On June 8, the United Nations observes World Oceans Day 2024, which aims to raise global awareness of the benefits humankind derives from the ocean and individual and collective responsibility to use its resources wisely.
The observance underscores the importance of ocean health in preserving the Earth’s environment and essential resources for all life. According to the UN, the ocean produces at least 50% of the planet’s oxygen, is home to most of the Earth’s biodiversity, and provides the main source of protein for more than a billion people around the world. Moreover, the UN notes that the ocean is key to the world economy, with an estimate that 40 million people will be employed by ocean-based industries by 2030.
“Protecting ocean health is an essential component of our global sustainability program,” Katarina Tesarova, senior vice president and chief sustainability officer, said. “Our initiatives are focused on both conservation, as well as education, with our resorts leading the charge to reduce our impact and promote greater understanding of the need to address ocean health.”
World Wide Fund for Nature Partnership
One of the central components of Sands’ efforts to protect ocean health is Marina Bay Sands’ work with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the leading organization focused on wildlife conservation and endangered species. Since 2015, the partnership has helped ensure the resort’s supply chain addresses ocean health through guidance from WWF on seafood sourcing, supplier engagement, verification of data and traceability, and chef education.
In 2017, Marina Bay Sands extended its work with WWF further into the supply chain by investing more than $400,000 in WWF’s efforts to strengthen ocean resiliency and champion responsible seafood production in the Asia-Pacific region. Through this effort, Marina Bay Sands has underwritten the participation of nine farms and one fishery in WWF’s aquaculture and fishery improvement programs, with Sankina Aquaculture becoming the first shrimp farm in Malaysia to receive Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification.
In Macao, Sands China also has fostered partnerships to protect ocean waterways in its region. Since 2020, Sands China has been a member of and participated in the working group for the Hong Kong Sustainable Seafood Coalition (HKSSC), which works to increase sustainable seafood availability and improving traceability.
Responsible Seafood Sourcing
Another of Sands’ strategies around ocean health is procuring seafood responsibly, which includes promoting sustainable sourcing to chefs and eliminating or reducing certain types of seafood from company-owned restaurants and food service operations. For example, Sands has established internal policies to eliminate sourcing of shark fin and restrict offering of bluefin tuna in its restaurants and catering operations. The company also targets sourcing of seafood certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and ASC. With more than 200 restaurants in its resorts around the world, Sands’ sourcing policies can make a significant impact, while increasing awareness about responsible procurement among its Team Members and restaurant partners.
Ocean Health Education
Sands’ regions also have taken an active role in promoting ocean health by leveraging art and science exhibits at its resorts as platforms to educate visitors and residents. Last year, Sands China sponsored the University of Saint Joseph’s Sea of Plastic: A Recycled Art Exhibition, which harnessed the power of plastic-based art installations to demonstrate the impact of plastics on the ocean, marine life and human lives. The exhibition featured 3D displays created by students and local artists who composed their art pieces from recycled plastics and materials collected at beach cleanups and other sources. The exhibition culminated a year-long effort to educate about plastic pollution and promote sustainable practices.
At Marina Bay Sands, the ArtScience Museum™ has featured the Sensory Odyssey exhibit, which gave visitors the rare opportunity to intimately explore in 4D some of the natural world’s most extraordinary environments, including the world’s oceans, and the living creatures and organisms that inhabit them. Natural habitats featured in the exhibit came to life in stunning original footage shot around the world by natural history filmmakers, and the exhibit culminated by having visitors collectively create a mangrove installation that grew as they contributed to the display. Leveraging its partnership with WWF, Marina Bay Sands donated a portion of exhibit ticket prices to support the planting of 20,000 mangrove trees in the Rajang Belawai-Paloh Delta in Sarawak, Malaysia, an important habitat for the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin.
To learn more about Sands’ work in the areas of water, biodiversity and sustainable sourcing, read the company’s latest ESG Report: https://www.sands.com/resources/reports/.