Caesars Entertainment Becomes First U.S. Company to Receive the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Materiality Matters Check; Follow G4 CORE Guidelines

LAS VEGAS, Dec. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2012, Caesars Entertainment Corporation achieved a total savings of approximately 750 million kilowatt-hours since its benchmark-year in 2007, representing an 8.5 percent absolute reduction in electricity and gas. The savings equal enough energy to power a community of more than 30,000 during this period.  

Additional details of the company's efforts and commitment to enhance the environment, employee well-being, guest experience and economic development, are available in Caesars Entertainment's fourth Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability report, "Vibrant Communities," released today.

The report is the first report from a U.S. company to be written in accordance with the GRI G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines CORE level. In addition, Caesars Entertainment submitted its report to the GRI for the Materiality Matters check, and GRI confirmed that all materiality disclosures are correctly located in the report as required by the G4 Sustainability Guidelines. The G4 Guidelines offer an international reference for disclosure of governance approach and of the environmental, social and economic performance and impacts of organizations.

"We're grateful for the recognition we've received for our CSR and sustainability initiatives, which are integrated into the way we operate our company," said Gary Loveman, Caesars Entertainment Chairman, CEO and President. "But we're even more proud of the effort our employees have made to help us achieve that progress."

Report highlights include:

• Environmental Stewardship: 
  • Completion of 37 corporate efficiency projects with an investment of $3.5 million delivering nearly 24 million kWh energy savings per year.
  • 24% waste diversion from landfill, measured for the first time.
• Commitment to employees:
  • 41% of women in management roles.
  • More than 3.6 million hours invested in employee training.
• Commitment to guests:
  • Increase in customer satisfaction scores 2.56 percent, reaching the highest satisfaction levels in our history.
  • In 2012, 85 percent of Caesars gaming revenues were related to customers' specific preferences, enabling Caesars to align special rewards with what customers wanted most. The hotel industry average was 56 percent.
• Commitment to communities: 
  • Caesars Entertainment takes a public stand on important issues to support vibrant communities and social justice, including supporting comprehensive immigration reform that both advances border security as well as streamlines the immigration process for those who are willing to work hard and complete the legal process.
  • In 2012, in the U.S. alone, Caesars employees donated more than 130,000 hours to support local communities.

"It's been a journey, but adhering to the G4 framework helped us identify and quantify the issues that matter most to our stakeholders and to our business, and we strive to strategically connect our sustainability efforts to the most critical global issues," said Caesars Entertainment's Vice President of Sustainability and Community Affairs Gwen Migita. "We hope that reporting our performance on issues related to our employees, the community, our guests and the environment offers a clear view as to how we conduct business and we welcome feedback."

The industry leader continually strives to make landmark progress in the corporate social-responsibility space. For the seventh consecutive year the gaming/entertainment heavyweight recently earned a perfect rating from the Human Rights Campaign's annual Corporate Equality Index.

"The purpose of a report such as this is to increase transparency," said Chris Perceval, director of corporate relations with the World Resources Institute. "As a major player in the gaming industry, it's imperative that Caesars not only illustrate but also measure its ethical, social, economic and environmental impact from the inside out. 'Vibrant Communities' offers a credible and realistic view of Caesars' challenges, progress and future targets. It is a high-quality report. We look forward to seeing where the company goes from here."

Caesars Entertainment Corporation
Caesars Entertainment Corporation is the world's most diversified casino-entertainment company. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, 75 years ago, Caesars has grown through development of new resorts, expansions and acquisitions and now operates casinos on four continents. The company's resorts operate primarily under the Caesars®, Harrah's® and Horseshoe® brand names. Caesars also owns the London Clubs International family of casinos. Caesars is focused on building loyalty and value with its guests through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. We are committed to environmental sustainability and energy conservation and recognize the importance of being a responsible steward of the environment. For more information, please visit www.caesars.com.

SOURCE Caesars Entertainment Corporation