HOLLYWOOD, FL – Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming have partnered with Ocean Conservancy, a leading non-profit dedicated to protecting oceans from today’s greatest global challenges. Together, they will advance sustainability actions across Hard Rock and Seminole Gaming properties, and the communities and tourist destinations they serve.
The Global Sound Waves sustainability partnership with Ocean Conservancy builds upon the ongoing work of Save The Planet sustainability teams at local Hard Rock and Seminole Gaming properties. By focusing on the upstream management of water and food waste, as well as material waste, the campaign helps to promote waste audits that identify alternatives and diversion opportunities, while emphasizing how data informs the company’s goal-setting for waste reduction.
From September through November 2024, the campaign produced four waves:
- Team Member Education: Over 230 employees participated in a global trivia event to build the knowledge and skills that can make a difference. Six winners emerged from various locations, including Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, Hard Rock Hotel Desaru Coast, Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City and Hard Rock Hotel Goa.
- Operational Waste Innovation Competition: A contest produced 45 submissions from front-line employees across Europe, Asia and North America, who identified innovative solutions to reduce waste. The first-place winner was Jair Alexander Lopez Espericueta from Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta. Second and third place winners were Shanda Howard from Hard Rock Cafe Waikiki and Hanna Stensland from Hard Rock Cafe Tromso.
- Donation Campaigns: Funds from Hard Rock Casinos’ “Change For Change” program in October 2024 raised $75,000 for Ocean Conservancy. Gamers donated change from redeemed gaming vouchers to the Hard Rock Heals Foundation to benefit Ocean Conservancy’s mission to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges and create evidence-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it.
- Community Cleanup Events: On November 16, Hard Rock, Seminole Gaming and Ocean Conservancy coordinated a series of global activations aimed at protecting the environment, promoting biodiversity and reducing plastic pollution. Participating properties included Seminole Hard Rock hotels and casinos in Florida (Hollywood, Immokalee, Coconut Creek), as well as Hard Rock Cafe Sacramento, Hard Rock Hotel Maldives, Hard Rock Hotel Bali, Hard Rock Hotel Desaru Coast and Hard Rock Casino Ottawa. Prior to November, other community waste reduction and biodiversity events were activated across Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati, Hard Rock Hotel & Casinos Sioux City, Atlantic City, Rockford, Hard Rock Hotels Dalian, Cancun, Vallarta, Tenerife, Los Cabos, Riviera Maya, Shenzhen, Bali, Hard Rock Cafes Sharm El Sheikh, Nabq. These events will become part of Global Sound Wave in the future.
Ocean Conservancy is a leading organizer of beach cleanups around the globe, having launched the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) in 1986. Since then, more than 18 million ICC volunteers have joined local cleanup efforts big and small to remove over 385 million pounds of trash from beaches and waterways worldwide.
“We are proud to collaborate with Ocean Conservancy to launch Global Sound Waves as our signature event to reduce waste, celebrate success and expand sustainable solutions across our company’s global operations,” said Paul Pellizzari, Vice President of Global Social Responsibility for Hard Rock International. “At Hard Rock, one of our cherished mottos is ‘Save the Planet,’ and through our global team members’ common actions we aim to reduce waste and drive meaningful change to protect our planet.”
“From plastic pollution to climate change and beyond, the ocean is facing threats that can only be addressed through bold, global action and widespread public interest,” said Jenna DiPaolo, Chief Brand and Communications Officer at Ocean Conservancy. “Partnering with a hospitality brand like Hard Rock, which is so beloved and reaches so many different people and places around the world, will expand our audience of ocean lovers and environmental advocates while having meaningful, measurable impacts on the ground through cleanup and related waste reduction efforts.”