Green Guardians 2022: Sunbelt, Tait, Power Logistics

The Green Guardians is spearheaded by IQ and an expert panel of sustainability experts to recognise suppliers who are improving the live music business when it comes to being more environmentally friendly.

Our international panel of judges this year includes representatives from A Greener Festival, Green Events & Innovations Conference, Greener Events, Green Operations Europe (Go-Group), Julie’s Bicycle, Le Réseau des Femmes en Environnement, Sustainable Event Alliance, Sustainable Event Solutions, Tour Production Group, and Vision:2025.

The 2022 list of Green Guardians includes 20 entries across a wide range of event suppliers and solutions providers, all of whom are working tirelessly to reduce the carbon footprint of the live entertainment business.

IQ will publish entries across all categories over the coming weeks. Catch up on the previous instalment profiling My Cause, Reverb and Smart Power here.

Sunbelt Rentals
Sunbelt – one of the UK’s largest rental equipment providers are big on all things that matter, from equipment and service to sustainability and trust.

Whatever the sector, project, or challenge, Sunbelt Rentals have the solution, offering the expertise, the equipment, and
the team to make it happen.

The company boasts a nationwide portfolio of plant products, specialising in site storage and welfare facilities, plus a comprehensive range of tools available for buy or hire.

Alongside day-to-day equipment supplies, they can also provide a full range of market-leading, environmentally friendly temporary infrastructure solutions to help bring events to life.

Whether clients need complete event management or have a very specific requirement, Sunbelt can help. From planning, plant, and power, to access, safety, and welfare.

As existing energy contracts expire, TAIT intends to replace them with new green contracts

Tait
At TAIT, staff are committed to championing a sustainable future for the entertainment industry.

In 2022, the company rolled out a global training programme for all TAIT employees in Europe and North America. The initiative includes seminars and practical workshops introducing the concepts of working toward the linear economy; waste and energy hierarchies; embedded carbon; lifecycle analysis; material choices; and whole systems thinking.

From 1 January 2022, all travel for employees based in North America and the UK was booked and managed through one travel company. This initiative gives TAIT clear visibility of its travel emissions from a project and internal perspective. It says that it is continuing to collate emissions data on Scope 1 & 2 and will include travel in its Scope 3 data collection in 2022. This data will be used to create the company’s carbon reduction policy.

TAIT’s new UK premises at Haverhill, due to open later this year, will incorporate solar panels above the office space and a rainwater harvesting system for the building. EV charging points have been installed with the infrastructure to increase capacity as more people make the switch to using electric cars.

As existing energy contracts expire, TAIT intends to replace them with new green contracts, switching its gas and electricity suppliers to those who specialise in renewable sources. By 2025, all of the company’s UK locations will run on green energy.

The Power Logistics team has been involved with Radio 1’s Big Weekend, BST Hyde Park, Extreme E and Boomtown

Power Logistics
Continually investigating new and alternative methods to make the events it supports and the day-to-day activities of the company as carbon efficient as possible, Power Logistics offers sustainable power and lighting solutions.

The team has been involved with numerous high-profile events in 2022, such as Radio 1’s Big Weekend, BST Hyde Park, Extreme E, Boomtown, and the Platinum Jubilee celebratory events in London. Delivering green-power solutions was paramount at all of them.

Power Logistics’ award-winning green credentials include the use of Green D+ HVO, utilising the smallest generators possible on a load-demand system, power monitoring, LED tower lights, and site lighting as standard practice at the events it serves.

Whilst implementing battery energy storage systems is commonplace at projects that benefit from the technology. The team is currently exploring innovative solutions, including hydrogen power, solar, and the incorporation of second-life batteries to optimise energy usage for event utilities reducing fuel and carbon emissions.

Devising and implementing an advanced energy management strategy, Power Logistics reduced fuel consumption at this year’s Radio 1 Big Weekend by 34% from 2019, even though its overall capacity was 25% bigger. It also reduced the number of generators onsite from 30 to 17 compared to 2019, contributing not only to fuel savings but also to a huge reduction in transport.

