Hotels and other organisations in Qatar yesterday joined the global community in observing Earth Hour 2013 between 8.30pm and 9.30pm, switching off lights and doing novel and environment-friendly things. Organised by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour has grown into a global movement with more than 5mn supporters in more than 100 countries. During Earth Hour, which started in Australia in 2007, individuals, businesses and governments around the world turn off lights to demonstrate their commitment to environmentally sustainable action. Mövenpick Tower and Suites Doha celebrated the occasion with a recycled Pop-up Café, specially created for Earth Hour, and smoothie bar outside its Lime Café Terrace. The Green Globe-certified hotel turned off all unnecessary lights to conserve energy as part of the annual global initiative to reduce greenhouse emissions across the planet. “It is our continued commitment to maintain an effective environmental management policy for the preservation of a healthy environment for future generations,” general manager Ghada Sadek said. Wyndham Grand Regency Doha also joined the initiative by turning its lights off to promote energy conservation. The hotel was decorated to mark the occasion and all the guests were invited to the Chopsticks restaurant to share the message of Earth Hour and enjoy the candlelight promotion. “Earth Hour is a great opportunity to raise awareness about global climate change and sustainability. While turning off the lights can be a challenge for a busy hotel with hundreds of guests, we believe the hospitality industry can and should be a leader in reducing our impact on the environment,” general manager Ayman Lotfy said. At Millennium Hotel Doha, the lights were turned off at the main entrance and Cosmo Restaurant. “It’s about giving people a voice on the planet’s future and working together to create a sustainable low-carbon future for Planet Earth. With the support of every person, we minimise the impact of global warming and create a better future for the next generation,” Giorgio Lanfranchi, the hotel’s general manager, said. Besides switching off lights for an hour, The Torch Doha has been implementing energy-saving measures throughout the year. These include reducing the number of prints in all departments by printing on both sides, putting the maximum number of dishes possible in the dishwasher, regularly changing the Tower LED lights, using digital signage in public areas (which reduces the quantity of printed material for the hotel), relying on natural daylight in the Madar meeting room, Flying Carpet, and Three Sixty, placing information cards inside rooms and offering guests the option of not changing towels every day (to save energy, water and detergent). Ramada Encore Doha’s linen reuse programme encouraged guests to avoid changing their bedroom linen daily to reduce the impact on energy consumption, environmental damage and water resources. St Regis and Oryx Rotana and Radisson Blu hotels also joined this year’s Earth Hour celebrations. Vodafone Qatar marked Earth Hour yesterday by turning off lights for an hour at all its retail stores as well as its headquarters, located at Qatar Science and Technology Park. With the slogan, “Your finger can save the planet”, Vodafone held an awareness campaign at its retail stores and in the social media, encouraging the residents of Qatar to turn off lights for Earth Hour. The campaign also encouraged store visitors and social media followers to take small steps, such as turning off electrical appliances when they are not in use and saving energy as much as possible on a daily basis. http://www.gulf-times.com/qatar/178/details/346593/qatar-hotels-go-dark-for-earth-hour-2013

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