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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-08-019 - City Participation in Earth Hour Initiative.~- ^ ~ , ^ ~ITCHEI'~~E Community Services Report To: Financial Services Committee Date of Meeting: February 11, 2008 Submitted By: Colleen Collins, Marketing and Communications Associate Prepared By: Colleen Collins, Marketing and Communications Associate Wards}Involved: All Date of Report: February 6, 2008 Report No.: CSD-08-019 Subject: City Participation in Earth Hour Initiative RECOMMENDATION: That City Council endorse the city's registration and participation in Earth Hour, on March 29, 2008, and that staff be directed to find ways of encouraging other citizens, business and organizations within the community to participate. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Earth Hour is an initiative launched by the City of Sydney, Australia in 2007. It caught the attention of the world and the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) has made this a world wide event for 2008. The purpose of Earth Hour is to help raise awareness about the issue of climate change by encouraging as many people, businesses and other organizations as possible to turn off their lights for one hour on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 8 pm. BACKGROUND: On March 31, 2007, 2.2 million people and 2,100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour- Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney's energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for one hour. With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off, and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement. Building on Sydney's successful experience in 2007, Earth Hour is going global in 2008. At the time this report was written there were 928 businesses and 23,235 people signed up to participate in Earth Hour world wide. Both the City of Toronto and the City Guelph have already registered to participate in 2008. City of Waterloo staff is currently preparing a report to their council on this initiative which will recommend participation in Earth Hour. Discussions with staff from the City of Cambridge indicate they will not be participating in year's Earth Hour as a corporation. At the time the report was submitted staff was still working to connect with staff from the Region of Waterloo to determine their participation in the Earth Hour initiative. Staff will provide a verbal update to council when the report comes forward. REPORT: At the direction of city council and through significant community input, the City of Kitchener has identified the environment as one of its top seven priorities. The Earth Hour initiative is another public vehicle for the corporation to demonstrate its commitment to the environment and encourage others to participate. The committee of staff responsible for the organization of events surrounding the city's annual Earth Day celebrations have met to discuss Earth Hour. That committee has determined that participating in, and promoting Earth Hour has the potential to leverage a successful world-wide initiative to help create greater awareness within our local community. Participation by the city will require staff to find ways of turning out all lights in city facilities for one hour on March 29, with the exception of emergency lighting. The city's Corporate Management Team ~CMT} has reviewed this initiative and pending council's approve of this report, will direct staff to find ways of participating in this initiative. Staff will also work with any facility rental groups to explore opportunities to turn off the lights during that hour. COMMUNICATIONS: In addition to the city's own participation in Earth Hour, the Earth Day committee has identified a clear opportunity to use this initiative to help build community awareness on climate change. Working with the Earth Day committee, staff within the Corporate Communications and Marketing Division will develop and implement a full communications plan on this initiative. That plan would include, but not be limited to: • posters at all city facilities; • working with the media for news coverage in advance of March 29; • an article in the next issue of Your Kitchener distributed to homes on March 13); • direct communications with community groups and organizations, and; • radio ads encouraging others to participate in the initiative. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Through its discussions on Earth Hour, the Earth Day committee has identified this initiative as a priority for 2008. As a result, existing funds from the City's Earth Day account will be allocated to help promote this initiative to residents, businesses and other organizations. Other promotional activities related to Earth Day which the committee have deemed to be less of a priority will have their funding reduced as a result. Similar to the city's participation in the Volunteer Blackout Day, City of Kitchener staff have been in contact with staff from neighbouring municipalities and are working towards coordinating and sharing promotion of this initiative to help increase effectiveness while sharing some of the costs. Depending on the number of other municipalities who choose to participate in Earth Hour and join in cooperative promotions, staff anticipate the cost to range from $3,000 - $5,000 - mostlyfor radio advertisements. CONCLUSION: Earth Hour is a grassroots, global initiative that is effectively helping to raise awareness on how small initiatives can lead to big impacts in fighting climate change. As a community leader on environment initiatives, staff believe it is appropriate for the City of Kitchener to participate in Earth Hour and to help encourage others to participate. Colleen Collins Marketing and Communications Associate