Upping the Ante on Sustainability

Over the last fifteen years, FireKeepers Casino Hotel has built a reputation for world-class gaming, entertainment and hospitality. Alongside that work, they’ve also built a reputation for being committed to preserving the environment. Until last year, their property along the I-94 corridor near Battle Creek, MI was lined with massive solar panel arrays that helped power the resort. The solar panels have since been retired, but FireKeepers’ passion for preservation is alive, well and poised to take their commitment to the next level.

With aggressive new goals, FireKeepers needed a new renewable energy solution. They contacted their energy provider, Consumers Energy, to learn what they could do to take their sustainability efforts even further than they had with the arrays. The result was a customized portfolio of efficiency and decarbonization measures. To learn more about the partnership, we spoke with their CEO, Frank Tecumseh and their VP of Facilities, Ray Vorraber.

FireKeepers Casino Hotel is owned by the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Pottawatomi. “[The tribe has] a vision and love for the environment, as well as considerations for the next seven generations,” says Tecumseh. Preserving natural resources that far into the future is a commitment that ripples outward from tribal-owned lands to surrounding communities, and across the entire state of Michigan.

“We are open 365 days a year, 24/7… so we have a lot of energy demand,” Tecumseh told us. Keeping a full-service casino and hotel —a combined 1,000,000 sq. ft. — operating at that capacity can create a large amount of carbon emissions. But with efficiency upgrades to equipment, investments in renewable energy resources and energy management through Consumers Energy programs, FireKeepers has been able to stay on track for their sustainability goals and even reduce their annual energy costs. “Thanks to Consumers Energy… we are hoping to be 100% carbon-free in the near future.” Tecumseh said.

Vorraber commented further, saying, “The Consumers Energy program[s] surpassed all of our goals of what we thought was possible.”

We asked Vorraber if there was any advice he would give other businesses looking to be a part of something bigger for themselves and for Michigan. He had this to share: “…you don’t have to know it all. You don’t have to be an expert. You need to partner with an expert — and we partnered with Consumers Energy.”

To inspire other businesses to explore sustainability programs, Consumers Energy invited Tecumseh and Vorraber to tell FireKeepers’ story as part of the ‘Something Bigger’ video series. Look for the complete video soon on our social media channels and website.