Earth Hour Pilipinas

In line with its Green UP program, the University of the Philippines community joins Earth Hour on March 31.

On that day, the Philippines will once again for the fifth time join the global community in launching Earth Hour 2012, with cities and towns all over the world switching off their lights from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. sending an even stronger message to take action on global warming. This year, three simultaneous WWF Earth Hour switch off ceremonies shall be held in the cities of Makati, Cebu and Davao.

Further, carrying on with the goal of inspiring the public to go beyond the hour and making long-term commitments to do more for our planet, World Wildlife Fund Philippines will continue its 60+ information-education-communications campaign on climate change for Filipinos, revolving around the themes of energy efficiency, renewable energy and climate adaptation.

The UP community is encouraged to switch off or dim the university lights during this global ‘lights out’ event on March 31 at 8:30 p.m. for one hour.

The UP community is also encouraged to do the following:

1. Switch off or dim their non-essential lights, including signages, as their operations will allow during this global ’lights out‘ event.
2. Promote Earth Hour 2012 in offices, among staff, employees and constituents.
3. Document the Earth Hour event and send to WWF, which will be uploaded to showcase endeavors o celebrate Earth Hour 2012 around the country, or organize a contingent to the Swith Off events in the key cities.
4. Mobilize the sectors in the units to support Earth Hour by switching off the signage lights or some of the lights of the buildings or facilities in your unit, as the operations of the unit will allow.
5. Pledge to go “Beyond The Hour” and be a Climate Change Champion by publicly promoting renewed ways/practices/programs of initiating change, which can include environmental projects/actions that the offices and individuals are willing to undertake throughout the year.

Log in and register support at the Earth Hour Pilipinas website via www.wwf.org.ph/earthhour.

News taken from UP System Website 

As the largest environmental event in history, Earth Hour today launched ‘I Will If You Will’ – its official 2012 campaign to showcase how everyone has the power to change the world they live in.

For the first time, Earth Hour, to be held on 31 March, is taking a creative leap from its annual lights out event to offer a further opportunity for its communities to be part of actual environmental solutions.

Earth Hour began as a single-city initiative in 2007 and has since grown to be a 5251-city strong global movement, reaching 1.8 billion people in 135 countries across all seven continents.

Earth Hour Philippines has led the global switch-off since 2009, ranking number one globally in terms of town and city participation for three consecutive years. A record-breaking 1554 Philippine cities and municipalities switched off in 2011, 1076 in 2010, 647 for 2009 and over 50 during the country’s inaugural Earth Hour switch-off in 2008.

From 8:30pm to 9:30pm this coming 31 March, WWF-Philippines will again stage Earth Hour to inspire Filipinos to switch off their lights and dare their friends to save planet Earth. The ‘I Will If You Will’ digital platform is the result of an alliance among WWF, Leo Burnett, and YouTube – merging the world’s biggest social video platform with the world’s largest environmental event.

Promise, Challenge for Planet Earth

The ‘I Will If You Will’ campaign uses the YouTube video platform to empower people to share a personal dare with the world by asking everyone what are you willing to do to save the planet?

The concept of ‘I Will If You Will’ centers around providing a social contract between two parties – connecting one person, business or organization to a ‘promise’ and their friends, family, customers or members to a ‘challenge’ – uniting them behind the common goal of creating a positive environmental outcome.

The Earth Hour YouTube platform hosts a global library of ‘I Will If You Will’ challenges, while encouraging people to share their ‘dares’ publicly through Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and email. Friends can be invited to participate and accept each challenge using these popular social networks.

The simple promise can range from recycling, to switching to energy-efficient light bulbs, turning off your mobile charger, or signing up for paperless banking.

Corporate and Public Sector Allies Sought

WWF is now seeking official partners for Earth Hour 2012. Says Earth Hour Philippines National Director Atty. Gia Ibay, “We call on corporations, local governments, media networks and other organizations to stand with us for this year’s switch-off. When public and private sector forces unite – then we will be able to effect change on the scale required to change the world.”

Past corporate champions include the Yuchengco Group of Companies, Coca-Cola, Honda Cars, LG Electronics, ArthaLand, McDonald’s, Philips, Ayala Malls, SM Supermalls, Meralco, Shangri-La Hotels and many others.

Current partners include the Department of Energy, ABS-CBN, GMA-7, TV5, Discovery Channel, Global News Network, the Philippine Star, Philippine Daily Inquirer Online, Aftercall Magazine, Radyo Veritas, DZIQ, Globaltronics, Photoworld Manila and Ang Sawari Ko. WWF expects the list to grow as the switch-off approaches.

Earth Hour 2012 is set for 8:30pm on Saturday, 31 March – wherever you are on planet Earth.

About Earth Hour

Earth Hour is a global environmental initiative spearheaded by WWF and Leo Burnett. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities are invited to turn off their lights for one hour on Saturday March 31, 2012 at 8:30pm to show their support for environmentally-sustainable action. In 2012, Earth Hour’s I Will If You Will concept invites individuals and organizations to challenge others to an ongoing environmental commitment beyond the hour. Earth Hour began in one city in 2007 and by 2011 reached over 1.8 billion people in 135 countries across every continent, receiving acclaim as the world’s largest campaign for the planet. Earth Hour Philippines debuted in 2008 and has since grown into one of the largest annual events in the country, with over 18 million participants in 2011. For more information, log on to: earthhour.org.

About WWF

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is the world’s largest and most experienced conservation organization, operating in over 100 countries through the support of nearly five million people worldwide. WWF-Philippines has been working as a national organization of the WWF network since 1997 and spearheads practical solutions to help the Philippines adapt to climate change, secure food and water sources, switch to clean sources of renewable energy and infuse sustainability into the lives and businesses of Filipinos. WWF’s mission is to build a future in which people live in harmony with nature. For more information, log on to: wwf.org.ph.
For more information:

Corporate Partnerships – Ms. Kim Ang (kang@wwf.org.ph)

Media Partnerships – Mr. Gregg Yan (gyan@wwf.org.ph)

Organizational Partnerships – Ms. Marlyn Santiago (msantiago@wwf.org.ph)

The ‘I Will If You Will’ campaign empowers people to share a personal dare with the world by asking everyone what are you willing to do to save the planet?

The concept of ‘I Will If You Will’ centers around providing a social contract between two parties – connecting one person, business or organization to a ‘promise’ and their friends, family, customers or members to a ‘challenge’ – uniting them behind the common goal of creating a positive environmental outcome.

WWF-Philippines encourages you to share your ‘I Will If You Will’ dare publicly through social media. Post it on Facebook, upload it on Youtube, tag your friends on Twitter! Friends can be invited to participate and accept each challenge using these popular social networks.

The simple promise can range from recycling, to switching to energy-efficient light bulbs, turning off your mobile charger, or vowing to go paperless.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN ‘I WILL IF YOU WILL’ STATEMENT

 Have your own ‘I Will If You Will’ statement through the following simple steps:

1. Come up with your own ‘I Will If You Will’ challenge! For example: “I will bike to work everyday instead of taking my car if you will pledge to live green and like the WWF-Philippines page!”

2. Download TEMPLATE 1 and edit it on Photoshop. Type your ‘I Will If You Will’ challenge.

3. Save the file in .JPEG format.

4. Post it on your Facebook page and on the WWF-Philippines Facebook page! Tag your friends and ask them to come up with their own ‘I Will If You Will’ statements too!

Don’t have Photoshop? Not a problem!

1. Download TEMPLATE 2  and open it on Microsoft Powerpoint. You can also download TEMPLATE 3 and open it on Microsoft Paint. Edit and type your own ‘I Will If You Will’ challenge.

2. Save the slide as a .JPEG file.

3. Post it on your Facebook page and on the WWF-Philippines Facebook page! Tag your friends and ask them to come up with their own ‘I Will If You Will’ statements too!