Las Vegas has a reputation as a city of excess. But there is one thing that ties us all together, from high rollers to average Joes: our responsibility to preserve our environment. Here at Caesars Palace, we’ve taken extraordinary steps to reduce our impact on the earth, and we wanted to share them with you.

Most recently, we’ve partnered with the Public Education Foundation to create the Reuse Teacher’s Exchange Program, so that conference and convention attendees can put unused pens, pads of paper, canvas bags and other items into the hands of schoolteachers.

We have also been recognized by Travelife magazine as well as by Harrah’s Entertainment’s companywide Code Green program for our industry-leading efforts.

Since Las Vegas is in its worst drought on record, water conservation is a high priority. We’ve replaced our standard shower heads with adjustable Moen fixtures, after getting rave reviews of them from our guests. We’ve also replaced 28,800 feet of the resort’s grounds with “zeroscaping,” incorporating drought-tolerant plants in raised planter beds. These two projects save 59 million gallons of water annually, enough to fill 98 Olympic size pools.

We’ve also replaced over 117,000 lights with more energy-efficient bulbs. You’ll find them in our guest rooms, on the casino floor, in the convention area and on our exterior. In 2008, we conserved over 39,000 BTUs of natural gas and 14 million KwH of electricity.

We use water stations instead of pitchers or bottles, saving plastic and reducing the use of cleaning chemicals. We also use biodegradable coffee cups and stir sticks. Even our restaurants are getting in on the act, participating in a property-wide cork recycling program.

Our recycling efforts keep getting stronger. Compared to 2008, we’re on a pace to increase aluminum recycling by 25% and paper recycling by almost a third. Also, we surpassed our 2008 totals in recycling food waste and glass in the first six months of 2009. We also give guests the option to reuse or replace their towels, as well as changing linens on request.

Our recycling efforts have made an impact – in 2008, we recycled 46,600 pounds of plastic, enough bottles to reach from the earth’s surface to the stratosphere three times over – and we’re doing even better so far in 2009. Our fryer grease and oil has been recycled into 162,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel. Even our Total Rewards® cards get recycled – 20,000 of them in 2008, to be precise.

And at Qua® Baths & Spa, care for the world we live in is paramount. Qua recycles all plastic and paper, uses biodegradable beverage cups, and focuses on products that are organic, hypoallergenic and packaged in biodegradable material.

For its entire 40-plus-year history, Caesars Palace has always looked forward, and it’s no different on this issue.

We hope that you will join with us as we increase our efforts to protect our fragile planet.