10 April 2012, Hong Kong – CBRE Group, Inc. (CBRE) announced today that 722 million square feet of commercial property it manages for clients participated in WWF’s Earth Hour 2012, representing an estimated 26 million building occupants worldwide. This year’s total broke CBRE’s previous global record and surpassed the company’s goal of 500 million square feet. CBRE also made a new record in Asia by engaging tenants and landlords of 610 properties across Asia, covering more than 342 million square feet.
Considered the largest environmental event in history, Earth Hour 2012 took place from 8:30-9:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 31, in a symbolic and unified call for action to reduce the impact of climate change. Hundreds of millions of people located in more than 150 countries switched off non-essential lights for one hour, including CBRE managed properties across Asia Pacific, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East.
This year’s theme of “I Will If You Will” played a significant role in engaging participants and generating global support, especially through social media channels. The idea was to inspire a mutual challenge that would turn the goal of energy or resource conservation into an actionable behavior. In one noteworthy challenge, Dave Pogue, CBRE’s Global Director of Sustainability, agreed to install solar panels on his personal residence if 500 million square feet of CBRE managed space participated in Earth Hour.
“Earth Hour gave us the opportunity to challenge both ourselves and others to become more sustainable in our behaviors and lifestyle,” according to Mr. Pogue. “By promoting the concept of a personal Earth Hour challenge, we not only achieved significant participation in the event but helped influence genuine behavioral change for individuals committed to becoming better stewards of the environment.”
“CBRE continues to be a recognized global leader in the action towards a more sustainable planet as demonstrated by its commitment to Earth Hour since its inception in 2007,” said Andy Ridley, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Earth Hour. “The amount of real estate space that CBRE influenced this year to participate is nothing short of phenomenal. With the commitment of organizations like CBRE on a large, global scale combined with the personal efforts of concerned individuals located in almost every country, the impact of ‘I Will If You Will’ demonstrates that together we can.”
As the leading commercial real estate services firm, CBRE has been uniquely positioned to lead the industry’s participation in Earth Hour since its inception 2007. In 2010, CBRE set a new industry standard, becoming the first global commercial real estate services firm to achieve carbon neutrality.
CBRE also assists property owners and occupiers with energy efficiency programs within the commercial space it manages, as well as for client organizations. CBRE delivers sustainability solutions in all stages of the property life cycle. From acquisition and development to leasing, through all phases of property and project management, CBRE works with clients to reduce waste, improve business efficiencies and build greater value into their asset, their portfolio and their brand.
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About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2016 revenue). The company has more than 75,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate investors and occupiers through approximately 450 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers a broad range of integrated services, including facilities, transaction and project management; property management; investment management; appraisal and valuation; property leasing; strategic consulting; property sales; mortgage services and development services. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.
