Month: June 2024

Published by Las Vegas Sands on February 22, 2024

Marina Bay Sands donated nearly $375,000 in January to the National Arts Council’s Sustain the Arts (stART) Fund to establish the Sands Innovative Arts Fund, which will support Singapore’s emerging artists and innovation in artistic endeavors. The contribution marked one of the largest donations Marina Bay Sands has made in support of the arts since its opening in 2010.

Establishment of the Sands Innovative Arts Fund kicked off the resort’s three-year partnership with the National Arts Council, cementing its commitment to becoming a platform for the arts and providing guests and community members with vibrant cultural experiences.

“The arts have the power to inspire, challenge and transform communities,” said Paul Town, chief operating officer, Marina Bay Sands. “Through the Sands Innovative Arts Fund, we are proud to play a role in shaping the future of the arts scene in Singapore. This donation reflects our commitment to fostering creativity and innovation in the arts space for future generations.”

This new initiative underscores Marina Bay Sands’ and Sands China’s commitment to promoting a thriving local arts and cultural scene and protecting assets that make their communities great places to live, work and visit – and premier tourism destinations.

Over the past year, Sands’ regions have increased support to promote and expand their communities’ artistic and cultural offerings by establishing new programs and investing in local initiatives.

Marina Bay Sands: A Key Force in Singapore’s Arts Community

Marina Bay Sands’ establishment of the Sands Innovative Arts Fund is an expansion of the resort’s wide-ranging dedication to nurturing a thriving local arts scene, encouraging emerging talent and making art easily accessible to the community. The fund aims to support emerging artists in their creative outreach to the community, as they explore new technologies and innovative ways of making art and engaging audiences. In addition, it will give small arts groups a path to long-term sustainability.

Since Marina Bay Sands’ opening, supporting the local arts has been an integral part of the resort through its ArtScience Museum, which has become a coveted platform for local and international artists.

Beyond its diverse array of installations and cutting-edge exhibitions, the museum introduced two new programs in 2023 to advance the work of Singaporean artists. ArtScience Encounters enables local artists to transform hidden and overlooked spaces with compelling art attractions. The ArtScience Residency program provides a platform for creators to grow and kicked off with a two-year residency by Singapore’s Cesar Jung-Harada, who is exploring renewable energy sources and sustainable sea transport to address the climate crisis.

Marina Bay Sands also offers the Art Path program, which features 11 large-scale art installations created by eight internationally renowned artists. The site-specific art exhibits extend from the 23-story atrium in the hotel towers to the exterior of the buildings, creating an inspiring and breathtaking path through the resort.

Sands and Marina Bay Sands have combined to invest in the advancement of local artists and their work through a partnership with Art Outreach Singapore and its membership in the Sands Cares Accelerator. This signature global Sands Cares program empowers nonprofits to build their capacity in a strategic area or develop a new initiative to make greater impact in the community.

Art Outreach completed its three-year Sands Cares Accelerator membership at the end of 2023 and focused its time in the program on growing its HEARTH initiative, which provides local artists with exhibition space where they can share and develop work along with professional development opportunities. With program funding from Sands and hands-on mentoring, guidance and support from the Marina Bay Sands team, Art Outreach has been able to establish and steadily shepherd this program as a key platform for local artists.

Beyond visual arts, Marina Bay Sands also supports a thriving local performing arts scene. In 2023, the resort revived its Sands Live entertainment showcase, which was introduced in 2014 but had been on hiatus due to the pandemic. Sands Live features the biggest stars from Asia and beyond, and 2023 performances included Asian pop megastar Joey Yung, popular Hong Kong artists Hacken Lee and Andy Hui, and Taiwanese pop singer Zhao Chuan, along with the China Hip-Hop Power Live show at the resort’s Marquee Singapore night club.

Sands China Celebrates Region’s Artists and Performing Arts

Like Marina Bay Sands, Sands China also has permanent and dedicated space for highlighting the arts within its resorts to contribute to a thriving local arts scene. The Sands Gallery at its Grand Suites at Four Seasons provides the region with a leading showcase for the area’s rich arts community and hosts numerous exhibitions and events to present Chinese culture and other attractions.

Launched in early 2022, the Sands Gallery represents the company’s ongoing contributions to the diversification of art and culture in Macao and providing a platform for collaboration among local and international art talent. Most recently, the Sands Gallery hosted the CONTEMPO X Gallery UG exhibition, which was Sands Gallery’s first showcase of Japanese artists. The exhibition highlighted the essence of contemporary Japanese art and culture with diverse artworks that provided an enriching and rewarding art experience.

Sands China also introduced the Sands Performing Arts Program in 2023 to support and strengthen Macao’s cultural and artistic growth. In its inaugural year, the program featured 10 national and international performances in music, dance and Cantonese opera that attracted more than 11,000 attendees.

“We are pleased to leverage our diverse resources through the Sands Performing Arts Program, continually bringing world-class performance art projects from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Europe, as well as promoting artistic exchange between Macao and other regions,” said Dr. Wilfred Wong, executive vice chairman of Sands China. “Our goal is to create a vibrant atmosphere for art appreciation while expanding our audience base, thus laying a solid foundation for the development of Macao’s local creative and cultural industries.”

