TrailHiker: local environmental awareness grows

Robert Kirby, director of Macau TrailHiker

Over the past five years, Sands China Macau Eco TrailHiker has been encouraging citizens to explore a greener side of Macau. The event seems to have grabbed the attention of an increasing number of participants throughout past editions, with team entries rising by around 8 to 10 percent each year, Mr Robert Kirby, director of  Macau TrailHiker, told the Times.
This year’s edition is set to take place on November 8, again offering participants two distances to choose from: a 30-kilometer corporate challenge route and a 10-kilometer family/fun course route.
The TrailHiker takes participants on a journey through Coloane’s green trails, whilst drawing on a charity element, as enrollment fees are donated to local organizations.
The 425 teams’ target set for this year was reached in 22 days after registrations opened, the event organizer stated. 1,700 people will be participating.
Robert Kirby believes that the event’s increasing popularity could be linked to a growing environmental awareness, too.
“More and more citizens are realizing that the water we drink, the food we eat, and the air we breath is not of the same quality as it was 15 years ago and that we need to try to do something to slow down the degradation of these vital resources,” he said in an email.
Furthermore, the Macau Trail-
Hiker director stressed that citizens now see their health and wellbeing as part of being “eco minded.”
“They are starting to take greater care of their minds and bodies and this includes getting out and exploring the Green Side of Macau,” he added.
Ms Melina Leong, senior vice president of PR & Community Affairs, Sands China Ltd., holds a similar opinion, and sees TrailHiker as a community event that encourages a diverse group of people to explore and appreciate the nature of Coloane Island.
“With the charity element in place, it is meaningful for the participants to be promoting environmental protection and helping the underprivileged while having a nice day out at the same time,” Ms Melina Leong stressed.
Sands China’s sponsorship for the fourth consecutive year is included in the operator’s strategy to promote environmental responsibility within the Macau community.
To emphasize the event’s greener side, the word “eco” was added to TrailHiker’s title this year. Moreover, organizers have set greater goals ahead: “over the next three to five years we aim to reduce our carbon footprint from the Sands China Macau Eco TrailHiker,” said Robert Kirby.
Measures to accomplish such a goal include reducing the usage of plastic water bottles by 50 percent; using recycled materials for TrailHiker items like banners and other marketing materials; lunch buffet for the teams providing local sustainable food items; and a donation of used running shoes.
Robert Kirby told the Times that further initiatives will be introduced in cooperation with Sands China.
Speaking about a possible expansion of the event, Robert Kirby recalled that organizers “are careful to expand the event slowly” to ensure that the TrailHiker’s DNA and values will remain.
The 10KM Fun & Family event sold out first, he pointed out. As this course is reaching capacity, organizers will be exploring how the number of teams can grow in upcoming editions.
As for the 30KM Corporate Challenge event, the course has seen a 40 percent increase in its teams this year. “This is where we still have much scope to grow,” Robert Kirby stated.
This year, the Macau TrailHiker chose two organizations that will benefit from enrollment fees. The Association of Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers of Macau (ARTM) and Clean the World – organization recycling soaps to curb hygiene-related illnesses in developing countries – are the chosen beneficiaries.
Macau Daily Times is the event’s media partner.

increasing eco-friendly measures

In addition to Sands ECO360° Global Sustainability strategy, the company says they have been expanding eco-friendly initiatives, such as promoting a green meetings program, partnering with Clean the World in recycling hotel soaps or acquiring a food waste digester.
The food waste digester, for instance, “allows us to treat the upstream waste generated from the kitchens and team members’ dining rooms, converting the waste into bio-water and thereby enabling us to decrease the amount of waste sent to landfills,” stressed Ms Melina Leong, Senior Vice President of PR & Community Affairs, Sands China Ltd.
Since the measures’ inception, the company says it has saved 52 million kWh energy, having installed over 300,000 LED/energy saving lights. “Installation of water efficient shower heads in most hotel guest rooms and water efficient flow controllers have saved 490 million liters of water” since the first year of operations,” she added.

Catarina Pinto