Suntec Singapore’s Iconic Landmarks to Support Earth Hour

On 29 March, from 8pm to 9pm, Suntec Singapore’s multi-coloured lights that illuminate nightly from its iconic sails on the roof of the convention centre will be switched off. Column lights in multiple combinations along the driveway of the convention centre and lights for the lobby's cascading water feature, another signature for the centre, will also join the Earth Hour effort.

Started in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour is a global initiative in which cities and communities will turn out their lights to symbolise their commitment to finding solutions for climate change. It is the highlight of a major campaign to encourage businesses, communities and individuals to take the simple steps needed to cut down on their greenhouse gas emissions and become more energy efficient.

This year, the global initiative will involve many of the world’s architectural landmarks including Chicago's Sears Tower, North America's tallest building, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, as well as Sydney's Harbour Bridge and Opera House, which will all go "dark" for an hour.

"We are part of the global effort to reduce greenhouse gases. We see ourselves as an industry leader, especially in efforts to go green, and we hope the hour long ‘disappearance’ of the unique architecture of Suntec Singapore will draw more attention to this worthy cause," said Pieter Idenburg, Suntec Singapore's Chief Executive Officer.

"Suntec Singapore already had green initiatives from the onset, and caring for the environment was already a consideration in the management of our business, from the pipes in our roof that collects rain water to irrigate the plants in the vicinity, to our recycling efforts at our events, which recently drew the attention of the media," Mr. Idenburg added.

Suntec Singapore has also embarked on a comprehensive recycling programme and is working in tandem with Sembcorp Environmental Management (Sembcorp) to boost recycling and increase energy conservation. It has also started working closely with event organisers to introduce recycling into the business plan of each event. Next month, the venue will host the B4E – Business for the Environmental Global Summit. Hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Global Compact, the summit is a leading international conference focusing on business and the environment and will highlight the most urgent environmental challenges facing the world today.

Among Suntec Singapore’s most distinguished architectural features is its spectacular roof. Boldly expressed in metal and glass pyramids suspended in a steel frame, the roof was clad with Teflon decorative sails and lit by night, when it was refurbished in 2006. The 12-metre water feature in the central lobby was also added during the 2006 refurbishment as part of design enhancement and powerful feng shui elements.

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