"The purpose of Earth Hour is to send a signal to the world's leaders that they need to take climate change seriously and create awareness of the issue," says Cecilia Widebäck West, head of SEB's sustainability work.
"This year, WWF has broadened the focus of Earth Hour and is encouraging everyone to be heroes, everyday. This can mean taking the bus instead of the car, switching to green electricity or spreading the message about the purpose of Earth Hour - switching off. This is something that we want to support and promote!"
Switch off Concert in Stockholm.
In the past three years SEB has supported WWF’s engagement for Earth Hour. One of the things we do is to arrange a “switch off concert “in the darkened hour, together with WWF and Stockholm’s Concert Hall. Last year the concert was crowded and it will probably be the same this year as classical music is played in the glow of candle light. The idea of the concert is that Earth Hour is not only about raising awareness amongst our decision makers; it is also about our own reflections upon our lives, lifestyles and the world surrounding us. The concert this year is unfortunately already fully booked (invitation was posted on seb.se and SEB Newsroom last week).
Earth Hour Conference
Besides the concert in Stockholm, SEB has also been involved as co-organizer of Earth Hour Conference, which is a yearly held conference by WWF. This year's event focused on sustainable cities and SEB contributed with knowledge on financing of sustainable cities through Public- Private Partnerships (PPP's).
Nearly 1 billion people turn off the light
SEB is not alone in switching off the light at 20.30 PM on Saturday. We do it with nearly 1 billion people around the globe showing their support for climate change. Earth Hour is an event where we can remind ourselves and the world's decision makers that we need to take climate change seriously.
Be part of Earth Hour and switch off your lights this Saturday!