Earth Hour UAE 2012 Highlights

1 Earth Hour 2012

Earth Hour around

Every year, Earth Hour calls on people around the world to demonstrate their commitment and willingness to take action for the planet by switching off all non-essential lights for one hour. it also calls on everyone to go beyond the hour, and make Earth Hour more than just an hour by adopting long term environmental change.

Earth Hour 2012 was another record breaking year for the campaign, which reached over hundreds of millions, in 152 countries and 6,892 towns and cities, with new countries including Iraq, Libya, Ethiopia and Algeria. Key landmarks around the world switched off their lights to observe the hour, including Sydney Opera House, and the Great Wall of China.

The campaign garnered the support from key organizations and high profile individuals that called for everyone to unite for the planet. As darkness swept the planet on the night of 31st of March, 2012, Nelson Mandela took to Twitter to show his support for the cause. "Let us stand together to make of our world a sustainable source for our future as humanity on this planet" #NelsonMandela #EarthHour”, the former President of South Africa tweeted. The innovative “I Will If You Will” (IWIYW) Challenge was also launched under Earth Hour, to empower everyone to be an inspiration for others, and motivate them to make positive changes in their life for the planet. Many celebrities participated in I Will If You Will, such as Miranda Kerr and HE Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, the president of Fiji. Built on the YouTube platform, this social campaign asked one party to dare another party to a sustainable challenge or action in return for a promise of some kind. It successfully attracted the attentions of hundreds of thousands, bringing sustainability issues to the daily talk, and highlighting the importance of long lasting action for the planet.

2 Photo credits: Geoff Wison/WWFUK | Katie Edmonds/WWF Canada | Earth Hour Morocco | David Beine

Earth Hour UAE 2012

Earth Hour UAE was bigger and better than ever before with a total official participation of 22 towns and cities from across all seven emirates.

Thousands of residents had the opportunity to join public and community events that swept the different emirates, while many more observed the hour from their homes and offices.

Many of the UAE’s buildings also switched off all non essential lights, heading the list were several prominent landmarks such as the Burj Khalifa, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the .

The UAE community also participated in the I Will If You Will Challenge, inspired by key individuals such as HH Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Nuaimi (the Green Sheikh), Ali Al Saloom (Ask Ali) and Kris Fade, who called for recycling and reusing.

Businesses used the Earth Hour platform to encourage a long-term shift towards more sustainable actions and practices, encouraging their employees to take public transport, switch to online banking and recycle. Learn more about inspiring stories from the UAE on www.ewswwf.ae/earthhour.

Overall, it is estimated that the Earth Hour message reached to more than 3 million UAE residents and the list of events was longer than previous years.

Celebrations across the emirates

In each emirate, key partners took the lead to organize events, coordinate the switch off of key landmarks and encourage participation in Earth Hour. City of Abu Dhabi Municipality, Electricity and Water Authority, Environment & Protected Areas Authority, Fujairah Municipality, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Authority, Umm Al Quwain Municipality and Ajman Municipality led the coordination of public events in each emirate. This was complemented by support from many key partners and supporters that engaged with the local community by contributing to the public events and/or organizing activities and celebrations.

This report highlights only a selection of the public events that took place across the emirates.

Abu Dhabi

An event was held on Abu Dhabi Corniche hosted by Abu

Dhabi Municipality and included many family activities. The

event saw a public drumming session led by Dubai WWF - Drums as part of ADMAF’s Abu Dhabi Music Festival. The

(c) EWS(c) buildings of the Abu Dhabi Corniche were switched off along with other key landmarks across the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Fairmont Bab Al Bahr held a 24 hour cycle marathon where they set up two bicycles in the lobby of the hotel from 10.30am on Saturday and had riders pedal for 24 hours to power an LED light structure in the lobby.

New York University in Abu Dhabi held a pre-Earth Hour event where students gathered for a barbeque and discussed what Earth Hour was to them and what environmental actions they could take to go beyond the hour.

Abu Dhabi Airports Authority held candlelit vigils at the emirate’s airports, and switched off the second runway at Abu Dhabi airport to announce to the world the country’s commitment to environmental change and ensure that the Earth Hour message is heard loud and clear.

There were also community and hotel events held in Al Ain and throughout the Western Region.

Dubai

Earth Hour Dubai was observed under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince

of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council.

