Happyzine 2015 = exciting times ahead

From setting up car pooling schemes through to up-cycling 24 tonnes of waste carpet into new products, New Zealanders are going ‘beyond the hour’ for this year’s Earth Hour in some ingenious planet-saving ways.  On Saturday 26 March at 8.30pm, Earth Hour invites people, businesses and organisations in New Zealand and around the world to switch off lights and non-essential appliances to make a stand for the planet.

A record 131 countries and territories are registered to take part in Earth Hour and this year Earth Hour invites participants to go ‘beyond the hour‘ – pledging actions they will sustain throughout the year to help protect our world.

It’s an invitation that people in Tauranga – one of five communities supported by WWF’s Earth Hour Community Fund – have taken to heart.

Forty-one organisations in Tauranga have made ‘Beyond the Hour’ pledges, include Carpet Court who have set the goal of reducing their waste by 20% by the end of the year, diverting waste products from landfill and reusing them instead.  KILT Clothing’s Beyond the Hour pledge is to recycle all of its product packing, whilst Bay of Plenty Regional Council is launching a car pooling scheme to reduce pollution.

It’s part of Tauranga City Councils ‘Sixty 4 Sixty’ challenge for Earth Hour, as Michelle Elborn, Sustainability Advisor for Tauranga City Council explains: “The idea of the ‘Sixty 4  Sixty’ Earth Hour campaign  is to challenge Tauranga businesses, schools and organisations to make commitments for sustainable action beyond Earth Hour.  We thought this is a great way to showcase positive action and we’re so proud that 41 local organisations are joining international companies and pledging to go beyond the hour.”

Reducing energy consumption is high on the Tauranga Earth Hour community’s agenda – Ports of Tauranga have pledged to reduce electricity consumption and increase awareness of electricity conservation amongst port users, whilst Aquinas College students and staff are being encouraged to take the bus, walk or car pool.  Students have also grown and cared for 1000 seedlings to be planted along the local expressway.

These Tauranga companies join international giants such as Nokia, Coca Cola and IKEA in their support of Earth Hour.  Leading Chinese internet company Baidu has pledged to reduce office resource consumption, including paper, water and electricity, by 30 percent from 2010 levels, while the Holiday Inn Atrium Singapore has committed to replacing the light bulbs in all of its 504 guest rooms to energy-efficient LED bulbs.

Lee Barry, Climate Change Campaigner at WWF-New Zealand commented: “This year, Earth Hour’s global message is strongly focused on inspiring people and organisations to build on the momentum of Earth Hour emphasise what we all need to do once the lights come back on.  It’s inspiring to see this happening in New Zealand, and great to see how Tauranga organisations are getting involved alongside businesses and organisations globally.”

Andy Ridley, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Earth Hour commented: “We have developed the Beyond the Hour online platform for people, organisations and companies around the world to show what can be done, by showcasing and sharing their actions throughout the year.”  The Earth Hour Beyond the Hour online platform is at www.earthhour.org/beyondthehour

Tauranga District Council is one of five New Zealand councils and community groups supported by WWF-New Zealand to run Earth Hour events inspiring people to go ‘beyond the hour’.  Earth Hour is open source enabling any council, community group or individual to organise their own event using free downloadable materials from www.earthhour.org. People can also visit www.facebook.com/earthhournz to post details of Earth Hour events in New Zealand, find out what’s happening in their neighbourhood, connect to the global community, and make their ‘beyond the hour’ pledge.

Tags: earth hour