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Green Guardians 2022: Gem-Stage, Instagrid, GPC

IQ will publish entries across all categories over the coming weeks. Catch up on the previous instalment profiling Native Events here.

Gem-Stage
Gem-Stage was launched in Europe in 2019 in collaboration with EU/Interreg NWE, just three months prior to the pandemic. The mission: demonstrate sustainable energy usage at event sites.

Since 2020, GEM has visited several European festivals where it has provided wind, solar, light, and hydrogen/hydrozine. And with an added professional stage (6 x 8 meters), GEM has become a fully operating, colourful and eye-catching entity that is an attractive addition to any event.

The stage includes a 90kWh battery storage and can provide energy for a live show of up to eight hours. Among the events that have hosted GEM-Stage are Pohoda (Slovakia), Rock for People (Czech Republic), Boomtown (Belgium), Eurosonic Noorderslag (The Netherlands), and Vestrock (The Netherlands).

In 2023, GEM-Stage is planning to spread its wings and visit more places and meet more people, in order to spread its message and demonstrate the benefits of sustainable energy.

Instagrid has developed an advanced portable power battery as a power supply for professional applications

Instagrid
Instagrid specialise in high-power portable battery systems that enable reliable and efficient access to clean and affordable electricity for anyone, anywhere, and anytime. Specifically, Instagrid has developed an advanced portable power battery as a power supply for professional applications, to replace highly polluting fossil generators.

The reduction of size and weight is achieved by proprietary power converter technology with a modular design. This gives users the ability to achieve unprecedented power levels, making instagrid products among the most advanced portable battery systems in the world.

Instagrid’s innovative technology helps professionals in areas such as construction, events, film/TV, and public sectors to work with more comfort, achieving greater productivity and efficiency. For the events sector, the compact and lightweight battery brings convenience by providing flexibility and independence from site generators. The power system is easy to move around a festival or venue, wherever electricity might be needed.

In the UK, the ONE Max product powered everything from site cabins to pressure washers, welders and mobile PA systems during the build, show, and break at festivals including Shambala and Secret Garden Party.

Green Producers Club provides a research-based climate tool that both measures emissions and facilitates reduction

Green Producers Club
Green Producers Club provides a research-based climate tool, Green Producers Tool, tailored to multiple industries within the creative and culture sectors, that both measures emissions and facilitates reduction.

All producers and purchasers of events, concerts, festivals, film & television, and soon theatres, can now measure emissions from transport, energy consumption, food & beverage, recycling & waste, accommodation, machinery & construction, art department, venue management, equipment for both stage and film, as well as miscellaneous purchases.

The tool is developed by producers for producers, and is thus intuitive and relevant. It calculates emissions from activities immediately, which is helpful when planning future activities. The emission factors in the tool are calculated by the acclaimed Cicero and based on international databases and cutting-edge research into lifecycle emissions as well as direct emissions.

Green Producers Club will continuously develop the tool according to new technology and research. The Club facilitates seminars and workshops, and gives decision makers reliable analysis on where to implement measures that have an effect.

See the full list of 2022 Green Guardians in IQ 114 here. The next edition of the Green Events & Innovations Conference will take place on Tuesday 28 February, more information here.

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Green Guardians 2022: Native Events

IQ will publish entries across all categories over the coming weeks. Catch up on the previous instalment profiling d&b audiotechnik, Ecolibrium, Every Can Counts and Focusrite here.

Native Events
Over the past five years, consultancy group Native Events has been working really hard to help the events and cultural sectors in Ireland transition towards a more sustainable and circular future.

Native Events was born of a frustration with the needless waste and impact that gigs and events were having in Ireland and the lack of progress being made within the creative industries there.

They started with solar arrays and batteries to power stages and activations and a suite of upcycled furniture and decor, using salvaged materials from exhibitions.

The team has been pushing the conversation in Ireland towards environmental and social responsibility and has partnered with Julie’s Bicycle to establish Julie’s Bicycle Europe. Together they have launched an innovative carbon calculator – specifically designed for the arts – in Ireland, so that creatives can measure, account for, and reduce their environmental impacts. Using this tool with their clients throughout 2022, they have been moving towards reporting and bench-marking for the sector.

