Makati City Goes Beyond the Hour

Makati City Goes Beyond the Hour

On March 26, Makati City slips into darkness as Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), together with the Department of Environmental Services of Makati, switch the lights off at exactly 8.30 p.m. to support Earth Hour - WWF's program that has been happening yearly since 2008 to create awareness on saving fuel and energy as a means to preserve the natural resources of the planet.

A collaborative effort that involves support from various groups from both private and public sectors, the Earth Hour 2011 ceremonies will take place at the Ayala Triangle Gardens with registration starting at 7pm. There will be a ceremonial lighting of candles, which will be preceded by a 10-second countdown towards the hour to symbolize Makati City's commitment to the advocacy. There will also be a pledge of commitment to be recited by the environmental partners to show their dedication to their environmental duty of preserving the Earth's fuel and energy to reduce carbon emissions.

For the 4th consecutive year, Ayala Land partners with Makati City Government to commemorate Earth Hour 2011, which is a global movement towards energy efficiency. The Ayala Group has been very strong supporters of the Makati City government's campaigns that are geared towards environmental sustainability. This year, ALI takes a more active role by engaging other private organizations to make the occasion more meaningful and cost efficient said Kathleen Almonte of the Department of Environmental Services of Makati.

During the Earth Hour in 2009, we saved 33,800 watts of electricity, while last year, the rate was at 43,000 watts. The involvement of more locators in the Central Business District and the local government means that we are bound to save more energy this year. Hopefully, we will be able to achieve at least 10% more than 2010 added Almonte.

Making the darkness more festive will be performances by Firedancers as they move with fiery precision to island drum beats. Musical performances from Makati and Pitogo High Schools, a dance presentation from the 2011 Makati Caracol competition Champion, Pio del Pilar High School, shall complete the ambience as Filipino artists and participants paint an interactive Earth Hour piece. In connection with the lights out, solar panels will be used as an alternative source of power to keep the lights and other equipment running during the show.

Earth Hour gives us the opportunity to underscore the relevance of each individual in saving the environment. Currently, ALI operates a total of 160 properties, and we had 100% participation from them in last year's Earth Hour. This year, we wish to push it further in order to involve our tenants, visitors and locators to actively participate in this campaign stated Erickberth Calupe, Sustainability Officer of Ayala Property Management Corporation.

Focused and dedicated to promoting and practicing sustainability, ALI and the City of Makati encourage individuals to not only commemorate Earth Hour 2011, but to go beyond the hour as well by making energy conservation as part of their everyday lifestyle. By consciously putting effort into observing menial energy saving disciplines, one would count greatly to the collective.

The Earth Hour 2011 celebration at the Ayala Triangle Gardens is an event presented by Ayala Land and the Makati City Local Government Unit in partnership with Ayala Malls, Ayala Property Management Corporation, Manila Water, Ayala Foundation, Banapple, Bfast, Kanin Club, The Coffee Bean, Tea Leaf, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, Medium3, Shilelagh Suntech Solar, and WWF.