Globe, Smart urge Filipinos to support Earth Hour

MANILA, Philippines -- Rivals Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) and Globe Telecom  have urged Filipinos to support the campaign for environmental protection by switching off their lights for the Earth Hour slated on March 23, from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM.

Earth Hour 2013 will be celebrated worldwide when households, businesses and communities switch off their lights to call for lasting action on climate change and to symbolize their commitment to build solutions for a living planet.

Smart said it is  supporting anew Earth Hour's “I will, if you will” campaign this year. The campaign is a global movement led by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Globe, meanwhile,  plans to encourage its subscribers to support Earth Hour by participating in the “No Impact Week” campaign to help further reduce carbon footprint.

Smart has committed to plant 50,000 seedlings in its planting sites all over the country if 10,000 of its post-paid subscribers switch to e-billing.

“We are one with WWF in taking a stand against climate change, which is the greatest threat to our sustainable way of life. Climate change has already started and it has taken its toll on the Philippines, but it is not too late to take action,” said Darwin Flores, Smart department head for community partnerships.

With the call to its 700,000 post-paid subscribers to switch to e-statements, the telco hopes to reduce consumption of paper and ink as well as energy used in printing traditional billing statements.

“Our campaign for the environment goes beyond the Earth Hour celebration. It has been a part of our advocacy,” Flores said. “This time, with our subscribers, we hope that our individual actions add up to make a big change. This is our Smart Act for the environment.”

Global warming has caused changes in weather patterns, water supplies, seasonal growth for plants, threatening the planet's life and wildlife.

In the Philippines, the slew of super typhoons and excessive amount of rainfall from monsoon rains have led to loss in lives, properties and agricultural crops, as well as displacing thousands of families in affected communities.

“Smart has always been an advocate for the environment and this time, we are challenging our post-paid subscribers to do their part for Mother Earth,” Flores said.

Since 2005 Smart has been planting trees in an effort to offset the greenhouse emissions in its operations.

Aside from tree-planting, the telco has also been adopting eco-friendly solutions for its merchandising sites, and has been using renewable energy to power over a hundred of its cell sites.

Globe said in the Philippines it aims to encourage more than 10 million participants to switch their lights off for the environment.

Since 2009, the Philippines has been one of the staunchest supporters of Earth Hour and has topped town and city participation to earn the title “Earth Hour Country Hero.”
The Earth Hour campaign in the Philippines is being spearheaded by  WWF-Philippines.

Globe's No Impact Week is inspired by the book and film “No Impact Man” by Colin Beavan, who advocates carbon cleansing or living with as little carbon footprint as possible.

Part of Globe's challenge to its employees and subscribers is to make small changes in their personal lifestyle.

Globe said from March 25 to April 1, people who care for the environment can participate in the simple experiment by veering away from their usual routines such as taking public transportation instead of their own car, avoiding the use of plastic bags, growing vegetables in the backyard, switching to online versions of newspapers, unplugging all electronic items when not in use, watching less TV, eliminating paper products, hanging clothes instead of using the dryer, among other activities. 

Individually, Globe said the effort may not seem significant but it could create a huge impact on the environment when done collectively.

Globe said it continues to incorporate sustainability in its business strategies and contribute solutions that mitigate climate change. The company recently implemented a system based on the ISO 14001 standard that takes environmental protection as a priority consideration.

Through its CSR arm, the telco's own Globe Bridging Communities,  Globe spearheads annual environment events such as the Globe Cordillera Challenge, which is slated on May 4 and Globe Arakan XC (cross-country) in October. Both activities are geared towards the protection and preservation of the environment – the Cordillera mountain ranges and the Arakan Valley.