Native Events was born of a frustration with the needless waste and impact that gigs and events were having in Ireland

Coming back to live events following the pandemic has been challenging, but the team at Native Events has stayed committed to their vision. Their work with Body&Soul Festival this year saw the introduction of a biodigester, which broke down food waste and compostables onsite; a switch from diesel to 100% HVO-powered generators; and the use of natural, waterless toilets site-wide, saving on chemical use and transport.

Also in 2022, they have been working on a hugely ambitious carbon neutrality project with Dublin PRIDE LGBTQ+ Festival. Further exciting projects this year include energy monitoring for the Heineken Greener Bar at Electric Picnic, aimed at reducing energy consumption, and the creation of a festival campsite based on circular economy principles; a partnership with the Waste Management Regional Offices – an industry-wide consultation on the elimination of single-use plastics at Irish events; and the co-creation and publication of guidelines for sustainable festivals with Failte, Ireland’s Tourism Board.

Native Event’s aim for 2023 is to continue their work with Ireland’s live events industry, whilst expanding their consultancy work to help organisations understand their environmental impact and develop a strategy for how they can get where they need to be. Creating sustainable events and cultural activities is no longer a choice – it is action – and Native Events are proud to be at the forefront of action in Ireland’s creative sector.

See the full list of 2022 Green Guardians in IQ 114 here. The next edition of the Green Events & Innovations Conference will take place on Tuesday 28 February, more information here.

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Sustainability initiatives ramp up across the business

This week has seen major companies in the live music business ramp up their sustainability efforts with new initiatives, hires and partnerships.

ASM Global this week announced a new partnership with Honeycomb Strategies, a leading consultant in sustainability for the hospitality, sports and event industries.

According to a release, the partnership will support and improve the venue management giant’s sustainability efforts across its global portfolio of some 350 facilities, from stadiums to local convention centres.

Honeycomb Strategies, a woman-owned consultancy, brings extensive experience and a comprehensive understanding of events-related best practices in the sustainability field.

The consultancy will work closely with ASM’s corporate social responsibility platform, ASM Global Acts Foundation, which supports philanthropic and community-based endeavours, guided by its sustainability and diversity objectives.

ASM Global announced a new partnership with Honeycomb Strategies

Among Honeycomb Strategies’ clients are SoFi Stadium, Colorado Convention Center, Visit Denver, Greenbuild Conference and Expo, Vancouver Convention Center, Specialty Coffee Association, Coffee Expo, UUA General Assembly and Snowflake Technology Summit.

Meanwhile, AEG Europe is recruiting a director for the delivery of net zero, to be based out of its European head office in London.

The successful candidate will be charged with developing AEG Europe’s Net Zero Strategy, implementing and driving plans that deliver net zero and establishing AEG Europe as industry leaders and advocates for net zero.

Elsewhere, environmental nonprofit A Greener Festival (AGF) has launched ‘A Greener Supplier Kitemark’ to provide green suppliers with independent verification and recognition of their sustainability actions.

The new certification will help events, festivals and tours identify verified green suppliers more easily, reducing the time and overhead of having to undertake their own internal supplier assessments.

AEG Europe is recruiting a director for the delivery of net zero

For suppliers with the kite mark, it is hoped that it will reduce the effort required to demonstrate their green credentials to prospective customers.

To attain the kitemark, suppliers will have to demonstrate a commitment to supporting biodiversity, and reducing their organisations emissions and waste across the company’s operations, purchases and investment.

The supplier assessment will consider the organisation’s approach to applicable key elements of environmental sustainability including energy, food & beverage, transport, waste management, water, plastics & packaging, social responsibility, as well as its policy and strategies for dealing with hazardous materials and reductions in CO2 emissions.

Meanwhile, the US has gained a new nonprofit organisation studying sustainability and live events.

Sound Future launched with the goal to find solutions to making live events more sustainable in a way that supports business goals and improves the artist and fan experience.

The US has gained a new nonprofit organisation studying sustainability and live events

“Sound Future is a nonprofit born to harness the influence of the live event industry for the betterment of people, planet, and business,” reads a statement from the organisation.

