Earth Hour action plan for Businesses and Corporates

The link between the environment, sustainability, business, economy and lifestyles is no longer an issue that can be ignored. Businesses today need to work in a sustainable manner to find real solutions to our environmental problems. It is time that businesses become accountable for their actions and responsible in their business practices, while still being profitable.

Here’s how your business can participate in Earth Hour!

Switch Off on 26 March 2012

1. Turn out the lights in your buildings, facilities and signage for one hour at 8:30pm on Saturday, 26 March 2012 and encourage participation at every level in your organization. Communicate Earth Hour to all staff using email, newsletters, posters, intranet, SMS, website, staff associations and committees. Encourage staff, colleagues and their families to commit to ongoing positive actions for the environment both in the workplace and at home.
2. Communicate Earth Hour to your other offices nationally and globally. Encourage organisation-wide participation in Earth Hour as well as a commitment to actions beyond the hour that reduce your organisation's ecological footprint.
3. Communicate Earth Hour to your partners and clients. Share information about what your organization is doing to reduce its environmental impact with partners and clients, and urge them to consider what they can do.
4. Communicate Earth Hour to customers: Encourage them to take part in Earth Hour 2012 at 8.30pm on Saturday 26 March and commit to an ongoing action that benefits 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.
   • Include Earth Hour messages on bills/statements/catalogues/other printed material you send to customers.
   • Promote your commitment to Earth Hour in stores, branches, foyers, terminals, stadiums, shopping centres by putting up Earth Hour posters.
   • Run joint promotions in the lead-up to Earth Hour.
   • Are there other ways you can spread the Earth Hour message through your facilities, services, products and channel?
5. Communicate Earth Hour to the general public using your advertising, PR and other channels: Support Earth Hour by donating advertising space or by running your own Earth Hour advertising product in the two-week lead-up to 26 March. Modify existing Earth Hour advertising product - print, radio, TV, outdoor and online advertising - to include your brand and specific Earth Hour message. Or create new product. Earth Hour can supply existing artwork for modification and logos.

 Go beyond the hour

Given the wide sphere of influence of business there is a significant opportunity for these organisations to work in a sustainable manner and help drive real solutions to our environmental problems.

Here are some ways businesses can contribute towards reducing their impact on the environment:

1. Begin to understand and map your carbon emissions and energy footprint, you don’t have to do everything in one go – but it is good to know where you are starting from and map out a plan of action.  There is a well used saying: ‘You can’t manage what you don’t measure’ – so look to use that as your starting point for action.
2. Manage down the emissions that are easiest by making small changes in your organisation that will make high impact energy efficiency gains
3. Take broader action to influence suppliers and get involved in making wider changes to your polices and practice that will influence a broad set of stakeholders

Plan and Measure:

• Map your organisation’s energy usage, get an energy audit done
• Map your organisation’s carbon footprint (this includes factors such as waste and travel)
• Everything doesn’t have to be done in one go.  Create a road map of actions and activities for your organisation to take, starting with easier to implement activities, moving to more broader change within your organisation and the way it projects itself to suppliers, vendors and other stakeholders 

Manage:

• Based on the your Carbon Footprint and Energy Audit begin to take action, focusing on doing simple activities first:
  • Switch off lights in the office, reduce paper wastage and encourage double sided printing, avoid use of stand by options for electronic equipment like computers, printers, fax machines and copiers during non business hours.
  • Replace appliances in the office with Star Rated appliances; shift from Desk tops to laptops – which are far more energy efficient.  100 desktops replaced by laptops will reduce your annual CO2 emissions by 20500-27900 kg!
  • Upgrade lighting fixtures by installing CFLs and LEDs and save upto 70% electricity
  • Ensure timely maintenance of buildings to ensure faulty taps and leaks are fixed quickly – a lot of energy is used in cleaning and pumping water to buildings
  • Where possible, encourage staff to take alternative transport measures rather than drive by themselves to work each day. Eg. Establishing a page on your intranet dedicated to carpooling, or encourage flexible work practices
• Many organisations will have initiated change within their offices and can start to look at wider opportunities:
  • Harness the ideas and interest of your staff by developing a network of team members interested in Green Initiatives, you will be surprised at the level of interest and some of the amazing ideas your people come up with.
  • Implement smart building systems to help with energy and lighting management in offices eg. Install lighting occupancy sensors that automatically turn off lights when rooms are unoccupied.
  • Learn about Green Ratings for buildings and consider as an option for any planned office move.  The Green Building Council of India provides a handy definition “A green building is one which uses less water, optimises energy efficiency, conserves natural resources, generates less waste and provides healthier spaces for occupants, as compared to a conventional building." Why not visit their website for more ways to get involved in the Green Building Movement?
  • Build lasting relationships with smaller or related organisations to share your approach to reducing emissions and increasing energy efficiency
• As your organisation increasingly embeds sustainability and climate change practices, there will be an opportunity to be identified as a leader and influence the actions of suppliers and vendors:
  • Map your supply chain CO2 emissions and assess the reduction measures you can implement – taking into account both internal and external practices.  Begin to communicate with suppliers and vendors your vision for more climate friendly services and products and encourage them to take action
  • Think about the products you produce and build in efficiencies that reduce environmental impact in the manufacture and use of the product - this will become increasingly important if you supply to government as they work to establish sustainable procurement guidelines.  Where possible reduce emissions produced through transportation of products by manufacturing locally
  • Join networks to reinforce and build on leadership, such as the Climate Savers Initiative – there are leading companies that have over the past decade, with the help of WWF, reduced emissions by 50 Million tonnes