Monday, July 14, 2008

Summertime...and The Livin' Is Easy

The long, hot days of summer are a perfect time to relax and enjoy live music in a beautiful outdoor setting! And that is exactly what I did this weekend. Even while relaxing I had one eye on the environmental practices taking place at the festival. I just can’t help myself, I truly am a MeetGreen Martyr.

The good news is, Pacific Northwest festivals and events are really going green this summer! Hopefully, you are seeing this as well in your area. If you are organizing an event here are the….

Top Ten Things You Can Do

1. Talk to your waste/recycling hauler early in the planning process to develop a recycling program
2. Hire/appoint a recycling coordinator
3. Purchase green power for the stage and lighting
4. Use biodiesel to power generators
5. Ask food vendors to serve local, sustainable food
6. Do not allow vendors or the venue to serve food in Styrofoam and non-recyclable plastics
7. Provide incentives for the audience to use mass transit
8. Purchase carbon offsets to mitigate the travel by artists
9. Develop talking points for the artists to discuss what is being done to green the event
10. Get started. Choosing even one idea from this list will have a huge impact. Measure what you have done and build on it next year.

Thanks to Stages Northwest for this list. They have additional resources available at
http://www.stagesnorthwest.com/greenresources.html

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