BBVA Compass Stadium, an AEG Facilities venue, will participate in Earth Hour on Saturday, March 23 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. as part of a global energy conservation program supported by AEG1EARTH initiative.
For the fifth consecutive year, 58 AEG-affiliated venues in 41 cities, seven countries and four continents across the globe will contribute to the largest international environmental effort by turning out all non-essential lights during the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Earth Hour. On Saturday, March 23 from 8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m., 58 AEG clubs, theaters, arenas and stadiums will participate for the fifth consecutive year by turning off marquees and all non-essential external lighting to go “dark” joining over one billion people committed to turning off the lights of their homes and business and national landmarks for one hour as a symbolic call to action. Each venue will engage guests through Earth Hour messaging at events and through social media during that hour.
BBVA Compass Stadium, which will host the Dynamo vs. Vancouver Whitecaps soccer match that evening, will participate in Earth Hour by reducing power by 50% to the exterior video board as well as run in-game messaging on the exterior board about Earth Hour during the soccer match. The stadium and the Houston Dynamo will also encourage fans to participate by promoting Earth Hour through social media channels, in-game messaging and with specific call-to-action messages leading into the weekend.
“BBVA Compass Stadium is committed to acting locally to lead conservation efforts within our community with the goal of educating and inspiring fans to make small, measurable changes on a daily basis which will contribute to long-term global changes. It starts here, and together we can all make a difference,” said general manager Doug Hall. “This enhances our other conservation measures which include using waterless urinals, low-flow toilets, encouraging the use of bicycles and public transportation, as well as providing recycling containers around the building and compostable food utensils.”
The goal of Earth Hour is to show the power each one of us has to make a difference that taking even the seemingly smallest measures to conserve energy is a big step in the right direction for communities, business and governments across the globe. Earth Hour started in just one city in 2007 and spread across to over 7,000 cities covering all seven continents. The annual event takes place from 8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. across all time zones and from Rome’s Coliseum, the Great Pyramids of Egypt and the Forbidden City of China to the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, London’s The O2 and L.A.’s STAPLES Center and thousands of landmarks and iconic locations in between.
“Earth Hour is one of many events that AEG venues host a year to inspire our fans to engage in environmental action,” said Jennifer Regan, AEG’s Global Sustainability Director. “Fans come to sports and music venues for entertainment and we hope they walk away with the excitement knowing that together we can make energy efficiency and reduced climate change possible.”
In 2013, the second AEG 1EARTH sustainability report outlined AEG’s progress towards reducing the energy and carbon footprint of the venues in our portfolio. AEG’s ongoing commitment to improving venue operations and the effort to identify environmental best practices are important steps to achieving these reductions.