“We partner with industry stakeholders to offer baseline climate accounting for live events. We use that data to inform the highest impact technology solutions, recommending only those that help our partners meet their business objectives and meaningfully improve the event experience for the talent and their fans.”

The nonprofit is led by CEO Cassie Lee, who has previously held roles at NASA, Paul G. Allen’s space programs and SpaceX.

Taking up the position of COO is Ashley O’Winter, an Emmy-award nominated documentarian and a philanthropist.

CMO of Sound Future is Brandy Schultz, founder and owner of the award-winning agency Adventure Nannies, whose knowledge of the live event space comes from touring the world with her husband, Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers.

Also serving in an advising role at Sound Future is Sara Full, current tour director of The Lumineers and who previously worked on the road with AC/DC and The Rolling Stones.

Later this year, IQ Magazine will publish the third edition of Green Guardians, an annual guide that aims to boost the profile of sustainability pioneers working to make the live business greener.

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Green Guardians: Water & Sanitation

The Green Guardians Guide, spearheaded by the Green Events and Innovations Conference (GEI) and IQ Magazine, is a new yearly initiative boosting the profiles of those working at the forefront of sustainability, in the hope that it might also inspire others.

The 2021 list, which originally ran in IQ 103, includes 40 entries across eight categories, highlighting some of the organisations and individuals who are working so tirelessly to reduce the carbon footprint of the live entertainment business.

This year’s winners have been chosen by a judging panel that includes experts from A Greener Festival, Greener Events, Julie’s Bicycle, the Sustainability in Production Alliance, the Sustainable Event Council and the Tour Production Group.

IQ will publish entries across all categories over the coming weeks. Catch up on the previous instalment of the Green Guardians Guide which looks at power.

Frank Water
Frank Water CIC is a social enterprise that raises funds for the charity’s safe water projects overseas and helps inspire the UK (and beyond) to adopt a more sustainable approach to water.

The organisation has a diverse portfolio of services and products that help support the charity financially, whilst promoting its ethos of sustainability. For example, its festival refill service enables festivals to substantially reduce levels of plastic waste. During 2020, this service was obviously impacted by Covid-19, but Frank is back on the festival circuit in 2021, at the likes of Green Man, End of the Road, TankFest and Beautiful Days.

As well as supporting the charity’s emergency response to Covid-19 in India and Nepal, the organisation spent time during the pandemic developing its UK education programme and designing a new look for its range of glass-bottled spring water, because while it stresses that tap water is always best, Frank wants to give consumers an ethical, sustainable choice.

Looking to the future and further developing its work around global water stewardship, Frank Water has also created a tech platform, WASH Connect, which consists of a suite of digital tools and applications to support brands and companies to develop and deliver their water stewardship programmes and manage the risks to water security in their supply chain.

ECOZ Mobile has already been spotted at Belgian festivals such as Paradise City and Dranouter

Hello Water
In recent years, it has become clear that the tipping point for climate change is approaching, especially when it comes to water. Water is not a single-use commodity and shouldn’t be treated like one.

With this in mind, I-QUA started ECOZ Mobile, its pilot project for mobile water treatment at events, offering local water sanitation and striving to make water treatment systems circular. Wastewater goes in, clear water comes out. It’s that easy. Say goodbye to brown gunk and hello to clear water!

ECOZ Mobile has already been spotted at Belgian festivals such as Paradise City and Dranouter – ideal opportunities to test how the project copes in challenging conditions. With 2020 being low on festivals, ECOZ founder Wouter Igodt used the opportunity to launch a new startup – Hello Water – whose aim is to help get the idea of environmentally friendly local water treatment out in the open, beyond festivals. The organisation’s motto is: “Where water flows, life grows.”

Not only are Nature Event’s composting toilets better for the environment but they provide a more pleasant experience

Natural Event
Having launched in 2000 with an alternative solution toilet, Natural Event Composting Toilet Systems is changing the world literally from the bottom up.

The company has designed and operates one of the most effective, practical, pleasant-to-use toilet systems for festivals, events and gatherings.

