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sr-012610-13d13-D January 26, 2010 Council Meeting: January 26, 2010 Santa Monica, .California CITY CLERK'S OFFICE -MEMORANDUM To; City Council From: Councilmember McKeown Date: January 26, 2010 13-D: Request of Councilmember McKeown that the City of Santa Monica participate in the worldwide Earth Hour 2010 on March 27th, turning off all non-essential lighting for one hour at 8:30pm local time, to make a shared global statement of concern about energy use and climate change, and to demonstrate a commitment to finding solutions; and that the City urge Santa Monica businesses, institutions and residents to participate as well. 13-D January 26, 2010 Earth Hour 2010 A Blueprint for Earth Hour Towns/Cities/Counties Earth Hour US Team World Wildlife Fund Washington, D.C. January 2010 Introduction to Earth Hour 2010 Climate change is one of the most serious issues facing our planet today. From melting glaciers to increas~gly intense weather patterns, we are already feeling the effects. Since 2007, millions of people in countries all around the world have made a bold statement of concern about climate change by doing something quite simple-turning off their lights for one hour-Earth Hour. Here in the United States it sends a message that Americans care about this issue and stand with the rest of the world in seeking to find solutions to the escalating climate crisis. The costs of inaction are far too great to ignore. Earth Hour was conceived by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as a way to raise awareness among the general public about climate change and to convey that, by working together, each of us can have a positive impact. Earth Hour's non-partisan approach has captured the world's imagination and the annual event has become a global phenomenon. Last year during Earth Hour 2009, nearly one billion people in more than 4,000 cities around the world turned off their lights to demonstrate their wmmitment and encourage the world to take action. By working together, in cooperation with nations around the world, we can find solutions. Recent scientific reports make it clear we have absolutely no time to waste. We know that the amount of energy saved during one hour won't be enough to save our planet from the potentially devastating impacts of climate change, but that misses the true purpose of Earth Hour. Earth Hour seeks to provide a forum iri which people can engage on climate issues and seek to find ways in their own lives to become part of the solution to this global threat. In that spirit, we invite you to take part in Earth Hour 2010. You can help send a message to the country and the works that the time for action on climate change is now. This document provides detailed guidance on how local communities can come together to launch and manage a successful Earth Hour campaign-in 2010 and beyond. On March 27, 2010 at 8:30 p. m. local time, please join us and millions of others in Turning out and taking action. Thank you in advance for your support of Earth Hour. Leslie Aun Managing Director, Earth Hour US WWF Bringing Earth Hour toYour Community Earth Hour requires the participation and support of many organizations and entities to successfully reach and engage a broad audience. You can help amplify the impact of Earth Hour by leading a local committee of concerned citizens, civic groups, businesses and others who can help make Earth Hour acommunity-vide event. To make Earth Hour successful and meaningful, we ask leaders in each Earth Hour Town/City/County to commit to the following: • Switch off the lights at prominent buildings or local landmarks at 8:30 p.m. bcal time on Saturday, March 27, 2010. • Show your support online for Earth Hour 2010. Join the movement and be counted at www. EarthHour. ora. After an authorized representative of the cityftown/county government has signed up your municipality for Earth Hour, there are many ways to ensure Earth Hour is as effective as possible. To that end, as you work to engage stakeholders and citizens throughout the community, WWF is hereto supportyou every step of the way with: • Technical Assistance on Request. This guide is intended to provide a detailed framework for bringing Earth Hour to your community. However, if you have questions about planning activities, please contact us at earthhourCc~wwfus.orq. • Template Materials. These materials, including letters to local officials and media outlets, talking points and fact sheets, make d easy to get your community leaders involved. Toolkits can be easily accessed here.. • Partnerships with National Organizations and Corporations. WWF is securing the support of national organizations and corporations, many of which may have local affiliates and franchises in your area. Working in concert with these groups can help extend the effectiveness of your local effort. For a growing list of supporting organizations, click here. • Public Service Announcements. Earth Hour public service announcements (PSAs) are designed to encourage Americans to participate in Earth Hour. Produced by the award- winning advertising agency Leo Burnett, these PSAs are available for print, TV, radio and online media placement and can be downloaded here. • B-roll Footage. To increasethe likelihood that television stations in your area will plan a story about Earth Hour, WWF has developed b-roll footage and images from Earth Hour activities around the world. Broadcast-quality footage can be downloaded here. Earth Hour Steering Committee Depending on how large your community's Earth Hour event will be, you might want to consider starting a volunteer steering