Since inception in 1993, Genting Hong Kong has held on to a commitment to contribute to the societies and people of Asia as we grow hand in hand with the region.
Over the years, as we develop and expand our businesses and deepen our foothold in Asia, this belief has manifested into a host of community relations, environmental efforts and scholarships / internships. These activities spanned across the region and touched upon the lives of thousands of beneficiaries.
Care about the Community
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Genting Hong Kong and its offices around the region are committed to caring for the communities that we operate in. Throughout the years, such commitment gradually wove into the fabric of our corporate culture, bringing forth a number of endeavors, most prominently employee volunteer activities, educational ship tours and donations.
To group individual employees' volunteer endeavors into a single entity to better serve the community, "Genting Hong Kong Volunteer Team" was officially formed in 2008. Since then, our employee activities directly touched upon thousands of those in need including elderly, children and underprivileged families.
With four cruise liners plying Asia's waters, Genting Hong Kong has worked with numerous non-profit groups and educational institutes to enable their constituents make use of our onboard venues for their meaningful gatherings and to learn more about cruising. These activities include educational ship tours, celebratory parties at festive occasions and graduation ceremonies.
In 2009, the company's CSR drive extended to eradicating poverty in rural area in China. We have donated a total of HK$150,000 to Heifer International, a global non-profit-making organization that raises funds to provide livestock and training to families to end hunger and poverty worldwide. Last year, Genting Hong Kong's donation helped alleviate poverty in remote areas in Sichuan, Hebei and Anhui in China.
Our joint venture integrated resort - Resorts World Manila - formed a CSR concern called WE-SEE (Wellness, Security, Environment, and Education) in 2009 to orchestrate a range of CSR efforts. It partnered with international youth organisation "Up With People" to enhance global awareness among youths involving a number of local youth charities. Underprivileged children and families were invited to enjoy musical performances at the resort's state-of-the-art Newport Performing Arts Theatre. In early 2011, the resort and Genting Hong Kong sponsored the Living for Christ Foundation's housing and social development project in the deprived area of San Simon, Pampanga. Resorts World Manila was recognized by the Philippine Red Cross as one of the top volunteer companies that helped save lives through its annual blood donation drive.
Throughout the years, Genting Hong Kong has worked with numerous non-profit-making organizations across the region, including Malaysia - Make-a-Wish, National Cancer Society of Malaysia and Project Aware Foundation; Taiwan - Social Affairs Bureau of Kaohsiung City Government; Hong Kong - WWF, Heep Hong Society, Institute of Advanced Learning, St. James' Settlement, Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups and Hong Kong Christian Service; and Manila - Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig, Smokey Mountain, Kaibigan Foundation, Gawad Kalinga, Our Life, Outreach and Bantay Bata and Pangarap Foundation. In particular, the undertakings in Hong Kong were recognized by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, which endorsed Genting Hong Kong as a "Caring Company" since 2008.
Nurture Students
Genting Hong Kong holds strong belief in people development.
In September 2011, we launched "Genting Hong Kong Regional Internship Programme", which aims to partner with reputable universities and educational institutes in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan. It targets to garner 100 tertiary final-year students from various disciplines of study including Mass Communications, Law, Marketing, Information Technology, Hospitality & Tourism and Business Studies into the programme annually.
Selected students will have the opportunity to learn first-hand the basics of running cruise and hotel businesses; and acquire a better understanding of tourism-related backend support. Through a work-based eight-week programme, which includes about 350 hours of on-the-job training, they will be based at Star Cruises ships, Resorts World Manila or GHK's affiliate offices around the region. We kicked off the programme with KDU University College in Malaysia, our first educational partner in Sep 2011.
Since 2002, Genting Hong Kong has sponsored about 30 academic scholarships for Hotel & Tourism Management undergraduate program students at Chinese University of Hong Kong. Open to all students with good academic background, the scholarship aims to contribute to the tourism workforce in the long run.
In 2008, Star Cruises donated HKD$6 million to the Xiamen University of China's Tourism Department to fund the construction of a faculty building, aiming to contribute to the development and growth of tourism industry in Xiamen.
Protect the Environment
Genting Hong Kong pays keen attention to the impacts that our various business undertakings have on the environment. One of our strongest initiatives in that regard is saving energy throughout our vast operations.
Since 2004, Star Cruises has implemented, and continued ever since, more than 100 energy-saving measures. These measures enabled our operations to consume less fuel and saved more than US$7 million every year. For instance, the measures on our 75,000-tonnage SuperStar Virgo included installing fuel optimization and dynamic trim tools, Napa Power and Eniram DTA; and improving hydrodynamic of the underwater hull and antifouling system. Drifting and air-condition savings on the rest of our fleet helped to augment our energy saving.
Star Cruises recently installed a food waste disposal mechanism on the Penang-homeported SuperStar Libra to lessen fuel consumption. It is estimated that more than 265 ton of fuel will be saved per year.
To enhance awareness of environmental protection, Resorts World Manila's WEE-SEE team participated in a tree-planting activity in Circulo del Mudo while the Genting Hong Kong Volunteer Team showed appreciation of the nature and its conservation through participation at WWF-Hong Kong's fund-raising "Walk for Nature 2010" in Mai Po Nature Reserve, one of Asia's finest wetlands brimming with biodiversity.
