Andy Ridley is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Earth Hour, the global climate change campaign he initiated in one city – Sydney, Australia – in 2007, which by 2009 had swept the world, reaching more than 4,100 cities, towns and municipalities, in 88 countries, with hundreds of millions of people taking part.

Born in Norwich, England, Andy moved to Sydney in 2002, tasted the good life and has become an entrenched local ever since; even becoming an Australian citizen in 2009.

Prior to settling in Australia, Andy left Norwich – via an honours degree in Modern Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University – for the bright lights of London, where he headed up the special projects team for the Prince’s Trust, working on a number of UK charity campaigns including the very successful ‘Party in the Park’.

An avid scuba diver, Andy was drawn to Australia by the promise of some of the world’s most spectacular coral reefs and marine wildlife sanctuaries. Landing the role as Communications Director with WWF Australia, he implemented a conservation campaign focusing on The Coral Sea, one of the world’s last pristine marine wilderness areas, which is threatened by coral bleaching as a result of global warming.

In 2004, Andy was inspired by the idea of executing a campaign to provide everyday people and businesses with a platform to voice their concern on climate change by switching off their lights simultaneously. He initiated a think tank between Leo Burnett and Fairfax Media, forming a partnership to deliver his ‘lights out’ campaign, which would later become known as Earth Hour.

Andy’s vision came to fruition on 31 March 2007, when over two million people and two thousand businesses in Sydney switched off their lights for the inaugural Earth Hour. In 2008, Earth Hour went global with 50 million people in 370 cities and towns across 35 countries switching off their lights. By 28 March 2009 the open-source nature of the Earth Hour message had swept the globe, with hundreds of millions of people in over 4,100 cities and towns across 88 countries and every continent contributing to a global message on climate change with their light switch.
In addition to individual support, the campaign garnered backing from over 20,000 businesses and governments of all levels around the world. In the space of two short years, Andy’s inspiration, led by WWF in partnership with Leo Burnett and Fairfax Media, had gone from a one-city event to a global phenomenon.

Andy and Earth Hour's organisers hope that governments around the world will listen to the voice of the public and take serious action on emissions reduction.
Andy is married to zoologist, author and fellow conservationist, Dr. Tammie Matson, who is a specialist in Human Elephant Conflict. His passion and drive to work on a better future for the planet went up another gear in November 2009, when he and Tammie became parents for the first time.

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