcademy. It had collected them through a drive for book donations that it called Turning the Page on Illiteracy, with volumes contributed by guests, employees and other local businesses. It now plans to develop the programme further with other aid for local education such as mentorship and school adoption.

Back inBritain, meanwhile, the Grosvenor G Casino inStocktonauctioned off a dress that Miss Newcastle had worn for its launch (pictured). Proceeds went to Marie Curie Cancer Care, giving assistance to local people with terminal illnesses.

Others prefer to create community benefits through the way they run their own businesses. A large-scale example is MGM Resorts International, which won a WasteWise Gold Achievement award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this year, for its work on recycling food waste at its Las Vegas Strip sites. It has also won awards from other bodies for its glass, cardboard and paper recycling efforts.

Indeed, recycling by the gaming and hospitality industries may well be more than a token sustainability gesture, given the numbers involved. Last year, MGM’sLas Vegasoperations alone recycled 8722 tons of food waste, more than twice the amount it managed in 2007. The food – which would otherwise be thrown away – is used to feed pigs at a farm inNorth Las Vegas.

“With millions of people dining each year at our 165 restaurants and 11 employee dining rooms located on the Las Vegas Strip, MGM Resorts is committed to leading the way to reduce our waste [that becomes] landfill,” said senior vice-president of energy and environmental services Cindy Ortega.

Besides food recycling, MGM has policies in place covering energy and water conservation, green building, and sustainable supply chains, and like Greektown it has also run projects benefiting locals, including donations of school supplies to hard-pressed educators.

Fostering good relations even with those who aren’t particularly likely to become profitable gambling customers makes good business sense for casinos, as major employers and occasional targets of governmental or social disapproval. Perhaps it’s an approach smaller gaming operators can learn from, too.

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