DEWA, in partnership with Emaar and Dubai Supreme (c) Canon (c) Energy Council hosted an Earth Hour event at Burj Plaza in Downtown. Theatrical and artistic performances took place, with a march around Emaar Boulevard led by Dubai Police. Sustainable and environmental information and tips were distributed and there was a special appearance by the characters from Freej. The lights of the Burj Khalifa were switched off, while candles were lit spelling out Earth Hour. An estimated 6000 people took part in the event, with a great showing of more than 400 volunteers from HSBC.

Visitors to Dubai public parks and children centres also had the opportunity to observe the hour and join hundreds of millions around the world.

Dubai airports raised awareness about Earth Hour amongst passengers and employees by switching off non essential lights and holding different activities during the hour.

Several community events were also held across Dubai DMCC hosted an event for the JLT community, Canon Middle East hosted in Dubai Internet City and Silicon Oasis hosted an event at the Cedre Shopping center, to mention a few.

Sharjah

The Sharjah Earth Hour event, hosted by Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah (EPAA), was held at al

Majaz Waterfront and was attended by an estimated 4000

people. It featured theatrical performances by the children of the (c) EPAA (c) Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services, and drawing competitions for children held by SEWA and the Ministry of Public Works. Sharjah Museums also held a celebration for Earth Hour, inviting families and residents to join the different activities. Al Qasbah took part by turning their lights off alongside buildings in all other towns in the emirate, from Khor Fakkan to Delma.

Ras Al Khaimah

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Authority and the Ras Al Khaimah Government organised a few public events as well as having the Chamber of Commerce & Industry building switch off its lights for one hour.

The events held included a candlelit dinner at Al Hamra Golf Club, a live band in Al Manar Mall, and a speciality menu at “Pesto” restaurant on Al Qawasin Corniche

Fujairah

Fujairah Municipality held an event in front of the municipality building where lanterns were lit and sent into the air.

Earth Hour UAE 2012 in media

228 articles in key Arabic and English media helped spread the message of Earth Hour and communicated the support of different entities and community groups. Opportunity to see Earth Hour related coverage estimated at over 31 million. This is double the number of articles that appeared in UAE media during Earth Hour 2011. Earth Hour UAE on Social Media

Facebook

2.69 million people reached through social ads and content on facebook.com/ews.wwf alone:

• Posts and page content reached 727,447 people in the UAE from 1-31 March

• Posts and page content reached 144,267 people in the UAE from 1-5 April.

Twitter

Tweets with the #EarthHourUAE hashtag had over 239,000 impressions and reached over 209,000 people. However, there were other mentions of Earth Hour using #EarthHour and #IWIYW

Over 2,104 tweets using the #EarthHourUAE hashtag in the 3 weeks leading up to 31 March. Many additional tweets used #EarthHour

Youtube

Total views on EWS-WWF’s youtube channel (www.youtube.com/wwfuae) during Earth Hour reached 22,243.

47% of the views came from embedded players, highlighting the important role the online community in distributing the message of Earth Hour. I Will If You Will

The concept is simple: inspire others by challenging them to commit to an environmental action in exchange for a dare. Everyone and anyone can post a challenge on the campaign’s online platform, and invite others to accept their challenge by answering the question: 'What are you willing to do to save the planet?'

Individuals around the world and in the UAE took this campaign onboard, challenging their communities to step up and go ‘Beyond the Hour’. Businesses and community groups called for a sustained environmental change using the I Will If You Will platform. You can read more on inspiring stories and challenges on our website (www.ewswwf.ae).

Here in the UAE, we saw participation from high profile individuals and businesses. The list included: H.H. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Nuaimi (the Green Sheikh), Ali Al Saloom (also known as Ask Ali), Kris Fade from Virgin Radio, Ammar Shams (Regional head of sustainability and corporate responsibility of HSBC Bank Middle East), 7days newspaper and Catboy (from Dubai 92.0 FM). This campaign saw great support form the online community as well, with social media influencers such as Joe Akkawi, Nagham Akileh and Alexandre Tohme, daring the UAE to save the planet.

Below some of the challenges from the UAE. To accept these challenges and add your own, please visit youtube.com/earthhour.

Ali Al Suloom H.H. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Nuaimi.

