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SXSW 2010 Brings More Sustainability To The Music Festival Lineup

Armando — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:10:48 +0000

by Monica Schrock

Many of you may know SXSW as one of the premiere music, film and interactive festivals in the nation, bringing an array of exceptional and unique talent to the lone star state every year. You may not know that this year’s SXSW festival will bring a new exceptionality to the streets of Austin, TX… sustainability. SXSW 2010 is striving to reduce the carbon footprint of their music and film festival March 12th – 21st.

SXSW became a carbon neutral company in 2006 and have been reducing their footprint ever since by using less energy as well as cleaner energy and supporting companies that do the same. The music department has been using the paperless registration process since 2003 and was able to save 12,000 pieces of paper last year, inspiring the film and interactive departments to do the same. Their other efforts include installing solar panels, using hotels with sustainable hospitality training as well as encouraging fans and professionals to use green lodging. They also give fans visiting Austin easy access information to public transportation, walking directions, bike renting affiliates and carbon offset programs through Enterprise Rent-A-Car. To top it all off SXSW is advising all bands and professionals to green their marketing programs at the festival. If paper is necessary, they urge that the brochures and flyers be printed on FSC certified paper, the same paper that all SXSW directories and event publications are printed on.

This year, support SXSW’s sustainability efforts by implementing some of your own on your trip to Austin. Reduce your footprint by carpooling with your friends, bringing reusable coffee mugs and water bottles, and taking advantage of the public transportation in downtown Austin.

View the SXSW 2010 Promotional Video:

Unlocking Sustainability in the Music Business

Armando — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:19:41 +0000

Article courtesy of Planetwize.

What do steel, rubber factories, mechanics, gas pumps, freeways, and Detroit have in common? They all play a part in the ‘technological lock-in’ – as the academics say – of a less-than-green American car culture.

The music business, it seems, is locked in to huge stages, bright lights, semi-trucks, tour busses, jewel cases, power-hungry analog equipment and, perhaps most challenging, millions and millions of miles driven by fans to catch the show.

The notoriously resistant-to-change industry, however, is greening up, as more bands and fans take action to reduce their impact.

On The Road Again

Driven by economics and environmentalism, many bands are converting their tour vans to run on vegetable oil. For bands that can’t afford their own veggie rig, GreenVans, a greasy green venture started by musicians, outfits touring bands with rental Ford E-350 vans converted to run on vegetable oil, and claims to help bands save both money and the planet.

“The nature of a band is to travel— touring is the major part of our business. This is a great way to reduce the carbon footprint from our bus, as well as help our business survive in a time of skyrocketing gas prices,” said Shaun Dolan, manager for neo-jamgrass-gypsy rockers, Blue Turtle Seduction, who travel in a veggie van. Other indy bands burning the grease include Pictures and Sound, The Ragbirds, and Mojave, just to name a few.

Willie Nelson, FarmAid President of the Board and American musical treasure, so enjoyed filling his tour buses with biodiesel that he started his own brand, BioWillie, which we covered here. These efforts by bands – both big and small - help to take a little petroleum out of the national tour.

Toward a Greener Music Collection

There is also progress on the consumer side of music. Claims that digital music is greener than CDs are somewhat dubious, given the coal-powered servers that deliver digital content; the toxicity of MP3 players; and the fact that people buy more blank CDs to burn digital music. For greener CD production, Earthology Records and Oasis are just two manufactures using recycled paper and plastic, soy-based inks, and local production to minimize the environmental impact of physical CDs.

Studios, labels, and managers are also pushing the green agenda. Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records is a solar-powered studio built with reclaimed lumber, and Green Owl Records, part of Warner Music Group, was founded on the idea that “great music can be sustainable—both economically and environmentally.” The Rosebud Agency in San Francisco, which manages acts including JJ Cale, Bill Frisell, and the Refugee Allstars, bills itself as the music industry’s first solar-powered facility. Even instrument makers are taking steps toward sustainability, a movement led by guitar maker Gibson, which we wrote about here.

Festivals and the Carbon Equation

The big U.S. music festivals of 2009: Bonnaroo, Rothbury, Outside Lands, Bumbershoot - all featured numerous greening initiatives, from carbon offsets and compostable utensils, to rideshare networks, solar stages, and biodiesel generators. While these efforts help to spread awareness and reduce waste, it’s the music-lovers driving across the country in search of the ultimate set that present the biggest challenge to promoters’ aspirations for sustainable festivals.

