IMU Sustainability Club and Sustainability Office carry out social responsibility projects to reduce environmental footprint and contribute to ecological sustainability.
In order to draw attention to the increasing loss of nature and the deepening climate crisis, IMU Sustainability Club and Sustainability Office became one of the partners of “Earth Hour”, one of the world’s largest environmental campaigns. On the morning of March 23rd, the project team made a call on their social media accounts and invited our campus community and the public to be a part of “Earth Hour”, which is celebrated every year in all countries around the world between 20.30-21.30 local time, and to do something positive for our Earth by turning off their lights for one hour with a symbolic action. The message also included some suggestions on what we can do for our planet in this one hour. Thus, as we approach 2030, people were inspired about what they can do according to their lifestyles and interests to achieve sustainable development goals.
As a result of the call made by the IMU Sustainability Club and Sustainability Office, 37 participants took part in the event, contributing 56 hours to the total 3,336 hours spent for the planet in Turkey. Participants carried out many different activities of their own choosing in their cities, such as collecting recyclable waste; sorting waste; cleaning the environment; discovering and protecting biodiversity; reducing food waste with zero waste kitchen practices; and watching documentaries on sustainability. With the project, which created significant awareness, the participants also informed their social circles about “Earth Hour” and sustainability by sharing the photos they took while doing their activities for the planet on social media during at least one hour when they turned off their lights. The project team stated that being a part of the 1,556,200 hours of activity spent around the world is an important source of motivation, especially in terms of seeing that one hour spent individually for a sustainable future turns into millions of hours of action and awareness.
Since it was first incorporated into the sustainability agenda in 2007, “Earth Hour” has been known for the “lights off” moment, with individuals from around the globe switching off their lights to show symbolic support for the planet and to raise awareness of the environmental issues affecting it.
15 years later, we are now at a tipping point with our climate and nature crises, putting at risk the fate of our one home and all our futures. We are on course to breach by 2030 the 1.5°C global temperature increase limit set by the Paris Climate Agreement, and nature is also under severe threat. And in the meantime, we have faced alarming and unprecedented rates of loss globally. Therefore, the next 6 years until the 2030 agenda are crucial to all our futures, when we have to stay under the 1.5°C climate threshold to avoid irreversible damage to our planet, and we need to reverse nature loss by 2030, ending the decade with more nature and biodiversity than we started. To make this happen, communities, businesses, governments, and all of us must urgently step up our efforts.
With thousands of individuals in over 190 countries pledged to join, Earth Hour can turn a single hour that we will spend individually into thousands and millions of hours of action and awareness, creating a domino effect of impact that continues well beyond the 60 minutes. The Biggest Hour for Earth becomes a precious moment of unity, reminding the world that our one shared home needs our help and that we all can – and must – play a part in protecting it.
