MikeLigalig.com

March 28, 2008 18:57:00
Margaux Ortiz
Philippine Daily Inquirer


MANILA, Philippines -- Not everything is about business.

For an hour on Saturday night, lights in all SM malls will be turned off in an effort to remind its patrons about the urgent need for action on global warming.

SM Supermalls president Annie Garcia said the malls would participate in the World Wildlife Fund-initiated Earth Hour, wherein millions of people in major cities worldwide are expected to unite and switch their lights off from 8 to 9 p.m.

“Through this activity, we would be able to give back to the public by being a venue for such important global messages,” Garcia told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in an interview.

Liza Silerio, SM Vice President for Operations, said that after being invited by WWF president David Valdez to join the activity, the mall administrators immediately thought how the “lights out” endeavor would affect business.

“But we decided that it could be done here since Earth Hour had previously been successfully carried out in Sydney, Australia,” Silerio said.

She explained that SM officials eventually decided to turn off 50 percent of the lights in all 31 malls all over the country for an hour on Saturday.

“However, all exterior lights, including the SM logo, would be turned off,” Silerio said.

She stressed, “This is the first time we are going to do this. We never turn off the SM logo because it has always been a sign of the role of the malls in the communities we are part of.”

Silerio also said there would be a symbolic turning off of the big globe in front of the SM Mall of Asia, an equally significant move for them.

“We have likewise informed and encouraged our tenants to shut off their lights especially their signages during Earth Hour,” the SM vice president said.

She explained that the activity would create awareness in both tenants and more importantly, in the millions of customers who visit their malls everyday.

“SM shoppers normally number around 2.5 million per day. During weekends, especially Saturday nights, they exceed the three-million mark,” Silerio said.

She pointed out that by shutting off the lights in the mall for an hour, patrons would immediately be made aware of their cause.

“They would know that switching off their appliances for even hour would go a long way in mitigating the ill effects of climate change,” Silerio said.

She added that this would be the first time that such an activity in a mall set-up would be carried out in the Philippines.

“Some people would say that an endeavor such as Earth Hour would sacrifice business,” Silerio said.

But she said that the malls should have a share of the responsibility for the environment.

“The awareness that would be created by this activity would greatly impact each individual who would then do his part to help the Earth,” Silerio said.



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