Transcorp Hilton Abuja joined the global community to mark Earth Hour 2013 from 8:30-9:30pm local time on Saturday, March 23, 2013 as people and organisations around the world turned off their lights in support of action on global climate change. Transcorp Hilton and many of the more than 3,900 hotels that are part of the Hilton Worldwide portfolio of brands took part in the event that mobilised more than one billion people worldwide.
“By our concerted actions during the Earth Hour, the hotel saved 571 kilowatts of electricity, which represented about 28 percent reduction on power consumption in just one hour. We continue to demonstrate our commitment to energy conservation and we are encouraging our guests and neighbours to join us as we go beyond the Earth Hour in support of this global effort to save our planet,” said Shola Adeyemo, the hotel’s spokesman.
Activities marking the event at the hotel included letters to guests encouraging them to switch off their bedroom lights and to take actions that result in energy conservation beyond the hour, poster campaign around the hotel during the week leading to the Earth Hour, candlelight dinners in all the restaurants, switching off of all non-essential lights in the hotel during the hour, planting of 20 palm trees to show commitment beyond the hour, youth advocacy and capacity building initiatives on environmental sustainability and hosting of candlelight procession in the hotel.
Organised by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Earth Hour began in 2007 as a way for individuals to show how simple steps can make a significant impact on reducing greenhouse gases and addressing climate change. More than 2.2 million people took part in the first Earth Hour in Sydney, Australia, and it has since turned into a movement with more than 7,000 cities and towns in 152 countries and territories and hundreds of millions of participants across seven continents. It continues to demonstrate the new era as members go “Beyond the Hour” to commit to lasting action for the planet.
Hilton Worldwide is the first major multi-brand hospitality company to make sustainability measurement a brand standard and recently earned ISO 9001 and 14001 certifications for quality and environmental management – one of the largest volume certifications awarded for commercial buildings. As part of that standard, Hilton Worldwide-branded properties commit to continuous improvements to their overall sustainability results each year. Across the portfolio, Hilton Worldwide has a made a five-year commitment, from 2009 to 2014, to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent, CO2 emissions by 20 percent, waste output by 20 percent and water consumption by 10 percent. In 2012, Hilton Worldwide achieved its waste goal two years ahead of schedule and reduced its waste output by 23.3 percent.
