Switching off in support of Earth Hour

In support of Earth Hour, Pick n Pay has added a ‘light switch' to its website www.picknpay.co.za where customers can ‘switch off the lights' on the website and start to ‘switch on a new mindset'.

The retailer will also be switching off all lights in its stores and head offices during Earth Hour, Saturday 28 March 2009, at 8.30pm. The company has been encouraging both its customers and staff to support Earth Hour through a series of national newspaper advertisements, as well as through an electronic in-store campaign at the checkout screens to “Switch off your lights. Switch on a new Mindset.”

Bulb disposal

As part of its pledge, Woolworths, which will also be switching off the lights in its head office, is asking customers to safely dispose of used energy saving light bulbs in the specially designed bins in 46 of its national stores.

"Energy saving light bulbs need to be disposed of responsibly as the mercury in them can harm the environment. The mercury content in one light bulb is very small, but the dangers of millions of bulbs in land fills throughout the country make it necessary to develop a safe method of disposal," says Justin Smith, Manager for Woolworths Good business journey.

The collection bins in the 46 stores have been specially designed to ensure that there is no danger of CFL lamp breakage, therefore ensuring that there is no risk to the environment. The bins are cleared regularly and the contents are disposed of safely. In time the collection bins will be available in more stores around the country.

Active involvement

Virgin Active South Africa will be turning out its lights and closing an hour earlier on Saturday to show its support to the global movement.

“At Virgin Active we are proud to say that we support a number of energy preservation and recycling initiatives for example power saving, water saving and recycling. We are always excited by new innovative ways of helping the environment and as such by joining and officially signing up to Earth Hour, we will be shutting down our operations at all of our Clubs nationwide an hour earlier than usual and we encourage all our members and competitors to do the same. Together we can make a difference!” says Elaine Jobson, chief operating officer of Virgin Active SA.

Earth Hour started in 2007 with 2.2 million homes and business in Sydney, Australia turning off their lights for an hour. It has since evolved and grown internationally with history being rewritten in 2008 when 50 million people worldwide switched off their lights in support of this movement. This year Earth Hour aims at reaching a billion people in 1000 cities.