The European Investment Bank (EIB) is one of the many EU institutions that will be supporting the Earth Hour 2015 campaign this weekend, 28-29 March. The EIB will be switching off the lights in our Kirchberg campus to demonstrate our commitment to fighting global climate change.
Lights on facades of the EIB buildings will be switched off, and communal areas inside the buildings will also be dimmed to darkness between 20h30 and 21h30 on Saturday 28 March. The Bank already uses low-energy lighting and operates a minimum lighting and electrical scenario at weekends. This weekend, however, staff are being encouraged to go the extra mile, switching off all unused appliances in a bid to encourage energy saving and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
At the EIB we have been measuring and managing our contribution to a low-carbon economy for some time. We have made notable efforts to reduce our absolute carbon footprint by some 18% since 2007 through changes in methodology and business activities. These include the use of 100% renewable electricity, energy from a cogeneration plant, replacing the EIB service car fleet with lower-emissions vehicles and making use of the “green taxi” fleet, which employs the latest generation of hybrid vehicles.
Climate and environmental considerations are also firmly embedded in the EIB’s operational activities, accounting for over 25% of our annual lending volumes - EUR 19.1 billion in 2014. Moreover, climate considerations are streamlined into all EIB financing, forming the basis of our Environmental and Social Standards.
Earth Hour is an initiative that was launched in 2007 by WWF.
For further information on EIB Climate Action activities please see www.eib.org/climate