Highlights included Poetic Dance: The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting; The Peony Pavilion, a play performed during the China Theatre Plum Blossom Award competition; the legendary Cantonese opera, Floral Princess; and Vienna-based quartet, Janoska Ensemble’s unique interpretations of classical pieces. In addition, Sands China continued its New Art Studies in Filming – Micro Movie Support Program in 2023 by hosting five movie premiers over the year and launched the second New Art Studies in Filming Macau – Micro Movie Support Program in January 2024.

Beyond on-site programs, Sands China also collaborated with the community on local arts celebrations, co-presenting exhibitions as part of Art Macao 2023 and hosting a seminar in partnership with Macau Youth Art Association, which aimed to inspire more than 100 local artists and students. The company has also supported and sponsored Macau Cultural Affairs Bureau events such as the Macau Art Festival, International Music Festival and the Macau Orchestra. Sands China also recently launched Sands China’s Community Revitalization Series – Spring Festival in Full Bloom, part of the company’s support for the Macao government’s plan to revitalize local historic cultural areas.

Sands’ and its regions’ dedication to perpetuating and celebrating local arts and cultural heritage is one of the company’s core focus areas under the Community pillar its global corporate responsibility program and the Sands Cares community engagement program. To learn more about the company’s initiatives in this area, read the latest environmental, social and governance report: https://www.sands.com/2022-environmental-social-and-governance-report/

Webster’s Pan Asian Collective proudly celebrated AAPI month with company-wide events like “Passport to Pan Asia” to honor and create awareness of the different Pan Asian cultures. Many thanks to our Business Resource Group Co-Chairs for organizing so many opportunities for our colleagues to learn and participate!

About Webster 
Webster Bank (“Webster”) is a leading commercial bank in the Northeast that provides a wide range of digital and traditional financial solutions across three differentiated lines of business: Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking and Healthcare Financial Services, one of the country’s largest providers of employee benefits and administration of medical insurance claim settlements solutions. Headquartered in Stamford, CT, Webster is a values-driven organization with $76 billion in assets. Its core footprint spans the northeastern U.S. from New York to Massachusetts, with certain businesses operating in extended geographies. Webster Bank is a member of the FDIC and an equal housing lender. For more information about Webster, including past press releases and the latest annual report, visit the Webster website at www.websterbank.com.

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June 11, 2024 /3BL/ Today, Chemours announced the seventh edition of its annual Sustainability Report, outlining the Company’s progress toward meeting its 2030 Corporate Responsibility Commitment (CRC) goals. The report titled “Partnering for Progress,” showcases how Chemours embraces partnerships to deliver innovative products responsibly and more sustainably, share its success with others, and drive business value.

Chemours’ 2023 Sustainability Report highlights include:

Achieved a 52% reduction in operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since 2018—on track for a 60% reduction by 2030.Reached a 59% reduction in total process fluorinated organic chemical (FOC) emissions to air and water since 2018—on our way to a 99% or more reduction by 2030.Met and surpassed our Sustainable Supply Chain goal, assessing the sustainability performance of 81% of suppliers by spend, with 24% demonstrating improvement in sustainability performance. Additionally, 85% of Chemours’ supplier partners scored above the average threshold of all companies rated by EcoVadis.Developed a framework with the Wildlife Habitat Council to conduct a nature assessment and implement a corporate-wide, nature-based initiative in 2024.Invested $3 million in the Center for Clean Hydrogen as part of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, which will work to solve the challenges of creating low-cost clean hydrogen and efficient hydrogen energy conversion.Expanded ChemFEST, our middle school STEM education partnership program, at five sites in the U.S. and Belgium.Earned Great Place to Work® Certification in 15 global regions, covering more than 92% of Chemours’ global workforce.

“Chemours’ commitment to sustainability and our values is unwavering. We’ve made significant progress against our Corporate Responsibility Commitment goals, prioritizing actions that improve how people live, power modern progress, and protect our planet for future generations,” said Denise Dignam, President and CEO of Chemours. “We are focused on priorities that matter to our company, customers, and stakeholders, and we fully integrate sustainability into our business decisions and actions across our organization.”

Chemours organizes its sustainability strategy and CRC goals around four pillars: Environmental Leadership, Innovation & Sustainable Solutions, Community Impact, and Greatest Place to Work for All. Inspired by the Company’s vision, these pillars guide the daily actions and decisions of its employees, from operations and product innovation to stakeholder and community engagement.

“The modern world continues to progress faster each year, and that brings both societal challenges and opportunities for creating a more sustainable world,” said Dr. Amber Wellman, Chief Sustainability Officer of Chemours. “Climate change, nature loss, social inequality, and public health are some of the most pressing issues of our time, and they require bold, collaborative action across society. At Chemours, we believe in the power of partnerships to find the best solutions to the biggest challenges and the opportunities they offer to accelerate progress. By working together, and through the unique capabilities of our chemistry, we help enable important applications that deliver on societal goals, such as transitioning to clean energy, driving innovation in low global warming potential thermal management solutions, advancing electronics and electrifying transportation, progressing a greener and more inclusive future, and helping improve lives everywhere.”

Strong partnerships are essential to making progress. Learn more about how Chemours’ partners are helping strengthen environmental stewardship and social responsibility in the 2023 Sustainability Report.