Make a Green New Year's Resolution

Dec 31, 2013 11:00 AM ET

CodeGreen Blog

At Caesars, setting measurable targets is one of the keys to our environmental progress.  This same approach is easily applied to personal and professional lives; creating tangible goals is important to keeping us accountable to the future we want for ourselves and the next generation.  That’s why for this coming New Year, we challenge our colleagues and friends to set green resolutions for a more sustainable 2014.

The best resolutions are challenging but attainable- and set with a steadfast commitment to success.  For those of us striving for a greener lifestyle, the Huffington Post has offered up some great eco-friendly goals:

  • Buy less bottled water: Invest in a BPA-free, reusable hard bottle and drink from the tap.  If you’re weary about water from the faucet, buy a tap-filter or pitcher-filter for home and a filtered water bottle for the road.
  • Stick with reusable shopping bags: While plastic bags can be recycled in theory, only 1% actually are in the U.S.  Store reusable bags in your car so you’re less likely to forget them on your next trip to the store.
  • Eat less meat:  From the farm to the table, meat has a heavy impact on the environment.  About 634 gallons of water are used to produce just one hamburger and if each American cut meat and cheese from their diet for just one day a week, it would be equivalent to taking 7.6 million cars off the road.
  • Reduce Paper Waste:  At this point, we know the importance of recycling paper products but we should also be proactive in reducing our demand.  By opting out of paper bills and subscribing to digital magazines and newspapers instead of paper ones, we can cut down on our individual paper waste.
  • Drink from a reusable mug:  American office workers use about 500 disposable cups per person very year.  The simple act of keeping a mug at the office can reduce this number significantly.

A great perk of implementing eco-friendly goals is that they often save you money- so you’ll be going green in more ways than one!  And you won’t be alone; in 2014, Caesars will be working towards its own corporate sustainability goals.

Energy Conservation

  • Short term: 20 percent reduction per air-conditioned square foot from 2007 to 2015 – ACHIEVED
  • Long term: 40 percent reduction per air-conditioned square foot from 2007 to 2025

Green House Gas Reduction

  • Short term: 10 percent reduction of absolute GHG emissions at domestic properties from 2007 to 2013 – ACHIEVED
  • Long term: 40 percent reduction of domestic GHG emissions per air-conditioned square foot from 2007 to 2025

Water Use                

  • Short term: 10 percent reduction of usage per air-conditioned square foot from 2008 to 2015 – STATUS: 7 percent reduction as of fall 2013
  • Long term: 15 percent reduction of usage per air-conditioned square foot from 2008 to 2020

Waste Diversion

  • Short term: 25 percent diversion of domestic waste from landfills by 2014. – STATUS 24 percent diversion as of 2012
  • Long term: 50 percent diversion of domestic waste from landfills by 2020

We look forward to sharing our journey towards our environmental goals with you over the next year and hope you decide to take on a few eco-resolutions of your own.  For more helpful tips about setting green resolutions for the New Year, check out the Huff Post Article for all 10 goals and the Sierra Club to join their Go Green 2014 resolution.

Caesars wishes you all a happy, healthy, and more sustainable New Year!