Ammar Shams (HSBC) Claire Sharrok (7days) and Catboy Noha Wagih Kris Fade

Ashraf Gouleh Nagham Akileh

Virgin Megastore Luzanne D’Souza

Joe Akkawi Claire Sharrock (7days) and Catboy (Dubai 92)

Ida Tillisch (EWS-WWF) Reem Althawadi (EWS-WWF)

Participating landmarks

Many buildings, and entire neighbourhoods across the seven emirates switched off their lights observing Earth Hour. Below is a list of key landmarks:

Abu Dhabi

- Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque - Sheikh Zayed Bridge - Matqa Bridge - Mussafah Bridge - Abu Dhabi Municipality building - Abu Dhabi Corniche - Khalifa Port & Kizad - AD Ports Company HQ - Al Dar HQ

Dubai

- Burj Khalifa - Burj Al Arab - Madinat Jumeirah - - Jumeirah Beach Hotel - Dubai World Trade Centre and Rashid Tower - IBN Battuta Gate Hotel - Raffles Pyramid, Wafi - Al Mas Tower

Sharjah

- Qanat Al Qasbah

- Eye of the Emirates

Fujairah

- Fujairah Fort - Fujairah Municipality

Umm Al Quwain

- Umm Al Quwain Municipality

Ras Al Khaimah

- RAK Chamber of Commerce - RAK Municipality

Ajman

- Ajman Municipality

Photo credits: EWS-WWF | HSBC

Working in partnership

Earth Hour UAE 2012 has been a record breaking year due to the efforts of many partners and supporters across all emirates. While this list only includes the supporters that have registered on our website, we extend our deep gratitude and appreciation to them and to everyone who participated and supported the campaign and took it beyond the hour.

Ambassadors, Partners & Supporters

Patron – Dubai Government Authorities Supporters His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Abu Dhabi Airports Authority bin Rashid Al Maktoum Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry Abu Dhabi Education Council Ambassadors Abu Dhabi Pension Retirement Benefits Fund His Highness Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Ali Al Abu Dhabi Police Nuaimi Abu Dhabi Travel Bureau Kris Fade Ajman Chamber of commerce Catboy Commission for Academic Accreditation Ali Al Saloom (a.k.a. Ask Ali) Dept. of Transport

Dubai Airports Authority Partners Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry 7days Dubai Customs ADMAF Dubai Municipality Ajman Municipality Dubai Police City of Abu Dhabi Municipality Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan Dubai Electricity and Water Authority Environmental Centre for Arab Towns Dubai Supreme Council of Energy Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific EMAAR Research Environment & Protected Areas Authority Ministry of Labour Environment Agency Abu Dhabi Ministry of Public Works Environmental and Protected Areas in Sharjah National council of Tourism & Antiquities Fujairah Municipality Public Prosecution Of Dubai HSBC RAK Chamber of Commerce Mindshare Roads & Transport Authority Omnicom Media Group UAQ Dept. of Finance Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Authority UAQ Dept. of Planning Umm Al Quwain Municipality Business Supporters Virgin Megastore Middle East 1st Abu Dhabi Scouts

ABB ABNAS Abu Dhabi Cause Connect

Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil American University in the Emirates Operations American University of Ras Al Khaimah Abu Dhabi Corniche Beach American University of Sharjah Abu Dhabi Education council AngloINFO Dubai Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Company Limited Arabian Automobiles Abu Dhabi Terminals - Mina Zayed Aramex Emirates L.L.C Action Impact Arbros Forest Resources FZCO ADGAS Arenco Real Estate ADNATCO and NGSCO Arsalakumar M/ Culligan International ADNEC Atkins Al Ain Palace Hotel Attique Zareef Kayani Al Ain Properties Averda Al Ain Properties Babcocck Borsig Service GmbH Al Ain Rotana Bank Of Sharjah Al Bustan Rotana Hotel BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus Al Dar Properties BK Gulf LLC Al Fahim Group Blossom Nursery Al Futtaim Carillion Brookfield Multiplex Constructions LLC Al Futtaim Panatech Buds Public School Al Hosn Gas Company Burjuman Arjaan by Rotana - Hotel Apartments Al Ittihad Private School C4 Advanced Solutions Al Jaber L.E.G.T. Engineering & Contracting Canadian University of Dubai Al ma'ali school CH2M Hill Veco Engineering Al Maha Arjaan by Rotana Citymax Hotel Al Barsha Al Mizhar American Academy CMA Systems Al Murtadha Hardware LLC Comendo FZ LLC Al Raha Gardens Comfort Inn Hotel Al Ruwayah Maintenance Staff Confluence Project Management LLC Al Selaa School ControlCase Middle East FZ LLC Alareej KG Corniche Al Buhaira Hotel Alcatel-Lucent Crescent Petroleum Aldar Crowne Plaza Dubai Deira Hotel All Seasons Hotel Apartments Crowne Plaza Hotel Aloft Abu Dhabi Dehli Private School Alsahwa School For Basic &Sec. Education Deira Private School

