New Zealand's 150 McDonald's restaurants will come together and switch off their Golden Arches simultaneously this Saturday, in support of World Wide Fund for Nature's (WWF's) annual Earth Hour.

At 8.30pm on 27 March, McDonald's will join thousands of businesses and millions of people across New Zealand and the world taking part in the climate change initiative, which Managing Director Mark Hawthorne says the company is committed to supporting

"This is the second year we've committed to turning off the Arches, which we believe sends a strong message of support as they are a very recognisable symbol of our restaurants," says Mr Hawthorne.

"We'll continue to serve customers during Earth Hour so there are some things we can't turn off for health and safety reasons; however we will be switching off our Arches and whatever else we can. We hope that the change in ambience in our restaurants will help inspire other Kiwis to think about what they can do to live more sustainably."

Earth Hour is a WWF initiative that aims to show how small actions can make a big difference. It takes place on Saturday, 27 March 2010 between 8.30pm and 9.30pm. For more information on Earth Hour 2010 visit www.earthhour.org.nz

This will be the second year McDonald's has supported Earth Hour by turning off the Golden Arches, with New Zealand's largest restaurant chain first making the pledge in 2009.