committee. The steering committee in supporting communities leads the local effort in organizing activities, engaging local citizens and ensuring that the community "goes dark" during Earth Hour. Steering committees are not mandatory, but they can serve as an effective way to engage your community and ensure Earth Hour is well planned. Convening the Committee The steering committee should be comprised of local businesses, civic organizations, faith groups and others whose buy-in is critically important to the local success of the effort. As part of this guide, WWF has provided a template letter to invite key stakeholders to participate in the Earth Hour steering committee. That letter can be downloaded here. Steering committee participants may include, but are not limited to: • Elected officials or their senior staff • Prominent business faders or owners • Community or civic leaders • Leadership from local faith groups • A representative from the local power company • Fire and police departments • Local celebrities or other prominent citizens • Local hotel and restaurant associations • A representative from the Chamber of Commerce or Board of Trade • A school board member • A representative from a professional sports team Committee members should be willing to participate in weekly or bi-weekly meetings at a central location to coordinate plans for Earth Hour: From past experience, we know that meetings work best when they are held early on a weekday morning and last no more than one hour. This is a tight timeframe, but t will create a sense of urgency and minimize afall-off in participation or support. Committee Respons~ilities Committee members should take ownership of the following activities to ensure a successful event. This guide provides recommendations and templates for carrying out each responsibility. • Lights Out Logistics. Identify key buildings and local landmarks that will help to make a bold statement when they "turn out and turn off' during Earth Hour. Then determine who you need to contact and how you will make it happen. • Government Relations. Ideally, bcal Earth Hour activities will have the full, public support of key officials. Involvement of the mayor, a city council member or other ofFcial can help open doors and generate widespread support. • Third-party Outreach. Develop a list and conduct outreach to civic and community groups, businesses, faith groups and others who can help extend the impact of your Earth Hour effort by spreading the word, turning out the lights or providing in-kind support. • Media and Marketing. Make sure people in your community know about Earth Hour by coordinating opportunities to engage local media outlets (through editorial coverage or placement of public service announcements); post information in public spaces; and utilize local networks (listservs, community bogs, Google or Yahoo! groups, etc.) to get the word out. • Events. Events are a good way to create a focal point for Earth Hour activities and generate greater public interest. Events also can provide a platform to engage elected officials, local celebrities or prominent citizens, and the media. • Documenting Success. Part of the power of Earth Hour comes from the ability to showcase how communities across the country have participated. Earth Hour City/Town/CountyActivities Turning Out the Lights The bgistics for Earth Hour are both simple and complex Remarkably simple in that. participation requires only the flick of a light switch. Complex in that getting businesses, restaurants, hotels and local landmarks signed on takes tremendous planning and coordination. Groups that will be most helpful to making this happen include local utilities, building owners, corporations, city officials and local government agencies. 1. Members of the steering committee should identify a list of iconic buildings and other locations that will make a bold statement with their participation during Earth Hour. 2. Contact names and information for individuals respons~le for fuming out the lights at these locations should be identified and catalogued. 3. Steering committee members should reach out to these contacts to request their participation in Earth Hour. Atemplate request can be downloaded here. 4. Once buildings have agreed to participate, a final list of contacts for the day of the event should be compiled. 5. Responsible contacts should be reminded the week before Earth Hour to ensure they will be ready. 6. Photos of participating buildings should betaken at about 8:30 p. m. priorto Earth Hour for comparison with how the building looks during Earth Hour. 7. On the day itself, volunteers should be ready to reach outtoall contacts (via phone, text or email as a reminder. 8. At 8:30 p.m., volunteers should be ready with after-hours contact information to notify contacts if the Ights have not gone out as promised. 