SYDNEY LEADERS GATHER TO COMMIT TO THE NEXT PHASE OF EARTH HOUR

More than 140 Sydney leaders of major Australian businesses will come together this week to commit to the next phase of Earth Hour – the lights out initiative that mobilised an entire city to take a stand against global warming. This year's campaign, the brainchild of Leo Burnett Sydney, won one of only four Titanium Lions at Cannes last month.
As part of an ongoing schedule of activity, the July 25 breakfast briefing advances the Earth Hour campaign toward March 2008 – when the next Earth Hour is set to take place.
Among those attending are prominent CEOs, Managing Directors and Senior Executives from Sydney’s top businesses and organisations including National Rugby League, Colliers International, St George, Insurance Australia Group, Tetsuya’s, Jones Lang La Salle, Investa Property Group, State Street Global Advisors, Deloitte and Lend Lease. The briefing will outline plans for the future of Earth Hour and the commitment needed for the road ahead.
Many of the organisations attending took part in Earth Hour on March 31 by either turning off their lights or holding special Earth Hour events. The majority have since implemented ways to engage staff and reduce their company’s carbon footprint in line with the initiative’s aim for supporting businesses to reduce their carbon emissions by 5 per cent over 2007.
Greg Bourne, CEO, WWF-Australia said: “The size and scale of Earth Hour continues to astound us. Earth Hour went from being a simple idea to a public movement, compelling over 2.2 million individuals, 2,200 corporations and government to take action. “Earth Hour 2007 was just the beginning of a long-term process to inspire people to make simple changes on a daily basis to reduce their emissions. Our challenge has been to move past the symbolism and rally ongoing commitment from leaders within the community to take the lead in encouraging people to realise they can make a difference.”
At Wednesday’s event, WWF-Australia will outline plans for the future of Earth Hour – in Sydney, across Australia and around the world. International developments have taken place since the event on March 31, with WWF-Australia working to secure the buy in for 2008 participation from the global WWF network. Earth Hour was also presented and well received at the C40 Mayors’ Climate Change Summit held in New York in May – spearheaded by Sydney’s Lord Mayor, Clover Moore MP.
Earth Hour’s global plans coincide with WWF’s ask to supporting Australian businesses to act as climate change leaders within their international networks, encouraging Earth Hour practices within overseas branches.

The following are a number of companies who committed to Earth Hour earlier this year:

AAMI, AAPT, ABN Amro, Accenture, AdCorp, AGL, Allens Arthur Robinson, American Express Australia, AMP Capital Investors, APN Online, APN Outdoor, Australian Institute of Management, Babcock & Brown Environmental Investments Limited, Baker & McKenzie, BP Australia, City of Sydney, Clayton Utz, Colliers International, Colonial First State, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Darling Harbour Business Association, DTZ Australia, Ernst & Young, Euro RSCG, Fairfax Media, Fuji Xerox Australia, Green Building Council of Australia, Hamilton James and Bruce, Henry Davis York, Insurance Australia Group, Integral Energy, Investa Property Group, Investec Bank, Jones Lang
LaSalle, Lend Lease, KPMG, Leo Burnett, Lowe Hunt, Macquarie Bank, McDonalds, McMillan Print, MLC, National Rugby League, NSW Ambulance Service, NSW Fire Brigades, NSW Government, NSW Health, NSW Minerals Council, OPTUS, Origin Energy Limited, Oroton Group Limited, Perpetual Limited, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Proctor & Gamble, Property Council of Australia, Radisson Plaza Hotel Sydney, Red Agency, Reserve Bank of Australia, St George Bank, Sims Group, Spicer Paper, Starcom, State Street Global Advisors, Surf Life Saving Australia, Swaab Attorneys, Sydney Chamber of Commerce, Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, Sydney Observatory, Sydney Opera House, Telstra, Tetsuya’s, The CEO Institute, The Observatory Hotel, The Westin Sydney, Toga Hospitality, TorchMedia, Transport Infrastructure Development, Virgin Money, Virgin Unite, Whybin TBWA, Woolworths Limited.