UK Parliament to take part in Earth Hour 2019

All non-essential internal and external lights will be switched off to raise awareness about the need for action on climate change.

Parliament has taken part in this initiative since 2010, which is supported by the Speakers of both Houses as a demonstration of our longstanding commitment to improving sustainability across the parliamentary estate and beyond.

What exactly will happen?

All non-essential external lighting will be switched off at the Houses of Parliament between 8.30-9.30pm on Saturday 30 March. This is expected to include:

• the floodlights on the Palace and Portcullis House, and the lights on the visible Elizabeth Tower clock face
• lights in function rooms overlooking the riverfront;

Last year's Earth Hour resulted in a 3.4% reduction in electrical demand for the Palace of Westminster for that hour. 

How is Parliament improving its environmental performance?

Since 2008/09 Parliament has lowered its electricity use by 15%, gas use by 14% and water consumption by 25%. Some of the measures taken to help achieve these environmental improvements include:

• Rolling programme to replace lighting across the Palace of Westminster with low-energy lighting;
• Installation of SMART metering to allow live tracking of energy and water consumption;
• Use of borehole water to provide air cooling in Portcullis House, and using the by-product as flush-water in toilets;
• Recycling or recovery of 59% of Parliament's general waste.

For more information about WWF's Earth Hour 2019, you can visit their website here. Join in the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #EarthHourUK.