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March 1, 2010
Earth Hour toolkit helps businesses power down
Nina Winham
For bchydro.com
Last year, a billion people around the world were involved, including 10 million Canadians. This year, expect the numbers to grow, at least in Prince George.
The event is Earth Hour, a movement to switch off the lights for one hour, at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 27. Launched in 2007 by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), it has captured the global imagination as a way to demonstrate concern about environmental issues, especially climate change. Which is a great reason for businesses to get involved.
A poll by Environics Research Group last year found that companies who switch off for Earth Hour switch on their customers' respect. The poll found that:
- 90% of Canadians would feel more positive about a company or organization that participated in Earth Hour;
- 74% of Canadians would be more likely to buy the company's products/services; and
- 77% of Canadians would be more likely to recommend the company to friends and family.
The poll was commissioned by WWF and is reported in their "Earth Hour Business Toolkit" that's available for download. The toolkit offers ways for companies to take part in – and promote – Earth Hour, including specific ideas for hotels, restaurants, retailers and property owners. There are also toolkits for educators and individuals.
Promoting Earth Hour in Prince George
In Prince George, local organizers are selling tickets to a whole evening of Earth Hour festivities.
"We're hoping to have 60 people take part," says Sherry Powney, the Visitor Centre Manager at Tourism Prince George. "Folks will have a candlelight dinner at one of three participating restaurants, then they'll come back to The Exploration Place [a local museum and science centre].
"We'll watch a film together, have dessert and coffee, and have a discussion. I'm really looking forward to it – I think it's going to be fun to have everyone on board."
During Earth Hour 2009, BC Hydro registered a drop in electrical demand of more than 72 megawatts, the equivalent of turning off 1.5 million lights.
Images of lights going dim around the world – at Parliament Hill, Times Square, the Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel and CN towers, the Sphinx, and on Vancouver's own Lion's Gate Bridge – demonstrate the collective conservation power of adding up many individual efforts. (Images and a video are available on the Earth Hour site).
And of course, that's the point: to ultimately inspire people to keep Earth Hour going beyond the single event, into a global shift towards conservation.
That's Sherry Powney's goal too.
"This is personal as well as professional for me," she says. "I think conservation is really important. If we can get even 60 people to take part, and if each of them take it back to their work, and tell even one person one thing they can do to save energy, it's that domino effect. It helps everybody in the end."
Nina Winham is a Vancouver-based sustainability consultant and regular contributor to bchydro.com.
