Earth Hour Overview

Earth Hour is one of Australia’s biggest home -grown success stories: an hour for the Earth that grew from a one-city, one-year campaign into the world's largest mass participation event for the planet. 

The idea was simple. Sydney-siders would turn their lights out at the same time as a way to show their concern about global warming and start a conversation with their friends and families about the issue. It was an experiment, but it worked: 2.2 million Sydney-siders and 2,100 local businesses reported taking part. 

From these humble beginnings, the idea went global. Fast-forward eight years, and “lights out” has been taken up by over 7000 cities and the people of 162 nations. 

With an estimated 2 billion people worldwide taking part, Earth Hour now rivals Ramadan and Christmas in terms of the number of people who observe it each year. And here at home, one in every three Australians continue to take part.  

With 90% brand recognition, Earth Hour is Australia’s most widely known and loved environmental movement. In 2014, with the help of Bendigo Bank, Earth Hour’s participation increased from 28% to 32% of Australians. 

We received over $5 million worth of media coverage, and almost $2 million worth of free advertising, reminding Australians of the need to cut carbon pollution for the sake of places like our beautiful Great Barrier Reef. 

“With 90% brand recognition, Earth Hour is Australia’s most widely known and loved environmental movement”