Earth Hour: Why Switching Off For 60 Minutes Isn’t Enough

Earth Hour was a pretty damn revolutionary concept when it was first proposed 15 years ago. Sydney was the founding city for the movement, (can we get this environmental leadership back please?) and the city descended into darkness for an hour on March 21st 2007. By the next year, Earth Hour was worldwide and held in 35 different countries.

This year’s Earth Hour is only a few days away now (Sat March 28th—like you would forget!) and already over 16,000 individuals, businesses, schools and communities have committed to flicking the switch. But is switching off our lights for an hour really going to make a difference when our planet is in such dire straits? Or should we be committing to more?

Earth Hour has always only been a symbolic gesture of commitment to the protection of the planet, not necessarily a practical one. So, if your business is planning on participating in Earth Hour this week, go you! But we hope that this is just one small step in your business’ commitment to the planet. If you’re a bit stuck for ideas on how to take Earth Hour one step further (I’m talking Earth Life), we’ll let you in on a few of the Rooland secrets…

Keep those office supplies sustainable

We try to avoid printing as much as possible in order to save on resources, and as a team, we often share documents online. But, when it does come time for us to print, we always use recycled paper and petroleum-free inks (and of course we recycle it all when we’re done with it!)

We try to buy office supplies from recycled materials and with as little plastic packaging as possible.

Surround yourself with environmentally conscious people

We are constantly doing background checks on all of our suppliers (and our customers sometimes too). We want to make sure that what we’re bringing in and what we’re sending out, is all as eco-friendly as can be. We only work with suppliers who create sustainable materials and products and always try to seek out clients who share our environmental conscious.

And when we’re in the office what feels like all day every day, we wanna make sure the people around us aren’t gonna drive us up the wall when they walk in with a take-away coffee cup! Luckily for us, Rooland’s environmental ethics have attracted our team of like-minded creatives, who care about the future of our planet and do their best in and outside the office, to live and work sustainably.

Be aware of your energy usage all the time

It’s great to be aware of Earth Hour and to participate in it, but it should spark conversations within the office about how electricity is used all of the time.

Instead of leaving power switches on constantly, switch them on and off as needed. Make sure to flick the light switch off whenever you leave a room, or better yet, make use of the natural light around you! Turn off all electricity at the end of the day and over the weekend. (If a light’s left on in an empty office, is it really that illuminating?)

Do a bit of research into your office’s energy supplier and consider making a switch to a company that champions renewable energy. And encourage your neighbouring offices to think sustainably too! Share with them our secrets and make Earth Hour a symbol for the greater good your business is doing every damn day.