As a Supporting Partner of WWF’s Earth Hour 2010 campaign, Telstra International has generously donated £10,000 as a gift-in-kind to increase the capacity of WWF-UK’s communications network so WWF can accommodate all the extra files, images and film clips sent to them in the week leading up to WWF's Earth Hour and during Saturday 27th March - around WWF's Earth Hour itself.
To further show its support for the global action required to tackle climate change, Telstra International will switch off the lights at all its UK offices for the duration of Earth Hour. The company is also encouraging its employees to get involved with the event, by organising a ‘Wear it white or bright’ day on Friday 26 March to raise money for the cause.
Staff will come to work in their brightest, boldest and whitest clothes to emphasise the day’s slogan: “Who needs lights when you’re wearing it bright”.
Hundreds of businesses across the UK have already signed up to the event this year and more are encouraged to get involved and show they care about climate change.
Dax Lovegrove, WWF-UK Head of Business and Industry, said: “Climate change is one of the most serious threats facing people and nature, and demands urgent global action. Last year, world leaders missed a key opportunity to agree a global climate deal in Copenhagen, but with each year of delay, the impacts on people and wildlife get more severe and the window of opportunity gets smaller.
“Businesses have a key role to play in the fight against climate change – both in terms of prevention and adapting to its worst impacts. The support from businesses like Telstra International for Earth Hour proves that, even in tough economic times, the appetite for change among the private sector is there.”
Last year 88 countries got involved in the initiative and with 2010 seeing more than 91 countries taking part, a ripple will cross the Earth as landmarks in 25 time zones switch off. Many of the world’s most iconic landmarks are on board including the Golden Gate Bridge, the Las Vegas
strip, Table Mountain and the Burj Khalifa tower- the tallest building in the world.
UK landmarks pledging to switch off their lights include Piccadilly Circus and the London Eye, which will be dimming its lights for Earth Hour. Other famous buildings pledging to plunge into darkness for an hour include the Royal Albert Hall, Manchester’s Trafford Centre, Stormont, Inverness Castle, Wales Millennium Stadium and Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower.