The NEC Group will switch off its lights at 8.30pm tomorrow evening (Saturday 23 March) in support of WWF’s Earth Hour, a unique annual phenomenon that focuses the world’s attention on the planet and how it needs to be protected.
The lights will be turned off for one hour (where safe to do so*) across the Group’s four venues – the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), the International Convention Centre (ICC), National Indoor Arena (NIA) and LG Arena – saving enough energy to make 13,700 cups of tea or to light a 60W light bulb for 5,000 hours.
The emissions savings are equivalent to the amount of CO2 that would be absorbed by six maple trees over the course of their lifetime.
“We pride ourselves on our “green” credentials and we were delighted to reach our “zero waste to landfill” target at the NEC in September 2012,” says Phil Dyke, the NEC Group’s Engineering Manager.
“As part of our continued commitment to sustainability, the installation stage of our Smart Meters project is now underway so we become more energy aware; it will also show anomalies in our energy usage, giving us the opportunity to ask why we’re using so much energy at certain times of day or night or during certain events.
“Going forward, it’s the NEC’s intention to replicate, as a minimum, the saving achieved during this single WWF Earth Hour, which will mean saving more than 1,420 tonnes of CO2 per annum.
152 countries and 6,950 towns and cities across the world took part in Earth Hour 2012, and in the UK alone, over 7.6 million people got involved via 3,500 schools and more than 1,200 businesses and organisations.
Last year, the NEC Group’s savings equated to over 250 kWh and made a very visual impact on the landscape around its venues. On this occasion, the target is to save over 300 kWh with an equally significant visual impact highlighting the Group’s commitment to a sustainable future.
“We’re delighted to have NEC Group’s support once again in Earth Hour across all their venues,” adds Colin Butfield, Head of Campaigns, WWF-UK. “The Group have helped give the campaign real visibility in promoting a sustainable future.
“WWF’s Earth Hour is not about saving an hour’s electricity. It’s something much bigger. It’s about people coming together to put the focus on this brilliant world we all share – and how we need to protect it. Not just for an hour a year, but every day.”
For 2013, the focus for the mass switch-off is the kind of energy used, and a move away from dirty fossil fuels onto clean green renewable energy which works with the power of nature, not against it
For more information and to sign up to WWF’s Earth Hour, go to http://earthhour.wwf.org.uk/
*Due to events taking place in NEC Group venues on Saturday night, lighting for those selected areas will remain on for safety.
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