ING Vysya Bank joins Earth Hour campaign

Bangalore, Mar 22 : Private sector unit ING Vysya Bank joined the global campaign of Earth Hour by initiating awareness programmes across the country and also partnered with WWF to light up select villages in Gajapati district of Odisha using renewable energy solutions.

The bank said it is using its branch network to spread the message of energy savings through posters, emails, events and other online engagements.

WWF had urged organizations to take up the message beyond the hour by adopting villages for lighting up using renewable energy sources.

In line with this objective, the bank is planning to light up select villages in Gajapati, those which are in complete darkness after sunset, in partnership with WWF.

Last week, the bank held an awareness event in Phoenix MarketCity mall in Bangalore to promote the cause by organizing an art-related event.

The bank unveiled a large mural, created impromptu by mall visitors, that depicted renewable energy sources and community empowerment.

"This is indeed one of the largest savings plan on earth and we go way beyond the hour to promote the message of energy savings. Ever since our bank took up the challenge of reducing energy consumption during Earth Hour 2009, we have saved over 1.76 million KwH of energy," said Jayant Mehrotra, Chief Financial Officer, ING Vysya Bank.

"We are glad to partner with WWF to light up some of the villages in Gajapati using renewable energy solutions," said Mehrotra.

Amsterdam-based ING Group has been operating 100% carbon neutral since 2007 with 70% of its electricity requirement met by renewable sources.