Aboitizland Communities Sign Up for Earth Hour 2009

In keeping with its thrust of nurturing communities, AboitizLand demonstrates that it cares for the earth by supporting Earth Hour 2009, encouraging its employees and vecinos (Spanish for neighbors; used by AboitizLand to mean its clients/ homeowners) to switch off their lights from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, 2009.

The locators at the Mactan Economic Zone II, a special economic zone managed by AboitizLand, Inc., including the tenant-establishment at the zone’s Pueblo Verde commercial block, will also be switching off, in partnership with the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority, Brgy Basak LGU, and Philippine Air Force.

On March 27, AboitizLand’s employees join their counterparts in other companies within the Aboitiz Corporate Center, such as Cebu Industrial Park Developers, Pilmico Foods Corporation and Aboitiz Equity Ventures, in praying for and pledging to make lifestyle changes to help slowdown global warming and climate change.

The worldwide Earth Hour movement is the largest ever vote for action against climate change – 1,858 towns, cities and municipalities in 81 countries have indicated support for the event spearheaded by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). 

Earth Hour started in Sydney in 2007 with 2.2 million homes and businesses switching off their lights for a full hour. Last year’s observance saw the evolution of the event into a global sustainability movement participated in by 50 million. Global landmarks like San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca-Cola billboard in Times Square were in total darkness for an hour.

This year’s Earth Hour initiative is a call for world leaders attending the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December to determine official government policies against global warming. WWF is urging people of all ages, nationalities, races and backgrounds to switch off their lights to demonstrate the urgency of taking positive action to reverse climate change.

Energy conservation is strongly advocated within the Aboitiz Group, mainly through Aboitiz Power’s Cleanergy initiatives. Subsidiaries in power generation and distribution are tapping renewable energy sources and instituting energy-saving measures.

AboitizLand, which nurtures enduring communities, is trailblazing the need for more developers to advocate against climate change. Its official participation in Earth Hour 2009 is among the many initiatives lined up for its commitment to a better environment.

Says Andoni Aboitiz, AboitizLand Chief Operations Officer, “Earth Hour may be about helping bring down energy usage, but it is also about making sure that it is done as one community – we’re lighting up our future by switching off our lights.”