When the Sydney Swans take on West Coast at Telstra Stadium next Saturday night it will coincide with Earth Hour, which is the launch of a 12 month campaign to reduce Sydney's greenhouse gas emissions by five per cent.

Earth Hour is asking Sydneysiders to turn off their lights between 7.30pm and 8.30pm on Saturday 31 March, and Swans fans will realise the Grand Final rematch will have started 20 minutes prior.

In an ideal scenario, the Swans, AFL and Telstra Stadium would like to be able to support the message by turning off the stadium lights, however, this isn’t possible due to operational and safety requirements.

The initiative instead will be acknowledged on the vision screens around the ground with public address announcements and the symbolic switching off of the Telstra signs outside the ground.

Members and supporters attending the game are also encouraged to switch off their lights, and appliances on standby, before making their way to the stadium.

The Sydney Swans also wish to highlight the AFL's ongoing support to combat global warming through the AFL Green Program, a joint initiative with Origin Energy.

In a ground breaking initiative, the AFL and several Clubs have partnered with Origin to be the first sporting league in the world to become carbon neutral.

With Origin's help, by 2009, approximately 120,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions created by AFL House, the NAB Cup and Toyota Premiership Season and Finals Series will be offset by activities such as investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

It's the equivalent of taking 25,000 cars off the road or planting 500,000 trees.