Earth Hour is organised by the WWF, and the first event took place in 2007.

The idea involves people around the world taking action for an hour to tackle climate change, such as simply turning off their lights, at ‘Earth Hour’.

This year’s Earth Hour will take place at 8.30pm local time, on Saturday 23 March.

Epson global president Yasunori Ogawa said he was proud that Epson had become the first international corporate partner for the initiative.

He commented: “Since our founding, we have had a strong commitment to coexisting with the community and to ongoing activities aimed at preserving the natural environment.

“While fulfilling our mission as a company, we also believe in the importance of everyone joining to take action. Even small actions can make a big difference if enough people participate. Through this partnership, we hope to expand understanding and empathy for environmental activities and provide an opportunity for as many people as possible to act.”

Epson said it would activate its global network of sales companies to help raise awareness of the range of simple energy-saving actions people can take.

The information will be available in over 26 languages in the respective countries and regions.

Yves Calmette, senior director for brand and network communications at Earth Hour International, said: “We want Earth Hour to be a moment of celebration for our one shared home – our planet.

“Earth Hour isn't just about acknowledging the problem, it's about celebrating the solutions. It is our beacon of hope, so that we can build a brighter, more sustainable future for all.”

Epson’s Environmental Vision 2050 includes a commitment by the Japan-headquartered company to become carbon negative by that date and eliminate the use of non-renewable underground resources.

Separately, Epson Europe president Yoshiro Nagafusa will retire at the end of March. Takanor Inaho, currently sales and marketing division general administrative manager at Seiko Epson Corporation, will take over the role from 1 April.