Earth Hour, Spider-Man join forces to save the planet

MANILA, Philippines - In a first of its kind partnership, Spider-Man will be the first superhero ambassador for Earth Hour, the global movement organized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), with a message to inspire individuals to use their power to become superheroes for the planet.

Andy Ridley, CEO and co-founder of Earth Hour, and Jeff Blake, chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s worldwide marketing and distribution, made the announcement in conjunction with the launch of Earth Hour Blue — a radical new digital crowdfunding and crowdsourcing platform for the planet, launched to engage people around the world and participants in the famous “lights out” event, which this year will be held on March 29 at 8:30 p.m.

This year, Earth Hour and the hero of the highly-anticipated motion picture The Amazing Spider-Man 2 — along with the film’s stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and director Marc Webb — are throwing their support behind Earth Hour Blue, which aims to harness the power of the crowd to raise funds for on-the-ground environmental projects from across the world.

“I’m proud Spider-Man is the first superhero ambassador for Earth Hour because he shows we can all be superheroes when we realize the power we all have,” says Garfield, who plays Spider-Man in the upcoming film. “Earth Hour is a movement that has created massive impact around the world, so imagine what we can do this year with Spider-Man by our side.”

The crowdfunding section of the new platform will allow participants to help deliver energy efficient stoves to families in Madagascar, help communities in the Philippines build fiberglass boats to withstand climate impacts like Typhoon Haiyan and raise funds to expand and conserve the iconic Table Mountain National Park in South Africa, among others.

“Earth Hour gives you the power to inspire anyone, even if you’re just one person, and Earth Hour is much more than an hour. There are great projects from the crowd, for the planet, happening all over the world,” said Stone.

Director Webb is the first celebrity ambassador to announce the Earth Hour Blue project he is backing, which aims to provide better equipment for WWF Rangers protecting Indonesia’s endangered wildlife such as the Sumatran Tiger, Elephant, Rhino and Orangutan and their forest habitat.

“Earth Hour is a movement full of superheroes — people harnessing the power of the crowd to inspire change for the good of the planet, imagine the possibilities when we come together and do more,” said Webb.

Earth Hour has grown to involve hundreds of millions of people from all walks of life across 7,000 cities and towns and 154 countries and territories. Foxx who plays the villain Electro in the film said, “Earth Hour isn’t just about lights off; it’s about people across the world coming together throughout the year to join forces to improve the planet. Never underestimate your power, never underestimate what you can do.”

Individuals can also use Earth Hour’s crowdsourcing platform for Earth Hour Blue, which will call for people to add their voice to some of the biggest environmental campaigns across the world, including an Instagram campaign for people to share their love of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, as part of WWF-Australia’s Lights Out For The Reef theme for Earth Hour 2014.

Global participants in the movement will also be able to sign the Shark Saver’s I’m FINished With FINS pledge, which engages celebrities and public figures throughout Asia to help end shark finning in marine waters for the consumption of shark-fin soup.

“The idea of Earth Hour has grown beyond anything we could have dreamed. This year, we are taking the movement to the next stage. We hope that Spider-Man will empower individuals to be superheroes for the planet, and use their voice or their dollar to support projects or campaigns around the world. It’s about harnessing the power of the crowd. That’s what Earth Hour Blue is all about,” said Ridley.

Sony Pictures Entertainment will join by contributing to a WWF-China and Earth Hour Blue project that provides efficient cookstoves to prevent deforestation in the habitat of the Giant Panda. Through its efforts, the studio will receive Gold Standard carbon offsets that render the entire physical production of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as well as its publicity tour, carbon-neutral.

Expanding on many sustainability efforts over the years, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 became the most eco-friendly tentpole production in the history of Columbia Pictures. These environmental efforts, on set and off, were supported at every level and began as soon as the film went into pre-production.