This month, Symantec is celebrating Earth Day by exploring our commitment to environmental responsibility. We've explored Symantec's commitment to LEED certification previously, and today we hear from Debra McLaughlin, Symantec's stakeholder engagement program manager, on Symantec's Earth Hour participation.
“Demand on natural resources has doubled since 1966 and we currently use the equivalent of 1.5 planets to support our activities.” WWF 2012 Living Planet Report
Every year, hundreds of millions of people, in over 7,000 cities and towns across 152 countries and territories, turn off their lights for one hour in honor of Earth Hour, the single largest symbolic mass participation event in the world. Earth Hour, created by the World Wildlife Federation (WWF), brings awareness to the issue of climate change and the need to protect precious environmental resources.
Symantec Green Teams and employees across our global community participate in Earth Hour each year. This year, we had formal participation from eight of Symantec’s Green Teams, including:
- Culver City, CA, United States
- Mountain View, CA, United States
- Roseville, MN, United States
- San Francisco, CA, United States
- Reading, United Kingdom
- Dublin, Ireland
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Wellington, New Zealand
Check out The Earth Hour You Tube channel to see videos from Earth Hour events across the world.
Spotlight on Dublin
On Saturday, March 23rd at 8:30 pm, the Dublin Green Team showed their support and turned off all non-essential lights and appliances for one hour. Employees were encouraged to participate at home and to get creative by taking a photo during this hour, or alternatively an environmental related photo. All entries to the Earth Hour Photo Competition were displayed on our Environmental Notice Board in the Café. The winning photo (chosen by employees) was announced on Friday, April 5th, and the winning photographer received an eco-friendly prize.
Turning out the lights is just the beginning
As Earth Hour states, ‘turning the lights out is just the beginning’ and there are many ways we all can continue to save resources and protect our planet every day. At Symantec, employees can join one of our 24 local Green Teams to take part in initiatives that help us as a company to achieve our environmental goals, and allow employees to show their personal passion for the environmental causes they care most about.
First established in 2008, Symantec’s Green Teams give employees a platform that they can work from to affect environmental changes within our company. Through the Green Teams, groups of employees passionate about the environment are working together to educate fellow employees about personal behavior changes, and to identify opportunities for the Facilities and IT teams to implement changes in Symantec's buildings, data centers, and business practices that save energy, water and reduce waste. Each team develops its own initiatives based on the particular environmental needs of its site, region, and country, but with support from other teams. To date, we have 24 Green Teams established around the globe.
We thank all of the Green Teams and employees in our Symantec community who turned off the lights this year to show their support for our planet. Any employees interested in joining an existing Green Team or starting their own can contact me.
And remember to mark your calendars for Earth Hour 2014, Saturday, March 29th at 8:30 pm!
Debra McLaughlin is Symantec's Stakeholder Engagement Program Manager.