MAKKAH Millennium Hotel & Towers, the unique hospitality destination located by the Holy Haram Piazza in front of King Fahd gate, switched off its non-essential lighting for an hour on March 24 to support the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Earth Hour, an international initiative that brings attention to sustainability issues on our planet and how individuals and companies can make a difference.

Over 3,000 guests, residents, pilgrims and employees in Makkah Millennium Hotel & Towers unite by participating in the celebration of Earth Hour through a number of innovative projects announced by the head office through in-room voicemail messages and guest room television messages. The awareness events included switching off of the main buildings’ exterior lighting and rooftop non-signage, dimming of interior lobby and reception lighting, hosting candlelit dinners with low carbon menus and sustainable cocktails and organizing candle making activities.

Ibrahim Al-Fati, general manager of Makkah Millennium Hotel & Towers, said: “We are delighted to have played a role in supporting this initiative. Makkah Millennium Hotel & Towers are committed to play their part in protecting our environment for future generations. Our properties are part of the lives of people across the country, and especially the pilgrims who come from all the parts of the world, and we are dedicated to raise awareness everywhere and to everybody in the world even with a symbolic gesture from our part. By being more responsible about how we use energy, we can make a meaningful impact on reducing carbon footprints and contributing to a better environment for all.”

“The Organizing Committee composed of the team of the hotel & towers succeeded in fostering a healthy cooperation between the employees and the guest,” Al-Fati added.

Minutes before the hour, guests and the Makkah Millennium Hotel & Towers team gathered around the lobby lounge, where Fati turned off the symbolic switch at 8:30 p.m., which signaled the start of the 60-minute energy conservation. Non-essential lights and appliances were cut off for one hour in different areas of the hotel and also in rooms of guests who supported the event. Instead candles lit in the shape of 60+ Earth Hour at the lobby, which were made out of sustainable materials including beeswax, which are smoke free, non-toxic, and non-allergenic, natural and petroleum-free.

The KSA has been celebrating Earth Hour since 2010, which was founded by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), and it is the single largest symbolic mass-participation event in the world, inspiring a global community of millions of people across 162 countries and territories to switch off lights. — SG