Las Vegas Sands, Sands China named to Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for North America and Asia Pacific
Las Vegas Sands has been recognized on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), with placement on the DJSI World Index for the fourth consecutive year and the DJSI North America Index for the eighth time. Sands China, the company’s Asian subsidiary, has been named to the DJSI World and DJSI Asia Pacific indices for the second consecutive year.
Sands and Sands China are the only two companies in the Casino and Gaming category listed on DJSI World this year, out of 19 companies invited to participate. Sands is the only company in the category listed on DJSI North America, and Sands China is one of only two companies in the category listed on DJSI Asia Pacific.
The DJSI World Index comprises global sustainability leaders as identified by S&P Global through the Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). It represents the top 10% of the largest 2,500 companies in the S&P Global BMI based on long-term economic, environmental, and social criteria.
The DJSI North America and DJSI Asia Pacific indices represent the top 20% of the 600 largest North American companies and the top 20% of the 600 largest companies in the Asia Pacific developed region in the S&P Global BMI based on the same criteria.
“Our recognition on this premier global sustainability benchmark, following our recent inclusion as one of Newsweek’s America’s Most Responsible Companies, underscores the impact of our corporate responsibility initiatives and ESG leadership,” Patrick Dumont, President and Chief Operating Officer, said.
“We aim to be the employer and partner of choice in our regions, a model corporate citizen working to ensure the strength and resiliency of our communities, and the industry leader in environmental sustainability.”
Sands’ DJSI inclusions also reflect the company’s adaptability in aligning efforts and reporting to the major methodology changes and public disclosure expectations made for the CSA this year, the company said.
Sands also has established 2021-2025 goals in the areas of workforce development, team member volunteerism, and carbon emissions reduction, mapping to its People, Communities, and Planet corporate responsibility pillars.
Under the People pillar, Sands plans to invest $200 million in workforce development by 2025. As of 2022, the company had invested $56 million in workforce development initiatives, bringing its cumulative investment to $113 million since 2021, well past the halfway point.
The global Sands Cares community engagement program leads initiatives under the Communities pillar and drives the company’s priorities on hardship relief, education, nonprofit and local business advancement, disaster relief and preparedness, and cultural and natural heritage preservation.
In support of these issues, Sands set a 2025 target to contribute 150,000 Team Member volunteer hours by 2025; however, the company surpassed this goal by the end of 2022 “because of extensive support for pandemic-related initiatives, along with core Sands Cares volunteer efforts.” The new 2025 target will be announced in the company’s next ESG report in spring 2024.
Sands’ 2025 environmental ambition is to achieve a 17.5% reduction in carbon emissions. As of 2022, Sands had achieved a 50% reduction in carbon emissions from its 2018 baseline; however, the cumulative decrease reflected the continued pandemic-related impact on property visitation.
The DJSI, including the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World), was launched in 1999 as the pioneering series of global sustainability benchmarks available in the market. The index family is comprised of global, regional, and country benchmarks.
The S&P Global CSA is an annual evaluation of companies’ sustainability practices. It covers over 10,000 companies from around the world. The CSA focuses on sustainability criteria that are both industry-specific and financially material and has been doing so since 1999.
