Earth Hour takes off at Changi Airport for the third consecutive year

As part of its efforts to raise awareness about the environment and climate change, Changi Airport Group (CAG) will participate in Earth Hour 2011 for the third consecutive year and pledge its support to the global sustainability movement.

CAG will switch off all decorative lights and dim the non-critical operational lights in Changi Airport from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm on 26 March (Saturday). This one-hour effort throughout Changi’s four terminals will result in energy savings equivalent to the total amount of electricity consumed by a typical 4-room HDB apartment over a period of approximately three months.

The impact of Changi’s Earth Hour effort will be most visible at Terminal 3, as lights at the Departure Hall and Departure/ Transit Mall will be dimmed by 80%. Lights at the terminal’s façade and its kerbside at the Departure, Arrival and Basement 1 levels will also be dimmed.

This year, the Earth Hour initiative at Changi will be extended to the Budget Terminal which will see lights at the Arrival and Departure corridors dimmed by as much as 50%. The lights illuminating the ‘Budget Terminal’ sign above the terminal building and the ‘Changi Airport’ sign along Airport Boulevard will also be switched off during Earth Hour. To heighten awareness and reinforce the significance of Earth Hour, CAG will organise a simple quiz for passengers and visitors at Terminal 3’s Departure Hall and inside the airport’s restricted areas. Passengers and visitors who participate in the quiz will receive an environmentally friendly, battery-less torch as a token to mark the occasion. CAG will also spread the green message to all airport staff, passengers and visitors via displays on plasma screens across the main terminals and announcements over the airport's public address system. Trials have been conducted to ensure that the Earth Hour effort will not affect airport operations.

From 26 March 2011 until 1 April 2011, exhibition panels will be set up at Terminal 2’s Departure Hall. These panels, located near Check-in rows 1 and 12, aim to educate passengers and visitors about Earth Hour and provide green tips on what individuals can do to protect the environment.

Environmentally friendly practices will continue to be implemented by CAG beyond Earth Hour. As part of the ‘Changi Goes Green’ programme, various initiatives have been implemented which includes dimming lights at airport terminals by as much as 50% during off-peak hours, increasing the temperature in the terminal buildings’ general areas from 23 to 24 degrees Celsius and installing motion sensors in areas such as toilets and offices to conserve electricity. Solar photovoltaic panels have also been installed on the roof of the Budget Terminal and are generating about 950 kWh of energy a day, resulting in energy savings amounting to some S$80,000 a year.

CAG became ISO 14001 certified just this month (March 2011) and has also attained the Green Mark for Terminal 3 in 2009 – a reflection of the company’s efforts to incorporate best practices in environmental design and construction. Terminal 2 will receive its Green Mark status later this year, while CAG will pursue the Green Mark for Terminal 1 after the current upgrading project is completed.