The Earth Hour is, in simple terms, an annual awareness campaign that brings focus and attention to the ill-effects and the adverse impacts of climate change on humans and our Environment. This annual mass awareness campaign is observed by asking and requesting people across the world to switch off lights at homes and businesses for a minimum of an hour. That is between 8.30pm (20:30) and 9.30pm (21.30) local time. And this is mostly observed on the last Saturday of March every year.
However, the Earth Hour is a worldwide campaign that has, today, evolved into a mass movement which is being organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). This campaign / event is held every year to encourage individuals, communities, businesses and other communities to turn off non-essential electric lights for a minimum of one hour, that is from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. as a symbol of commitment to preserving the planet. It also showcases the solidarity of this world as a single community that is determined to protect its environment and ecology. 
Akshay Heblikar, Bengaluru environmentalist and director of Eco Watch
The campaign was started off as a 'lights-off' event in Sydney, Australia, in 2007. And since then, it has been growing every year. It has already engaged more than 8,000 cities and towns across 172 countries. The Earth Hour actually started as a symbolic lights out event in Sydney in 2007, which has now grown into one of the world's largest grassroots movement for protecting and preserving our environment and ecology. There is no doubt that it has inspired and continues to inspire millions of people across the world to take definite and conscious action to safeguard our planet so that the future generations will be able to live, if not just survive.
The Earth Hour has been successful, to an extent, in pushing for environmentally-friendly laws and policies to crowd-funding and engaging Corporates through various initiatives, for a better future. However, the entire campaign depends upon the people who actually make this campaign possible. Massive coordination by concerned communities and volunteer organizations across the world has made Earth Hour a big success so far… because its greatest strength is the power of the people… which has so far been their strength and their USP…!
The Earth Hour also focuses on the impact of climate change and its devastating impacts on biological diversity and the loss that threaten the future of this planet. The focus of Earth Hour 2018 - 2020 endeavours to highlight the never-before-had conversations on the ecological disasters and the gradual death of this planet. The focus is also going to be on the urgent need to protect it and the measures needed to be undertaken on war-footing.
However, the campaign also needs to engage the real corporate world in entirety. Which means, that the 24 X7 culture, that has been the norm of today's world, needs to take a short and meaningful break. While the Earth Hour focuses on turning the lights off….. it is also observed that it somehow does not apply to the so-called Corporate World. This is because - while the whole world is putting their best efforts in turning their lights off for about one hour on the specified day, the corporate world is busy with their "business as usual" culture and attitude. They do not seem to be a part of this mass campaign and nobody is questioning them either.
Especially in India, which hosts the maximum number of corporate entities and their allied services, needs to take a bigger part in this campaign. The whole world is watching the major green steps being taken by us. The term "Corporate Social Responsibility" has to be implemented in the true sense. Just supporting few projects and causes that get unduly highlighted in the newspapers and social media has started looking like a green washing.
Therefore it's time we got back in touch with our roots and truly and genuinely get involved in protecting the natural resources, preserving our habitats, re-establishing our degenerating ecosystems and focus on truly sustainable development models for a better future.