Natural Event was created after the organisers of The Festival of Folk, Rhythm and Life, Victoria, Australia, realised that the toilet system they had created to cater for their own three-day festival could easily be deployed nationally and internationally.

The company’s aim is to provide festivals and events with planet-friendly water usage systems that consume much less energy than the previous systems that involved transporting massive quantities of waste.

Not only are Nature Event’s composting toilets better for the environment but they provide a substantially more pleasant user experience, producing no smell, even in the blistering Australian sun, five days into a huge camping festival. All hail the pong-less bog.

Ideal for large crowds with multiuser safe access, O’land’s stainless-steel stations are beautiful and ecological

O’land fill & wash stations
Since losing all event contracts in March 2020, management of The Green Stop decided to rebrand the company changing its name to O’land, and made their fill-and-wash stations safer in terms of hygiene and safe distancing.

The organisation has maintained its mission of eliminating waste from single-use plastics, by improving its bottle refill solutions and providing hand-wash and sink facilities.

Ideal for large crowds with multiuser safe access, O’land’s 360-degree-designed stainless-steel stations are both beautiful and ecological – making them attractive for sponsorship and branding opportunities.

In addition, O’land’s near-real-time antennas record daily water usage so that analysts can easily document the number of bottles refilled and plastic waste saved.

Osheaga Play allows festivalgoers to trade in plastic water bottles and see them get recycled into special-edition T-shirts

Osheaga
Over the years, Osheaga has implemented multiple sustainability initiatives to ensure that its operations are responsible. Beyond the artistic and cultural experience, the festival wants to minimise the negative impact it has on the environment and maximise the positive influence it has on society and the economy.

Its Water for Everyone programme in partnership with National Bank has helped provide Osheaga with more than 31,500 litres of drinking water, 14 additional water-refill stations, and 9,000 reusable water bottles. Additionally, Osheaga Play (powered by National Bank) allows festivalgoers to trade in plastic water bottles and see them get recycled into special-edition Osheaga T-shirts.

In 2018, Osheaga enacted a ban on plastic straws, it has been using reusable eco-cups in onsite concessions for over five years, and in 2019, the festival’s Perrier tent implemented more environmentally friendly paper cups.

The event continually examines its practices with water and waste to ensure it is doing everything it can to improve its sustainability credentials.

In recognition of those efforts, Osheaga has achieved level 2 of the Standard BNQ (Bureau de normalisation du Québec) 9700-253 for responsible event management, delivered by Modus Operandi Logistiques.

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Green Guardians: Event Infrastructure

IQ will publish entries across all categories over the coming weeks. Catch up on the previous instalment of the Green Guardians Guide which looks at artists and activists.

Continest
Continest container units are a market-leading, award-winning and eco-friendly portable accommodation solution, utilising innovative foldable container technology. The flat-packed containers are specially constructed to enable quick and easy transportation, installation and relocation, and their groundbreaking design has won plaudits around the world.

A great solution for events, venues and brands looking to increase their facility and temporary accommodation capacity in an environmentally conscious way, Continest provides solutions to help meet sustainability targets. Due to their patented design, multiple units can be transported on a single truck, enabling huge savings on road.

In 2020, d&b launched its Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) programme offering customers reconditioned loudspeaker systems

d&b audiotechnik
Aware of the impact that the live entertainment industry has on the environment, d&b makes a conscious effort to ensure that sustainability is a permanent part of its mission with the company developing effective programmes to support this undertaking.

d&b is EMAS certified, meaning it observes a set of guiding principles, including upholding human rights and well-being, resource protection, energy and emission reduction, product responsibility, sustainable innovation, and much more.

In 2020, d&b launched its Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) programme offering customers reconditioned loudspeaker systems. Purchasers benefit from a rider-friendly sound reinforcement system while helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the consumption of raw materials.

This programme makes d&b one of the first sound companies to adopt an organised approach to sustainability and reliability in the pro audio industry. The first-ever CPO J-Series system was recently installed at Westville Music Bowl in Connecticut, USA.

d&b is committed to ensuring its new products are environmentally responsible as well. The recently launched D40 amplifier combines advanced voltage management to drive systems that demand less input power. The D40 includes enhanced energy-saving features, power efficiency and automatic wake-up for environmentally responsible and sustainable green building requirements.