DEWA Ghaf Investments Dodsal Engineering & Construction Pte. Ltd Global Mobility Solutions Dubai Aluminium Dubai Electricity And Water Authority Globalfoundries Technollogies LLC Dubai Healthcare City Glowskies Dubai Holding LLC Golden Sands Hotel Apartments Dubai Industrial City Grand Bellevue Hotel Dubai International Academic City Grand Hyatt Dubai Dubai International Academy Grandeur Home Interiors Dubai Internet City Green Crescent Club - Khalifa University Dubai Marriott Hotels Green Solutions LLC Dubai National School Greenfield Community School Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association Dubai Outsource Zone Hala Arjaan by Rotana Dubai Pharmacy College Hill & Knowlton Dubai Properties Group Hilton Baynunah Dubai Studio City Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Resort & Residences I Dubai World Trade Centre Hilton Dubai Creek Dubiotech Holiday Inn Abu Dhabi Dulsco LLC Holiday Inn Express Dubai Internet City Easy Lease LLC Holiday Inn Express Jumeirah EmFire LLC Humanity First Middle East Emirates Chemicals IBM Middle East FZ-LLC Emirates District Cooling(Emicool) Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel Emirates Foundation Indian International School Environment Friends Society Institutional Laundry Services LLC Ericsson InterContinental Abu Dhabi ETA JBI Properties Services Extreme Marine Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa Jones Lang LaSalle UAE Ltd First Select International Jones Lang LaSalle UAE Ltd Flash Jumeira Baccalaureate School Flora Park Hotel Apartments Jumeirah Beach Hotel Fujairah School Jumeirah Group Jumeirah International Nursery Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Jumeirah Zabeel Saray National Shipping Gulf Agency Co. Ltd. LLC Jumeriah Group Nomura International plc JW Marriott Hotel Omniyat Investment and Management LLC Kempinski Hotel & Residences Panasonic Gulf FZE KEO International Consultants Park Rotana & Park Arjaan Khalifa University Pearl Initiative Khudairi Group PepsiCo International Konark Resources FZ LLC Petrochemicals Middle East Kone Middle East Petrofac Emirates Laly Philippine Society of Safety Professionals Landmark Plaza Pro Global Logistics LLC. Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Professional Communication Corporation - Marina Nedaa Lesser Rivera Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Baku Loret Wessels Radisson Blu Resort Sharjah Lotus Hospitality Radisson Royal Hotel Lycee Louis Massignon Raffles Dubai Marriott Executive Apartments Dubai Creek Sae Institute Masdar Sanford Electronics Masdar Institute Savoy Park Hotel Apartments Math Home FZ-LLC Savoy Suites LLC Media Exposure FZ-LLC Schools, Universities & Nurseries Media One Hotel Service City LLC Mega Mall Seventh Sense Environmental Consultancy & Meyssan Advertising FZ LLC Studies Millennium Airport Hotel Shangri-La Hotel Millennium Hotel Shangri-La Hotel Qaryat Al Beri Movenpick Hotel Bur Dubai Sharp Middle East FZE Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque MP & Silva FZ-LLC Shoula Al Masaood, Al Fahad Smart Systems Muhammad Furqan Siddiqui Siemens LLC myOffice Business Centre Six Senses Zighy Bay National Bank of Abu Dhabi Skyline University College National Bank of Abu Dhabi Smartcast Group National Rehabilitation Centre

Sofia Corporation Media Sony Elias Abu Dhabi Media Company SRM Global Al Ittihad St Mary's Catholic High School Al Bayan Stanley Black & Decker ARN Sunrise English Private School 7Days TAGbrands J.LT. Virgin Radio Talia Limited Dubai 92 TECOM Investments Khaleej Times The Childrens Garden Jumeira The National The Indian High School Gulf News Gulf Today The Meydan Hotel The Petroleum Institute The Philippine School of Dubai Total E&P Yemen Total Traders Hotel Traders Hotel Qaryat Al Beri Transguard Group LLC TreeHouse Media FZ-LLC Tristar Transport & Contracting Umayman school United National Bank University of Sharjah Uptown School Varco Almansoori LLC Wafa AlAhmad Wednesday Group Photographers Westin Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina Wild Wadi Waterpark Winchester Grand WSP WSP Middle East WUD Flowers & Events Xpertize United Zayed University