Longstanding proponent of sustainable development action, the Cape Town Convention Centre (CTICC) will once again be embarking on a series of initiatives aimed at enhancing awareness around climate change in support of this year’s Earth Hour.

Earth Hour will take place globally on 27 March 2010 from 8:30 – 9:30pm. The CTICC joins the ranks of the Cape Town Partnership and the CCID in working with large city buildings to support the event and switch off. Buildings and Central City residents, tenants and businesses who switch off will join the Table Mountain, the Stadium and other prominent Central City buildings in supporting action for a sustainable Central City.

This year, the WWF are calling for all to take action that goes beyond the symbolism of the event. The CTICC have taken heed and are implementing a number of initiatives. “We applaud the initiative and the commitment of the CTICC in their ongoing efforts to reduce their environmental impact,” comments Alexis Scholtz, the Partnership’s Sustainable Development Programme Coordinator. “They’re setting a great example for other Central City stakeholders to follow and we’re excited to see what they’ll be doing next.”

CTICC Initiatives include encouraging surrounding buildings to switch off, advertising Earth Hour on their highway signage and pledging their support on the official WWF website. They will also be promoting Earth Hour on their website, promoting it on their Facebook page and urging all clients to follow suit. Not content to leave it there, CTICC are encouraging all staff to cycle or car pool to work on Friday 26 March and to swop old light bulbs for more efficient ones at home which have been donated by Eskom.

One of the features of the Earth Hour campaign is the striking impact of participants documenting their efforts. This year’s campaign video features the switching off of Table Mountain’s lights. “We encourage all Central City stakeholders to pledge on the WWF site, take pictures, send them to WWF and post them on the Partnership’s Facebook page. We’ll be printing some of the best ones in City Views to thank those who took part”, says Scholtz.

For more information on how to participate and pledge visit the Earth Hour Website or contact alexis@capetownpartnership.co.za.

To see what the CTICC are doing visit www.cticc.co.za.

Related posts:

1. Creating a sustainable Central City
2. Earth Hour 2011
3. Support Earth Hour 2010
4. CTICC’s Ballroom Transformed Into Competition Stage For Kids
5. The Cape Town Partnership launches Sustainable Cape Town Programme during Cape Town Green Week 19 – 23 October 2009