Earth Hour - a global campaign initiated by WWF - is not just a symbolic 60 minutes of lights out, but is increasingly affirming the real value of energy saving, changing consumer behavior and promoting green transformation throughout society. In Vietnam, this campaign has proven one thing: the value of saving is not only in the electricity numbers, but also in the change in awareness and sustainable actions of the community.
According to aggregated data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the period 2021-2025, after each hour of turning off lights to respond to Earth Hour, the whole country saved from about 298,000 kWh to 440,000 kWh of electricity, equivalent to hundreds of millions to nearly 1 billion VND per year. In the last 3 years (2023-2025 alone), the total amount of electricity saved reached more than 1.17 million kWh, equivalent to about 2.36 billion VND. These are not small numbers if considered in just one hour.
However, if you only look at the amount of electricity saved, you may overlook the greater value that Earth Hour brings. That is the strong spread of energy saving awareness in the community - the core factor to create long-term change. From a symbolic action, the campaign has gradually formed a reasonable electricity use habit in daily life, from households to businesses.
Reality shows that after a period of slight decline, the amount of electricity saved in 2024 and 2025 has increased again, reflecting the more active participation of localities, businesses and people. This shows the effectiveness of communication and the change in social awareness about using energy economically and efficiently.
Notably, in the context of the world facing many energy fluctuations, especially the impact of geopolitical conflicts causing oil, gas and coal prices to increase sharply, energy saving is no longer an option, but has become an urgent requirement. In Vietnam, the pressure to ensure energy security while maintaining sustainable economic growth poses the requirement to use energy more efficiently.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long said: The Earth Hour Campaign in Vietnam has surpassed the symbolic day of 60 minutes of lights off, becoming a platform to raise social awareness about using energy economically and efficiently and gradually transforming it into regular and continuous actions in production and life. "Improving energy efficiency is also one of the key factors to improve the competitiveness of the economy in the process of restructuring the growth model. This requires strongly promoting innovation activities, taking technology and digital transformation as the foundation for more sustainable energy use. At the same time, it is necessary to encourage green consumption and form a sustainable lifestyle, thereby creating synchronous and long-term changes throughout the economy" - Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long emphasized.
Earth Hour 2026, with the message "Green Innovation - Green Future", continues to emphasize the role of innovation and technology in sustainable energy use. But above all, the core message is still: every small action, if maintained regularly, will create great change.
The saving value of Earth Hour is not in "60 minutes", but in 365 days of the year. When symbolic actions become habits, when awareness transforms into behavior, energy saving efficiency will no longer be a number in an hour, but a sustainable benefit for both the economy and the environment. Earth Hour is therefore not just an event, but a regular reminder: saving energy today is investing in the green future of tomorrow.