Reverb, a non-profit outfit founded by Guster guitarist/vocalist Adam Gardner, estimates that 80% of a concert’s CO2 footprint is from the fans’ commute. In addition to helping green the summer tours of Phish, Coldplay, and John Legend, Reverb is working with the Dave Matthews Band to educate fans on environmental sustainability, and has coordinated an ‘Eco Ridshare’ program to reduce concert miles driven.

At the recent Wanderlust Festival in the mountains of California, Reverb was onsite selling raffle tickets, with proceeds helping to purchase carbon offsets through Native Energy, a wind power provider working on Native American lands. This was Reverb’s way of giving fans an optional way to neutralize their travel. According to Steffan Lesard, bassist for the Dave Matthews Band, the band and Reverb offset over 3 million pounds of CO2 during DMB’s 2008 tour. That’s the equivalent of one year’s emissions from over a half-a-million cars, and a good start down the road toward sustainability.

Greener 2008 Summer Sustainable Music Festivals

Armando — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:55:28 +0000

In 2007 Grist.org, an environment news and commentary site, posted an excellent comparison of the industries largest music festivals rating them along dimensions including recycling, green power, green exhibits, carbon offsets, green donations and organic/local food. While Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits rated the strongest across all categories, South by Southwest, Bonnaroo and Bumbershoot were not far behind. Both Coachella and Sasquatch! received the lowest ratings with two and one stars respectively.

With the 2008 Summer Music Festival season upon us Grist.org once again reviews the topic. They start off referring to the unique approach taken by Coachella this year who organized an Amtrack train to bring LA residents out to the Indio, CA grounds. Over 300 fans chose this “public transportation” route for their journey to the show and their train tickets were free.

Later this summer the Rothbury Festival during the July 4th holiday aims to be a concert with a purpose. Rothbury features top music talent including Dave Mathews Band, John Mayer, Thievery Corporation, The Dresden Dolls, Crystal Method, Beth Orton and many, many more. In their own words, they provide the guidelines they have followed in organizing their event. Many of these items should be considerations for any live event or tour planning:

ROTHBURY is dedicated to throwing a HUGE party… with a purpose. This July 4th weekend, ROTHBURY emerges as a new American celebration where music and cause join together to stir ideas, to awaken possibilities, and to empower through knowledge. And yeah, to have the time of our lives.

Our theme is Finding Energy Independence. ROTHBURY is guided by a bold environmental sustainability mission. Dedicated to running as close to a zero-waste event as possible, we have implemented the following initiatives, and continue to add to this list:

1. RUN A NEAR-ZERO WASTE IN-HOUSE PRODUCTION

All ROTHBURY offices have been “Greened.” Just a few examples of the many sustainable initiatives we have implemented include: full service recycling is active at all offices; all paper products are 100% recycled, including but not limited to printing paper, copy paper, envelopes, letterhead; office printing is either two sided, or on the back of reused paper; all our offices use only reusables and compostable kitchen-ware, no disposables; all office supplies have been replaced by their eco equivalents: rechargeable batteries, hand soap, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, energy efficient light bulbs, and more; energy audits and monthly tracking have begun; the ROTHBURY team travels only when necessary, and when we do travel, we offset the carbon we create from our hotel stays, flights and/or automobiles.

2. SUPPORT THOSE COMPANIES SUPPORTING THE SOLUTIONS

When purchasing or even renting an item, ROTHBURY asks ourselves three questions:

Where is this coming from?

How was it made?

Where might it end up?

For example, printing (this includes our on-site programs, posters, tickets, survival guides, smaller signage, etc.):

Our paper comes from an independent/green-only paper company

It is 100% recycled content, no trees cut. It is printed with soy-based inks.

We will not print anything unnecessary, so as to reduce waste. Everything we do print can be recycled again, and we will provide recycling containers on site so that it has a better chance of reentering the system.

ROTHBURY is taking advantage of our ability to vote with our dollar. In addition to paper, ROTHBURY purchases compostables instead of disposables, offers organic and sustainable merchandise (t-shirts, hats), uses biodiesel, provides organic, veggie & vegan food vendors throughout the grounds, and more. Heck, we are even swapping out the porta-potty toilet paper to 100% recycled. Got another idea? Let us know!

3. MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ELIMINATE TRASH

ROTHBURY is committed to eliminating trash. If trash can be replaced with a more sustainable option, such as a reusable, it will be. If an item is going to end up in a landfill, we are going to make best efforts to not use it in the first place. Additionally, our vendors, sponsors and other on-site associates have enthusiastically (and contractually) agreed to our same high standards, and will not hand out anything that might soon be thrown ‘away’. By the way….where is away?!

4. REPLACE DISPOSABLES WITH COMPOSTABLES

Instead of standard ‘trash items’ like plastic cups, plates and utensils, ROTHBURY uses compostable products made from renewable plant sources. Examples include plates made of sugarcane (called Bagasse), and cups, straws, and trash bags made of corn (called Bioplastic). ROTHBURY strongly encourages our attendees to bring their compostable items to one of the many manned compost stations on the grounds!

5. COMPOST AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE

As much as 30-40% of the ‘trash’ generated at an average festival could have been composted (and most of the rest can be recycled). In an effort to divert as much waste as possible, ROTHBURY offers manned compost stations available on-site. These stations accept all compostable food and food service items, as well as any personal items you would like to bring to us that are biodegradable (like paper). Because ROTHBURY is an ‘overnight’ festival that allows attendees to bring in their own food & food service items into the campgrounds, the possibility for accidental tainting is strong (a few petroleum items can taint it all). For this reason, you will not see compost bins along side every recycling/trash bin on the grounds. However, manned compost stations will be available throughout the event grounds, and will be marked on the event maps, for your convenience.

6. PROVIDE EASY TO USE, FULL SERVICE RECYCLING

For those items that are not compostable, like bottles and cans, ROTHBURY will provide easy to use full-service recycling. At ROTHBURY, you will never see a trashcan without a recycling can along side it (Trash? What trash?!). All recycling can be mixed except paper and cardboard. That means plastic bottles, glass bottles and aluminum cans may all go in the same bin. Easy! Anywhere you see a trash can at ROTHBURY, you will also see recycle cans. Each will be labeled clearly, so please be sure to pause, read them, and select accordingly. Please recycle whenever possible!

7. PROVIDE AN AROUND-THE-CLOCK ‘GREEN TEAM’

Not sure if an item is compost, recycling, or trash? When in doubt, just ask the Green Team! ROTHBURY’s tremendous volunteer Green Team will be on hand to assist with questions, sorting, and to generally assist in the elimination of tainting. They are well trained and ready to answer any questions you might have. Want to volunteer and get into the event for free? Great, we couldn’t do it without you! Check out details about ROTHBURY’s Work Exchange Program.

8. CHOOSE CLEAN ENERGY

ROTHBURY supports Clean Energy. This includes bio-diesel and solar powered stages, light towers, sponsor power sources, golf carts, etc. Some elements of ROTHBURY have to be ‘on the grid’. For those elements that we power ourselves, we choose to power them with clean energy.

9. CARBON-OFFSET ALL THAT WE ABSOLUTELY CAN’T REDUCE

While we’d love to fly to Michigan on an ethanol plane, the opportunity does not yet exist. For those items we cannot run clean (like an electric powered stage, or an airline flight), ROTHBURY offsets our carbon output. We are currently exploring opportunities to offset our carbon in a way which specifically benefits the local Rothbury community.

10. PROMOTE MASS TRANSIT AND CARPOOLING

ROTHBURY is working with public transportation systems to create easy to use travel opportunities, and incentives for those who reduce their impact by taking public transport. We have only just begun to outline transportation options to ROTHBURY. Stay tuned for more information on airport shuttles, chartered eco-busses, and more.

11. EDUCATE THE PUBLIC THROUGH EXPERIENTIAL ACTIVITIES

ROTHBURY is dedicated to educating through experience. ROTHBURY will feature a Think Tank, an Energy Fair, an on-site eco-art made of reclaimed products, and more. Keep your eye out in scheduling updates as details are confirmed, and once on-site for plenty of unannounced surprises.

12. GIVE BACK TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

This next one might not be for every music festival going fan but we thought we would show you this eco-friendly music festival tent called the “MyHab” and I am not sure I could take this one seriously as they cost 245 British pounds (about $500US):