Alongside recycling and responsible disposal of end-of-life equipment, PRG regularly rebalances equipment to reduce freight

PRG
Sustainable practices have been at the heart of PRG’s ongoing development throughout the pandemic. The company now boasts a huge global network, having set up a group of 22 digital studios around the world in one year, including xR Virtual Production Studios in Los Angeles, Hamburg and Paris.

This ensures that the company’s EMEA customer base has access to PRG’s state-of-the-art facilities and expertise wherever they are in the world.

This global reach is aided by The PRG Alliance, a series of 15 partner companies worldwide that support clients locally with an exceptional quality of innovative event production solutions.

The company’s commitment to providing consistent service locally is mobilised largely thanks to the PRG Crew Platform, which allows warehouses and events to be staffed with local talent, reducing the global carbon footprint involved in transporting employees.

PRG is also committed to sustainable practices in its technology and is a member of various industry accredited programmes, including Albert.

Alongside its recycling and responsible disposal of end-of-life equipment, PRG regularly rebalances equipment to reduce freight.

Its products adhere to this sustainable mission. The PRG SpaceframeTM, for example, is an ultra-lightweight, collapsible and fully wind-braced, carbon-fibre touring frame with integrated LED panels. This product dramatically reduces pre-tour engineering time, shipping footprint/weight, carbon emissions, load-in and load-out times, as well as labour required on tour and locally.

NNNN has succeeded in designing speaker solutions that reduce energy consumption by up to 90% compared to other brands

NNNN
NNNN was created to target the audio market with a disruptive solution and mindset, combining acoustic quality with sustainability.

The company’s patents enable it to do with sound what LED did with light, and it has succeeded in designing speaker solutions that reduce energy consumption by up to 90% compared to other brands.

As yet another UN climate report has made abundantly clear, developing more sustainable solutions is a no-brainer. Yet, NNNN says it still experiences challenges with businesses that choose traditional solutions over greener alternatives. Therefore, it has been key for the company to both initiate and join conversations, both nationally and internationally, with regard to sustainable development in the live entertainment industry.

In spite of Covid, a lot has been happening at NNNN in the past year:
▶ The company has been developing new products, making better and more sustainable audio solutions available for green buildings, houses of culture, and consumers.
▶ In November 2020, NNNN won the Green Founder award – an initiative established by Drammen Rotary to accelerate green and sustainable development in the region.
▶ NNNN has been Eco-Lighthouse certified, which is the most widely used environmental certification scheme in Norway, verified to hold the quality and standard matching international eco-labeling schemes (EMAS and ISO 14001).
▶ The company also became an associate member of A Greener Festival.

Tait is continuing to build dedicated resources to empower clients and design teams to call on its vast library

Tait
During 2020 and into 2021, Tait focused on updating its library of assets, making all assets available for use globally and throughout the business.

This builds on practices that the company has developed over many years and optimises sustainable use and reuse of equipment.

Crucially, this also reduces reliance on virgin materials. In addition, Tait is continuing to build dedicated resources to empower clients and design teams to call on this vast library of existing components.

This year, Tait’s UK offices are beginning the transition to renewable energy, and its waste and recycling streams are being monitored to ensure it maximises recycling potential.

The company’s UK facilities in Neasden and Haverhill are now both ISO14001 accredited, and it has installed infrastructure to collate carbon emissions for Scope 1 & Scope 2 and key elements from Scope 3 globally. This will form the basis for Tait’s carbon reduction strategy.

The group has partnered with organisations such as the Sustainability in Production Alliance (SiPA), Theatre Green Book, and Live Green to help drive industry-wide change, educate teams, and further sustainability efforts.

In order to give back to the communities and institutions that helped build the success of the organisation, Tait’s principal sustainability advocate, Carol Scott, guest lectures at colleges and universities on incorporating sustainable practices into the ecosystem of live events.

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IQ 103 out now: New Bosses, Green Guardians & more

IQ 103, the latest issue of the international live music industry’s favourite monthly magazine, is available to read online now.

