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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL (CONSERVATORY) POWER STRIP "Th ere is a business reason for just about everything we do. " continued from page 57 Brophy, 37, admits he never imagined he would be the environmental champion for more than 62,000 employees. Before joining MGM's green team, he oversaw financial reporting and budget- ing for the Mirage Hotel & Casino (then the MGM Mirage corporation) and served as technology and operations director at The Breakers, a posh resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Coming to his cur- rent position from a corporate, rather than environmental, background has helped him con- vince colleagues that being green isn't just good for the Earth, it's also good for business. "There is a business reason for just about every- thing we do," he says. "When you think about MGM are racking up awards such as this for their environmental leadership. Brophy and This wall art (Second Time Around) was made by a former MGM employee out of re-used magazine pages and palm tree raffia. VIEW FROM THE TOP MGM's green initiatives for employees include encouraging the use of reusable drinking cups. conserving water, conserving electricity, reducing waste—all of those things ultimately end up with a lower operating expense." Brophy has implemented programs that save about 62 million kilowatt hours a year, which translates into millions of dollars saved in annual operating expenses. "Once [companies] are able to see it doesn't cost more," he says, "it makes everyone happy and enthusiastic to do the right thing." Green initiatives also help MGM attract business, because guests and convention organizers value sustainability measures, Brophy says. "If you look at the 10 greenest companies in the world, probably seven of them are customers of ours," he says. "When companies are looking for a site to hold meetings and conventions, they always ask about what you do that's environmentally responsible." MGM has come a long way since Brophy started in 2007, when its recycling rate was only 9 percent. That proportion rose to 33 percent in 2010 and an estimated 40 percent in 2011. That means the amount of waste diverted from landfills is equivalent to the weight of 75 fully loaded 747 jumbo jets. And MGM isn't done: The new fleet of environ- mentally friendly, fuel-efficient compressed natural gas limousines at Aria Resort & Casino and CityCenter is the first of its kind. "We do an excellent job," Brophy says, "but we are always striving to do even better." V Nearly 100 percent of Bellagio Conservatory exhibits reappear as mulch throughout the grounds of the property. i knew i'd made it when "Cindy Ortega, our senior vice president and chief sustainability officer, called one day out of the blue when I was working at The Breakers. She said her boss told her to find a way to get me back in the company." crucial reading "Michael Crichton's State of Fear. It's all about how environmental groups use the media to create a sense of urgency around certain issues. It helped me learn to communicate and produce tangible results as opposed to using more vague, fear-based language." after hours "I grew up a big fisherman, and I love when I can find the time to do that now. I never really considered myself an environmentalist until I had this role. Now I want my children to have the same opportunities that I had growing up camping and fishing. I take pride in anything I can do to make sure that can happen." las vegas perks "I like to get up on Sunday mornings and watch football at 10:30 AM. And I like that there are mountains and rivers and streams all around us. But it's also a place to interact and have experiences you can't have anywhere else. That's part of what drew me here to begin with." 58 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM