Las Vegas hardly conjures an image of sustainability. The grandiose lighting and fountains, the flashy sports cars, and the air of consumption all contribute to a general sense of a lack of responsibility—they don’t call it Sin City for nothing. One hotel, however, is setting the standard for responsible business models and environmental accountability.

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas’ many eco-friendly implementations include recycling and options for guests to opt out of washing towels and bed sheets every day. It’s also the only hotel in the city with Tesla charging stations. The Cosmopolitan has many moving parts to it, and getting every aspect of the hotel on board was both essential to the success of the green implementations and a difficult feat to accomplish. And when a business like this can successfully do so, the positive effects go beyond just those of Mother Nature. “One of the greatest benefits of implementing a sustainability initiative is the way that this program has empowered our CoStars (employees) to work together towards making The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas ‘green,’” says Simon Pettigrew, the hotel’s senior vice president resort operations.

Cosmopolitan Las Vegas

“We have had the benefit of working alongside some great leaders in the industry who are very committed to this effort both personally and professionally,” Pettigrew says. The Cosmopolitan makes sure to bring in experts for feedback and direction in order to keep the hotel on top of sustainability. Collaboration is essential for the long-term implementation of these initiatives, which means gaining cooperation from everyone. This requires taking the time to get a solid base for the initiatives and making sure every CoStar is properly trained and well informed. The advice The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas has for a hotel aspiring to add green initiatives into their programs is to “always look at the big picture.”

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“Since the inception of The Cosmopolitan in 2010, we have always been at the forefront of modernity in our product offerings and corporate mindset. We continue to improve our energy performance by being the first and only resort on The Strip to utilize Tesla’s as our house cars, which enables us to be more environmentally responsible. These changes are certainly for the better and we are committed to long-term goals of environmental impact reform,” says Pettigrew. This way of thinking is what has pushed The Cosmopolitan ahead of the other hotels in Las Vegas as far as eco-conscious customer satisfaction goes. This makes The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas a front competitor for tourism dollars.

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is always looking to make their green initiative more effective and take on more to make the hotel more efficient. While this means creating plans for sustainable energy usage in the hotel, it also means providing their Costars with enough information and resources that they can implement sustainability in their own lives. This makes the initiatives more personal for each CoStar and helps the longevity of the green programs. The company also provides CoStars with checklists, specification sheets and score cards so they evaluate their own work and keep track of the changes being made for a greener hotel.

“We will continue to work on evolving energy conservation and building the community for years to come,” says Pettigrew, a true measure of The Cosmopolitan’s dedication to going green. They are ready to take on the newest technologies in sustainability, like Tesla chargers, which gives The Cosmopolitan higher customer satisfaction and higher revenue as a result. Pettigrew says,“we are always working with our business partners to try and build and utilize advanced technologies to create a better, more sustainable building for our CoStars and guests.”

The Cosmopolitan exterior