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INTERVIEW WITH KATARINA TESAROVA - MGM MIRAGE
Why Las Vegas? It may seem a contradiction. I think it’s one of the American cities which needs more energy for surviving…Luxury is an inherent characteristic of Las Vegas. That’s why people come here. We as a business have to meet and exceed our guests’ expectations. However, as a leader in our industry, we are doing it in a more responsible way. Conservation has been our value for many years now, even though it is often invisible to our customers. There has been a perception that if you want to have a sustainable or environmentally responsible product, you need to give up something. We were able to show that this is no longer true. You can have a very high-end product that is also sustainable. Most people who visit CityCenter will not notice that it is a green project. And that is the point, to make sustainable practice a mainstream practice.
Which are the first reactions of the citizens and visitors to that project?
CityCenter is like anything in Las Vegas. With its striking architecture and urban setting, it is a departure from the traditional Las Vegas themed resorts. It is common to walk around the project and notice people in awe as they look and point to the different architectural and design elements of the development.
Can amusement and sustainability coexist?
Absolutely. It is very important to us. As part of our business, we provide meals, entertainment and accommodations to millions of guests every year, so we have a great opportunity to do it in a sustainable manner to conserve natural resources. Many conservation measures we have built into CityCenter so that guests enjoy themselves without paying attention to the operations.
Which standards did you adopt for selecting green materials?
We gave a preference to materials that have recycled content. This helps to reduce the demand for extracting, harvesting or mining of virgin materials. We also gave a preference to local materials (coming from within 500 miles) in order to reduce transportation. We chose low VOC (volatile organic compounds) products that do not release harmful chemicals into the air.
We chose many wood products that are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. FSC certification guarantees that these products come from forests that have sustainable management practices in place. In fact, in 2009, CityCenter won the first place in the commercial category from the FSC.
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KATARINA TESAROVA
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Katarina Tesarova is
a Senior Project Manager for the Energy and Environmental Services Division of MGM MIRAGE, one of the world’s leading and most respected hotel and gaming companies. In this capacity, Katarina plays an integral role in implementing company’s strategic plans for sustainability by providing management, guidance and subject matter expertise. Most recently, Katarina was responsible for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) building certification process of CityCenter, an USD$ 8.5 billion, mixed-use urban destination in Las Vegas, Nevada. She managed the LEED compliance process during four years of design and construction. Under Katarina’s leadership CityCenter achieved six
LEED Gold certifications, making it the largest new construction LEED certified project in the world.
Katarina is recognized for her expertise in green
buildings and has served on various prestigious panels and committees, including the Sustainability and
Efficiency Task Force for the United States Department
of Homeland Security. She also volunteers as a life skills class teacher at The Shade Tree, a non-profit organization that provides safe shelter to homeless
and abused women and children in crisis in Las Vegas.
Katarina received her law degree from Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia. She also earned a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree with
a concentration in Finance from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Katarina is a LEED Accredited Professional and is a member of the Green Building Council of Nevada.
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And what about the building certification?
We categorize sustainability measures into three categories: design, construction and operations. In the design category, the sustainable measures include the efficient building systems and high performance building envelopes.
In the construction category, we looked for opportunities to minimize the impact of the construction on the environment. A great example is recycling of construction waste. We were able to divert from landfill more than 93% of all the waste generated by CityCenter construction.
In the operations category, we looked for measures that make the operations of our buildings during their lifetime more environmentally responsible. A great example of that is development of the first fleet of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) limousines in the U.S. CNG vehicles produce less greenhouse gas emissions than their conventional gas-fueled counterparts.
However, we couldn’t just order a few of them, because there were no CNG limousines available on the market. So we partnered with a company that helped develop and build this innovation.
Energy, water, urban waste, air conditioning… which are the most innovative solutions you adopted for these matters?
We incorporated combined heat and power generation (co-generation) on the site. Our project is perfectly suited for this type of technology due to our steady demand for electricity and hot water.
Unlike conventional power generation, we are capturing the waste heat and utilizing it for a productive purpose (in our case, heating of domestic hot water and pools). In addition to that, by generating the power on the site, we avoid transmission losses. Finally, by burning natural gas, our power generation results in much less greenhouse gases than the conventional grid power.
Is this project in progress? Do you think that other green buildings can be realized in future in that area?
CityCenter as a project is complete, but we anticipate that it will have a profound impact on the future sustainable projects in Las Vegas. When we first started there were no LEED certified project in Nevada and there was no infrastructure for sustainable construction. For example, when we started construction, there were no companies that could recycle large-scale construction waste. CityCenter assisted a small recycling company to expand its facility and purchase new trucks and bins.
Because of our efforts, future projects will not have to face the same challenges.
Which are the main differences between this project and other sustainable cities such as Masdar?
CityCenter is currently the largest LEED certified new construction project in the world. There are many other large green projects underway in the U.S. and around the world, which indicates a changing trend in the design and construction industry.
Some of the greatest architects collaborated with that projects. So, do you believe that energy efficiency, saving and environmental principles can coexist with quality of life and aesthetics?
There is no doubt that environmental principles can live together with quality of life and aesthetics. One of the greatest contributions of CityCenter is its impact on the markets of sustainable products and materials. Due to its large scale and buying power, CityCenter was able to drive the development of new environmentally responsible products. For example, CityCenter partnered with a faucet manufacturer to develop plumbing fixtures that not only perform well, but are also water efficient and aesthetically pleasing. Now, these fixtures are available on the market for anyone to buy.
Do you think the experience of Las Vegas could be transferred to other American cities or abroad?
CityCenter demonstrates that you can have a high-end, luxury project that is also sustainable. It shows that there is no trade-off between sustainability and aesthetics or sustainability and function. It is our hope that many new projects will be encouraged by our efforts to incorporate sustainability into their design, construction and operations.
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