Unilever Sri Lanka shows continued commitment towards a greener planet. Earth Hour, a global climate change initiative led by the World Wildlife Fund, is an event during which millions of people worldwide switch off their lights for one hour as a symbolic call to action on the issue of climate change.

 

 

In 2009, over one billion people in 80 countries joined in this initiative. This year, Earth Hour took place on Saturday, March 27, at 8:30 pm.

 

 

Last week, Unilever Sri Lanka took part in Earth Hour, demonstrating its commitment towards addressing the climate change challenges. The company launched a comprehensive awareness campaign among its employees and business partners about the impact of climate change and the Earth Hour initiative.

 

 

As part of this awareness campaign, Unilever Sri Lanka carried out various competitions amongst its employees, including a quiz and an art competition for  children of employees to engage the young about good environmental practices. The company also raised awareness amongst their business partners, informing them about its ‘green’ initiatives and inviting their organizations to follow suit.

 

 

On Friday 26th March, Unilever Sri Lanka symbolically switched off all non-essential lighting for one hour at its Grandpass facility. Employees were invited to wear clothes of vibrant colours to brighten up the office during this time, and were served a ‘green meal’ at the canteen. Unilever Sri Lanka’s instant tea factory, Premium Exports Ceylon Limited, also celebrated Earth Hour by planting fruit trees in their factory premises in Agarapatana and distributed 150 saplings to workers and managers to plant at their home gardens.

 

 

“Unilever Sri Lanka decided to take part in Earth Hour this year to underscore our commitment to responsible and sustainable business practices. The response from employees was overwhelming and true to our belief that ‘small actions can and do make a big difference’”, said Amal Cabraal, Chairman, Unilever Sri Lanka.

 

 

Unilever Sri Lanka has continuously demonstrated its dedication to a greener environment. In 2009, the company commissioned a bio-mass boiler, fuelled by indigenous renewable energy sources, reducing the company’s carbon emissions by 85%.

 

 

About Earth Hour: Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australiawhen 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the, Sydney Harbour Bridge, The CN Tower in Toronto, The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Coliseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.

 

 

In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world’s largest global climate change initiative.

 

 

Earth Hour 2010 took place this year on Saturday 27 March at 8.30pm (local time) and was a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community throughout the world to stand up, to take responsibility, to get involved and lead the way towards a sustainable future.

 

 

Photo caption: Unilever HR Department during EH. Employees at Unilever Sri Lanka at work on Friday, 26th March 2010, as they switched off all non-essential lights as a symbolic call for action on the issue of climate change.