How your business can support

Businesses are in a great position to show their commitment to protecting our planet and implementing practices and offering services that enable employees and customers to make changes to reduce their impact on the planet. Show employees and customers you’re supporting Earth Hour and contributing to global environmental change!

Here are some tips for how your business can support Earth Hour 2013 and showcase your business’ sustainability commitments and achievements with your customers, employees, peers and suppliers be it big or small:

  1. Switch off non-essential lights at 8:30pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013

    • Turn off non-essential lights in your buildings, facilities and signage during Earth Hour 2013
    • For larger buildings, plan ahead with facilities and building managers to manage the logistics of switching off non-essential lighting– including neon lights – in and around your properties.
  2. Communicate Earth Hour to your staff, partners, clients, suppliers and other networks

    Business support for Earth Hour is about every level of your organization becoming involved, from CEO and Board members through to administrative staff, suppliers and other interested stakeholders.
    • Communicate Earth Hour to these groups using email, social media and the website
    • Include Earth Hour messages in your newsletters, intranet, posters, staff and committee meetings
    • If you have offices around the world, ask them to participate as well.
    • Add a tagline to your company signature blocks and spread the word!
  3. Communicate Earth Hour to your customers

    Encourage your customers to take part in Earth Hour and commit to actions that benefit the planet.
    • Include a link to the Earth Hour website from your homepage or host an Earth Hour banner on your homepage
    • Include Earth Hour in any email or SMS bulletins you send to customers
    • Promote your commitment to Earth Hour in stores, branches, foyers, terminals, stadiums, shopping centers by putting up Earth Hour posters
    • Run joint promotions in the lead-up to Earth Hour
  4. Go beyond the hour with your business practices & community involvement

    Earth Hour is not just for one hour. It's about making a commitment to ongoing change that reduces your impact on the environment and creates better, safer and healthier communities.
    • Support the Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC): In 2012, sixty-six communities in five countries participated in WWF’s Earth Hour City Challenge. In the US alone, 29 municipalities joined this growing community of local civic leaders striving to reduce carbon pollution and prepare for the impacts of climate change.
    • Reduce your impact on the environment:
      • After hours, turn off devices like printers, commuters, coffee machines and turn off office lights or install motion-sensor lighting
      • Install energy saving lights bulbs and devices (e.g. timers on lighting)
      • Switch your business’ electricity to Gold Standard Green Power
  5. Share your Earth Hour story with the world

    • Participate in the “I Will If You Will” (IWIYW) campaign. Through a dedicated You Tube platform–youtube.com/earthhour–you can share a challenge with the world to help create a sustainable future.

The Earth Hour toolkit is available to facilitate your participation in Earth Hour 2013. You can download posters, banners, sample letters to employees and suppliers and more