Responsibility Blog

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If you drive by a Verizon building Saturday night (3/27) and you notice the lights are out, there’s probably nothing wrong with the power or your eyes. We’re participating in Earth Hour and turning off lights (or down in some cases) in 450 buildings around the globe deemed non-essential for our network. 

Sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour is an event in which millions of Americans will turn off their lights for one hour to support action on climate change and create a cleaner, safer and more secure future.

Now in its third year, the event attracted more than 80 million participants in the U.S. in 2009 and nearly a billion people around the world, as lights dimmed on such global icons as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Sydney’s Opera House, the Great Pyramids of Gaza and New York’s Empire State Building. [In addition to the hyperlinks, there’s a video slide show prepared by the World Wildlife Fund showing other landmarks going dark during Earth Hour.]

We’re also asking our employees and inviting our customers to support Earth Hour. If you’re wondering what shutting off lights for just one hour will accomplish, I can tell you that Verizon expects to conserve more than 40,000 KwH. In just one hour, we’re conserving enough energy to power nearly four homes for an entire year.

And I hope that by participating in Earth Hour we’ll inspire our employees to continue to think about new, practical and innovative ways to reduce energy consumption and increase recycling at home and at work.