Hilton Worldwide Brands Observe Earth Hour 2010 in Support of Energy Conservation
Thursday 25, March 2010
Hilton Worldwide today announced its plans to celebrate Earth Hour 2010 from 8:30 – 9:30 p.m. local time on Sat., March 27, 2010 as more than a billion people and organizations around the world turn off their lights in support of energy conservation.
Today’s announcement marks an expansion of Hilton Worldwide’s support for Earth Hour this year through activities hosted by its hotel brands around the globe including Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations.
“As a global hospitality company with more than 3,500 properties around the world, Hilton Worldwide has a unique opportunity to engage millions of guests, team members and community partners in this global effort. Earth Hour is a powerful reminder of our collective responsibility to take every step we can to make every hour Earth Hour,” said Paul Brown, President of Global Brands & Commercial Services, Hilton Worldwide.
Earth Hour will be celebrated across the company’s brands and regions through a variety of activities including:
- Switching off main building exterior lighting and rooftop neon signage
- Dimming of interior lights in lobby and reception area
- Hosting candle-lit dinners in hotel restaurants and bars
- Encouraging guests to switch off their room lights
- Staging special candle-lit Earth Hour dinners and events to raise awareness
Hilton Worldwide has encouraged properties within its portfolio to get creative with their Earth Hour celebrations. Hilton Stockholm Slusseplans will host “Hilton Unplugged” – a live acoustic concert by a Grammy-award winning band Abalone Dots – for hotel guests. The Hilton Hawaiian Village will encourage more than 7,000 expected guests to turn of their lights and TVs and head to the property’s lagoon for “Ghost Stories, Myths & Legends of Hawaii,” with renowned Honolulu storyteller Lopaka Kapanui. “The idea is to make Earth Hour meaningful, fun and engaging for our guests. We think of it not only as an opportunity to symbolically support energy conservation, but also to enrich the guest experience,” said Jerry Gibson, Area Vice President of the Hawaii region, Hilton Worldwide.
Embassy Suites properties across regions plan to turn off non-essential lighting, with some Embassy restaurants serving dinner by candlelight. Embassy’s Cincinnati, Ohio property is also shutting down non-essential operations like some kitchen equipment, hotel water falls and pool heaters; and from Seattle to New York, select Doubletree hotels will be flicking off switches too.
Hilton Worldwide’s support for Earth Hour follows the company’s recent commitment to integrate sustainability as a measure of hotel performance, announced earlier this year. In doing this, the company will measure the impact of every property within its portfolio and has developed industry-leading tools to track monthly utility consumption, cost data and operational performance data. Additionally, within its portfolio of owned hotels and corporate offices Hilton Worldwide has committed to the following five-year reductions (2009 – 2014) from direct operations:
- To reduce our energy consumption by 20%.
- To reduce our CO2 emissions by 20%.
- To reduce our waste output by 20%.
- To reduce our water consumption by 10%.
Organized by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Earth Hour began in 2007 as a way for individuals to show how simple steps can make a significant impact on reducing greenhouse gases and addressing climate change. The event has turned into a movement. Global landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, The CN Tower in Toronto, The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and Rome’s Colosseum have all turned off their lights in solidarity. In 2009, over 4,000 cities in 88 countries officially turned off and dimmed lights to pledge their support for the planet.
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