Switch off for Earth Hour 2018

Published on 20 March 2018

Council will turn off all non-essential lights at its main buildings for one hour this Saturday night as it joins thousands of businesses and residents across the world in supporting Earth Hour 2018.

Earth Hour is the world’s largest grass roots environmental movement where landmarks and communities switch off their lights to show their support for a brighter future for the planet.

Councillor for Environmental and Farming Sustainability Anthony Cirillo this week encouraged other Sunraysia businesses and residents to get behind the initiative.

“This is our eighth year supporting Earth Hour, which is not only a worthy initiative in its own right to raise awareness about climate change and the need to protect our environment, but it also fits in with the broader aims of our own Energy Management Plan 2017 – 2021,” Cr Cirillo said.

“As part of our Energy Management Plan we’ve set ourselves the target of lowering our corporate energy use by 25 per cent by 2022.

“We’re well on track to achieve these ambitious goals through a number of practical measures including installing solar hot water systems at our pools, community sporting facilities, Council depots and park facilities, and installing large solar systems on our major office buildings.

“By reducing our energy usage, we not only help the environment, but we also reduce the day-to-day running costs of our buildings.

“However by participating as a region in initiatives such as Earth Hour this weekend, we can do our part to raise awareness of this important issue, as well as further reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emitted through electricity consumption, which is one of the main energy sources of greenhouse gas.”

Council will turn off all non-essential lights at its three highest energy-consuming buildings – the Alfred Deakin Centre and our Deakin Avenue and Madden Avenue Service Centres - between 8.30pm and 9.30pm this Saturday as part of Earth Hour.

Families, friends, businesses, schools and communities across the region can also register their own events at www.earthhour.org.au. All registered Earth Hour events in Sunraysia will be listed at www.earthhour.org.au/events.

For more information contact Council’s Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Bonnie Pettett on (03) 5018 8100.

Media enquiries 

Ben Piscioneri
p) (03) 5018 8689 
e) ben.piscioneri@mildura.vic.gov.au