Making Earth Hour more meaningful
DESARU: Earth Hour is a global movement held every year on the last Saturday of March.
Its main purpose is to raise awareness of the importance of a sustainable lifestyle and promote awareness of climate change.
Every year, thousands of people around the world take part in Earth Hour Celebrations by switching off the lights for one hour at 8.30pm.
Certainly many activities are carried out when in the dark at night with a minimal number of lights (because only less important lights are turned off not including safety lights) including playing acoustic music, sharing experiences and sitting together while having dinner.
How to make Earth Hour more meaningful?
If it’s as far as turning off the light switch for an hour, once a year, it certainly won’t have a significant impact on the environment.
However, there are three actions that are seen to be able to make this celebration more meaningful.
First of all, we need to identify the simplest actions that have the biggest impact.
For example, reducing single-use plastic or practicing the use of vehicles that are more efficient in terms of fuel consumption.
As at Hard Rock Hotel Desaru, the management has taken the initiative to stop the use of drinking straws and the supply of bottled water for the past three years.
As a result, more than 5.6 million plastic bottles were successfully saved as a result of a more sustainable way of working.
Second, leadership in the organization is also very important not only to set an example and encourage employees to adopt a sustainable lifestyle in their daily lives.
According to Murray Aitken, Managing Director of Hard Rock Hotel Desaru, the effort to make a sustainable lifestyle as a culture is a long-term effort.
“We are not running a 100 meter run, but this is a marathon that has no end,” he said.
Third, the continuous education program will enable long-lasting enthusiasm and motivation for our team.
Murray added, long-term knowledge will ensure that our team continues to have a high level of curiosity.
“With this method, they will continue to try to explore more efficient methods to succeed in saving the environment,” added Murray.
No matter how beautiful the aspirations are, only continuous action can be the measure of success.
All for a better Earth’s ecosystem for future generations.
