Two important dates are coming up in March and April. The first, March 28, is the date for Earth Hour. It will take place from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. local time. The second date, April 22, is Earth Day. This year’s Earth Day is extra special because it is the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day. How will you be marking these two occasions at your property?
Started by WWF and partners as a symbolic lights-out event in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour is now one of the world’s largest grassroots movements for the environment, engaging millions of people in more than 180 countries and territories. It has become a catalyst for positive environmental impact, driving major legislative changes by harnessing the power of the people.
Growing out of the first Earth Day in 1970, Earth Day Network is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 75,000 partners in over 190 countries to drive positive action for our planet.
Earth Hour Activities
In past years hotel companies and individual properties have marked Earth Hour by turning off non-essential lighting, scheduling Earth Hour parties, creating Earth Hour drinks, or planning candle-lit dinners. Last year, Hard Rock International properties offered various “glow in the dark” activities including: glowing manicure and pedicures, live painting sessions, flash mobs, nomadic dance performances, face-painting and tattoos, fire bowls and marshmallow sessions and much more.
For Earth Day last year, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts celebrated its 25th Anniversary with an over 25 percent groupwide reduction of single-use plastic in a year. The Group had announced a pledge against single-use plastic in support of the Earth Day 2018 theme End Plastic Pollution. Within a year, this declaration inspired the change across its 48 hotels worldwide and successfully eliminated 4.2 million single-use plastic items, equating to a significant 26 percent reduction in total usage.
Send me your plans for Earth Hour and Earth Day and I will be sure to mention them on Green Lodging News. Earth Hour and Earth Day are perfect occasions to create awareness around environmental issues, celebrate environmental accomplishments, volunteer time, set goals and commence activities to help the planet. I can be reached at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.
