Over sixty major companies commit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
02 Feb 2007
Already sixty major companies across Sydney have agreed to take part in Earth Hour on Saturday March 31, 2007 by turning off their building lights for one hour at 7.30pm. This is a major signal that corporate Australia is committed to reduce global warming.
This event is the first step to cut Sydney's greenhouse gas emissions by 5% in 2007. Twenty eight of the leading companies committed to Earth Hour are already part of the 3CBDs Greenhouse Initiative, run by the City of Sydney, with North Sydney and Parramatta City Councils, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The three CBDs of Sydney, North Sydney and Parramatta make up Australia's largest business district - covering 5,000,000 sq metres of the country's office space. Their commitment to Earth Hour shows their serious effort to reduce global warming.
Australia's commercial business sector is responsible for around 10% of national greenhouse gas emissions.
One of the companies committed to Earth Hour is Investa Property Group, a 3CBDs signatory which operates more than 20% of space in the Sydney CBD and listed on the Global 100 most sustainable corporations in the world.
"We promote many innovative sustainability initiatives to our tenants and fully support Earth Hour - we are asking more than 400 of our tenants to turn off their lights on the night and we will also turn off all the external lighting on our buildings, including advertising signage," said Craig Roussac, General Manager, Sustainability, Safety & Environment, Investa Property Group.
Greg Bourne, CEO, WWF-Australia said: "The support from the business community is outstanding - if we can show that we can work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions it sends a powerful message across Australia and the world that we can initiate major change."
Leading property services provider and 3CBDs signatory, Colliers International, will turn off lights in their five offices for Earth Hour and will request the same of their building tenants across Sydney.
"Earth Hour is just one part of our ongoing effort to reduce greenhouse emissions and increase energy efficiency within our organisation and we also have a unique opportunity to educate and influence large and small commercial owners and occupiers," said John Kenny, Chief Executive - Australia, Colliers International.
Earth Hour is about simple changes that will collectively make the difference to reduce emissions by 5%. Businesses turning off their lights when their offices are empty and turning off computers and office equipment rather than leaving them on standby is just the start. Many businesses are taking it further with green building design.
All businesses, workers and residents are urged to support Earth Hour. To find out how you can get involved visit www.earthhour.org. Visitors to the site can pledge their support and sign up to receive a free Earth Hour online information pack.
The following are a number of the companies that have committed to Earth Hour:
- AGL, ANZ Banking Group Limited, Babcock & Brown Environmental Investments Limited, Centennial Coal Company Limited, Coca-Cola Amatil Limited, Coca-Cola Australia, Fairfax Media, The GPT Group, HSBC Bank Australia Limited, IAG, InterContinental Hotel, Jones Lang LaSalle, Leo Burnett, Origin Energy, Perpetual Limited, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Star City Casino, Stockland, Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, UBS, Veda Advantage and Woodhead.
3CBDs Signatories commited to Earth Hour represent a variety of sectors including property development, insurance, law, banking, investment and energy:
- Allens Arthur Robinson, AMP Capital Investors, Arup, CB Richard Ellis, City of Sydney, Colliers International, Colonial First State Property, Commonwealth Bank, Department of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability, DTZ Australia, Energetics, Environ, Ernst & Young, Ferrero Australia, HamiltonThomson, ING Real Estate, Investa Property Group, KPMG, Lend Lease, Minter Ellison, Mirvac, Multiplex, North Sydney Council, NSW Health, Parramatta City Council, Stockland, The GPT Group and Westpac.
Key statistics
- Commercial tenancies typically consume in the order of 48% of the total energy use in office buildings which is 13% of the total commercial sector energy use.
- 60% of the total energy demand in the central business districts is attributed to stationery energy use.
For more information
Angela Heck, Communications Manager - Partnerships, WWF-Australia
Phone: 02 8202 1268
Mobile: 0421 053 023
Email: aheck@wwf.org.au
Jacqueline McArthur, Media Communications Manager, WWF-Australia
Phone: 02 9281 5515
Mobile: 0408 626 780
Email: jmcarthur@wwf.org.au
Rachael Hoy, Red Agency
Phone: 02 9963 7718
Mobile: 0415 643 165
Email: rachael.hoy@redagency.com.au