9. A photographer or videographer should be ready to capture photos orvideo of participating buildings during Earth Hour. Examples from previous Earth Hour celebrations can be viewed here. Government Relatans Participation from elected officials brings local Earth Hour activities to the "next level" Meaningful support from a mayor or other official may include: • Commitment to turn outthe lights at major landmarks and buildings under their purview. • Public endorsement ofthe Earth Hour program. • Commitment to serve as co-chair of Earth Hour, including attendance at major Earth Hour activities. • Proclaim March 27, 2010 from 8:30- 9:30 p. m. local time as "Earth Hour." A template proclamation can be downloaded here. • Outreach to citizens throughout the community to encourage participation in the event in their homes and businesses. • Personal commitment to turn out the lights in his/her residence. • City commitment to focus on at least one major initiative related to climate change. • Provide support in reaching out to civic leaders or local celebrities. Community and Thin/-party Outreach World Wildlife Fund is securing the support ofnational organizations and corporations. As noted above, many of these groups may have local affiliates and franchises in your area who could participate in the steering committee and help extend the effectiveness of your local effort. In addition, steering committee members should reach outto a broad cross-section of organizations, businesses and other groups in the community. These may include environmental groups, civic groups, schools and community-based organizations of all types (homeowners associations, houses of worship, parks and recreation departments, etc.). There are a number of ways for community organizations and other groups to participate in Earth Hour, including: • Turning off the lights on March 27 at 8:30 p. m. • Engaging students, parents and teachers through school assemblies, teaching ouides, in-school activities or simply sending a notice home. • Sending an a-mail or letter to their members/customers/supporters to encourage their participation in Earth Hour. • Placing notices in church bulletins and local newsletters. • Hanging posters in schools, local businesses, community centers or other bcations. • Posting information on social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, about their support of Earth Hour and encouraging others to participate. • Providing in-kind donations for printing and other related costs. (A note about finar~ial support: For leggy reasons, World Wildlife Fund must be notified of donations of money, goods orservices valued at more than $500. Please contact earthhourCa~wwfus.orgwith information or questions.] • Hosting an Earth Hour party or event. Additional ideas and templates for organizations and businesses planning outreach around Earth Hour are inckaded in the8lueorintforSupportingOrganizations. Media and Marketing The bcal media TV, radio, online and newspaper outlets-is one of the best opportunities for broadcasting the message of Earth Hour and encouraging widespread participation. Media organizations can support Earth Hour by covering local Earth Hour activities in a news story, writing an editorial that supports the Earth Hour message, publishing anop-ed submission provided by a steering committee member, or donating advertising space to run Earth Hour public service announcements (PSAs) for free. 1. Develop a list of reporters at local media outlets who write about the environment, local news or local events. 2. Plan a press conference to announce local support and plans for Earth Hour. 3. Contact the editorial board ofthe newspaper and ask to meet with them to discuss Earth Hour and the issue of climate change more generally. Encourage them to write an editorial supporting the effort. 4. Tailor the template op-ed submission and send it to the letters editor of the newspaper. The op-ed is available for download here. 5. Be sure to email reporters at least one week before your event to tell them about local plans to celebrate Earth Hour. Folbw up with a phone call to verify that they received and understand the information you provided. If a newspaper is only published once a week, they will need to know about the event even sooner. 6. For television outlets, VWUF can provide b-roll footage of Earth Hour activities from around the works. This will give them an important visual for their story. B-roll and photographs can be downloaded here. 7. Develop a separate list of contacts in the public affairs/community relations and advertising departments of Iodal media outlets. These individuals will help secure placement of the PSAs. A template letter to these departments can be downloaded here. PSAs can be downloaded for use here. Events Earth Hour events, such as a press conference, rally or VIP viewing; can bring the community together and generate media support. Event planning may include: • Identifying and securing an event location. • Permitting, if you plan to host the event in a public space. • Developing an invitation list • Soliciting donations for food, beverages, entertainment and decor. • Determining participation of local VIPs. • Inviting local media outlets. Invite participants and broadest your event plans through Facebook's "Create an Event" feature. Keeping it an open event will allow others to invite participants through their own social network If you are planning a press conference with the mayor or other local official, you should work with their Press Office to coordinate logistics. Planning should begin early as it can take several weeks to find a date that works for everyone's schedule. Press conferences to announce the full public support of local officials should be scheduled no later than early March 2010. The Press Office will help to determine where the press conference will be held and who will take the lead on notifying media, drafting the media advisory and press releases and publicizing the event. Documenting Success As mentioned above, part of the power of Earth Hour comes from the ability to showcase how communities across the country have participated. Document your community's involvement by taking photos of buildings and landmarks before and after Earth Hour. • Send your photos-and updates about any other fun activities-to e a rth h ou r Ca~wwtu s. o r q. • Become a fan of V~/WF US on Facebook and post your activities or upload photos to our page.