Macau-based sustainability organisation Sustaincia has joined the Sands Cares Accelerator programme, a three-year initiative by Las Vegas Sands Corp and its local unit Sands China Ltd. The initiative aims at helping non-profit groups scale their impact through funding, mentoring and strategic support.
Sustaincia becomes the second Macau non-governmental organisation to enter the programme, according to a recent press release from Sands China.
Under the partnership, Sustaincia plans to expand the use of technology to convert food waste – including bakery products, rice and cooking oil – into commercially-useful materials.
Under the initiative, Sustaincia also will focus on turning its community lab in Macau into a hub for research and innovation in food waste “valorisation” – the process of transforming discarded materials into value-added products – while creating opportunities for local entrepreneurs and researchers.
According to the update, the community laboratory model will bring together academic and industry participants to develop sustainable applications for food waste and explore commercially viable outcomes. The initiative aims to establish new business activity linked to environmental innovation while strengthening Macau’s sustainability credentials, it added.
Ron Reese, senior vice president of global communications and corporate affairs at Las Vegas Sands, said in prepared remarks that Sustaincia was selected because of its alignment with the company’s own sustainable food initiatives.
“Beyond having a solid vision to improve food waste management in Macau, Sustaincia was a great selection for our programme because of its alignment with our own sustainable food initiatives,” Mr Reese stated.
He added: “Another factor we look for is the ability of an organisation to sustain their goal after they leave the Sands Cares Accelerator, and we believe Sustaincia has established a strong plan for long-term impact.”
The Sands Cares Accelerator provides participating organisations with funding support, planning assistance and consultancy guidance during their three-year membership period. Previous participants have included community groups in Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore, where the group runs the Marina Bay Sands casino complex.
Terence Lee, president of Sustaincia, was cited as saying that Las Vegas Sands and Sands China were providing the organisation “with vital resources to realise our vision for improving food waste processes through advanced technology, while driving business and job prospects to further sustainable impact”.
“We believe the progress we make in our identified focus areas over the next three years in the Sands Cares Accelerator can have impact in Macau for years to come,” Mr Lee added.
In a separate announcement, Las Vegas Sands said that the Asian Community Development Council (ACDC) has joined the group’s Sands Cares Accelerator programme.
ACDC’s goal for its Sands Cares Accelerator membership is to lay the foundation for creating a permanent cultural and resource hub where it will deliver services and programmes to support the Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community, according to a release.
The ACDC is described as a not-for-profit and non-partisan organisation of volunteers “dedicated to building, connecting, and educating the AANHPI community” in Nevada, in the United States.
