235 Capitaland Properties In Asia, Europe Taking Part In Earth Hour 2012

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah SINGAPORE, March 30 (Bernama) -- CapitaLand Ltd, one of Asia’s largest real estate companies, said some 235 of its properties across Asia and Europe will be participating in Earth Hour this Saturday. This includes countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, China, Australia, Vietnam, India, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and United Kingdom. This is the fifth year that the group is participating in the annual global sustainability movement to show commitment towards protecting the environment since many other cities globally adopted the event in 2008. To further generate awareness on climate change, CapitaLand is also expanding its Wear Less Day beyond Singapore to Asia and Europe on the eve of Earth Hour 2012. For the third consecutive year, CapitaLand will be turning off façade lights and non-essential lighting at its participating properties for extended hours throughout the night, beginning 8.30pm (local time) on Saturday. CapitaLand’s Green Committee chairman, Francis Wong Hooe Wai said: “Wear Less Day was initiated last year as a fun and meaningful way of engaging our staff and tenants to play their part for the environment. "What started off as a simple initiative to rally CapitaLand’s staff and tenants in Singapore to conserve energy and make a stand against climate change has expanded to Asia and Europe this year. "With its widened geographical reach, CapitaLand is also organising Wear More Day this year, catering to countries experiencing cold weather during this period of the year," he said when announcing the programmes here. Emergency lighting and security systems will function normally to ensure that safety and security are not compromised. In Singapore, more than 30 CapitaLand office buildings, serviced residences and CapitaMalls will be taking part in Earth Hour 2012. Participating properties include ION Orchard, Raffles City, The Atrium@Orchard, CapitaGreen, Capital Tower, Six Battery Road and Ascott Raffles Place Singapore. In particular, CapitaMalls Asia is organising its “Bring Your Own Shopping Bag” campaign in Singapore to encourage shoppers to save the environment by bringing their own reusable shopping bags while enjoying STAR$ rewards with a minimum purchase. In Malaysia, participating properties include Ascott, Somerset Ampang, Somerset Seri Bukit Ceylon, Sungei Wang Plaza and Wisma Technip in Kuala Lumpur, East Coast Mall (Kuantan), Gurney Plaza, Queensbay Mall (Penang), The Mines (Selangor), Quill Building 1 (DHL 1), Quill Building 2 (HSBC), Quill Building 3 (BMW), Quill Building 4 (DHL 2), Quill Building 5 (IBM) in Cyberjaya. On Wear Less Day, CapitaLand's staff and participating tenants in Singapore were encouraged to “wear less” while air-conditioning temperatures are turned up to conserve energy. Studies showed that every 1°C increase in temperature can save up to three per cent of energy used for air-conditioning. With Wear Less Day’s expansion to Asia and Europe, the initiative will take a twist this year with the inception of Wear More Day, where staff and tenants weathering cold climate during this period in countries such as Japan, South Korea, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and the UK, will be encouraged to “wear more” as heater temperatures at participating properties in these countries are turned down in a bid to conserve energy. -- BERNAMA