Yesterday I was completely shocked when my roommate told me that it was Earth Hour at 8:30.  Usually I hear about Earth Hour long in advance and prepare to do something with friends.  When I lived near Toronto, we would go downtown to one of the many restaurants that let us dine in the dark and then listen to the free Earth Hour concert.

Last year, I tried to go downtown Vancouver to at least eat at a restaurant in the dark, but none were participating. It saddened me to think that there were no festivities going on in the greenest city in Canada.

So fast-forward to today and I didn’t see one sign or hear a single person talk about Earth Hour. So is Earth Hour not having the same appeal today as it did five years ago? Do people still care or was it just a trend?

Well as I sat in the dark I realized even if the appeal has slightly worn off, it is still better to have some people participating, rather than doing nothing. But next year I hope one of us can put our sustainability marketing skills to work and help get that Earth Hour buzz back again!

I was reading an article on how the 2014 FIFA World Cup stadiums were being built and it shocked me at how eco-friendly they are going to be.  This is the world’s first major sports stadium that is net-zero energy and LEED Platinum certified. Here are some of the components they added to make this stadium sustainable:

1. The stadium’s roof is large and white and works with Brazils weather, which is hot in direct sunlight and cool in the shade. The roof has 2.544-magawatt solar panels that will collect power and provide the local grid with electricity.
2. The sections of the roof not covered in solar panels are layered with titanium dioxide, which will help reduce greenhouse gases from the air. When the titanium dioxide is activated by the sun it coverts the carbon dioxide to, essentially, dirt which is then washed away by rainwater.  The rainwater is then filtered and used in toilets and irrigation systems.
3. The stadium also helps cut emissions by offering a bike valet program to encourage people to bike instead of drive.  They will provide both indoor and outdoor parking spots for the bikes.  Finally the stadium will also help cut carbon emissions since the stadium is within walking distance of two major hotel districts.

As the head LEED consultant of this project said, “If you can build stadiums green, you can build anything green.” So let this be a lesson to other countries, builders and manufacturers who don’t think this is obtainable.  It is possible to make things in a sustainable way; it’s just a matter of being innovative and creative.