The September 2021 edition heralds the publication of the New Bosses, IQ’s annual celebration of 12 future industry leaders, nominated by the global live music industry. Subscribers can see the full list of our most promising 30-and-unders working in the business here.

This issue also marks the return of the Green Guardians Guide, championing 40 individuals, companies and initiatives that are driving the green agenda.

Elsewhere, deputy news editor Lisa Henderson looks at some of the new arena projects that promise to take indoor shows to the next level as the live entertainment industry returns to form.

For this edition’s columns and comments, we pass the mic to Paradigm’s Adele Slater, Yourope’s Holger Jan Schmidt and the Roadie Cookbook’s Nick Gosling and Julie Cotton.

And, in this month’s Your Shout, we ask industry leaders which two people they’d want on their team in a zombie apocalypse.

As always, the majority of the magazine’s content will appear online in some form in the next four weeks. However, if you can’t wait for your fix of essential live music industry features, opinion and analysis, click here to subscribe to IQ for just £5.99 a month – or check out what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below:

IQ subscribers can log in and read the full magazine now.

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Green Guardians: Water & Sanitation

The Green Guardians Guide, spearheaded by the Green Events and Innovations Conference and IQ Magazine, is a new yearly initiative highlighting some of the work being done around the world to reduce the carbon footprint of the live entertainment business.

The inaugural list, which originally ran in IQ 90, features 60 entries across ten categories, selected by the Green Guardians committee, which includes representatives from some of the sector’s most respected bodies, such as A Greener Festival, Go Group, Green Music Initiative, Julie’s Bicycle and Vision:2025.

Following on from last week’s feature on the companies providing transport and travel, this edition of Green Guardians looks at how we can avoid treating water as a single-use commodity.

Water & Sanitation

Goldeimer
Goldeimer’s aim is that every single person on the planet will have access to secure sanitation. As there are currently 4.2 billion people that don’t, 100% of Goldeimer’s profits are used to support United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6: clean water and sanitation.

The organisation’s toilet paper is made from 100% waste paper, contributing to the protection of primeval forests in South America, Russia and Scandinavia. In addition to safeguarding biodiversity in these forests, this reduces environmental pollution through long transport routes, whilst saving a lot of water and energy.

However, Goldeimer doesn’t just sell toilet paper. Every year the company’s task force of more than 200 volunteers takes 80 Goldeimer compost toilets to many festivals in Germany, where they can educate festival attendees and provide a sustainable alternative to regular sanitary facilities, without the use of water or chemicals.

In this way, the company saves around 1.6 million litres of water per season that would have been used by regular flushing toilets, and generates 15 tons of nutrient-rich soil from 40 tons of festival faeces.

The company saves around 1.6 million litres of water per season that would have been used by regular flushing toilets

Join the Pipe
Describing itself as the first social network of tap-water drinkers, Join the Pipe says more and more people are getting on board with its dream of redistributing drinking water worldwide in a fair way, whilst tackling plastic waste at the source.

Join the Pipe is realising this dream with its reusable water bottles and refill stations, and states that every bottle forms a part of the longest water pipe in the world: long enough to bring water to all of those without it.

By using reusable/multiuse bottles, Join the Pipe can reduce the amount of waste from single-use plastic water bottles. Its bottles are produced in the Netherlands, and are BPA free and dishwasher-proof. They come in a range of colours and can be printed with a logo or text.

Join the Pipe’s refill stations deliver sustainable tap water and can be installed both indoors and outdoors. The stations have been developed in collaboration with Dutch water companies, are made of stainless steel 316 and are vandal-proof.

Join the Pipe’s refill stations deliver sustainable tap water and can be installed both indoors and outdoors

Bosaq
In 2011, Jacob Bossaer was asked to design the water treatment system in the Princess Elizabeth polar research station in Antarctica.

During the four seasons he spent on one of the harshest terrains on the planet, he realised that if it was possible to manage water in a sustainable way in such a remote place, then it must be possible everywhere.

Upon returning to Belgium, he set about finding other engineers with whom he could share his vision of supplying the world with sustainable, clean water.

Bosaq was founded in 2015, and from the outset developed products and services that are in line with the circular economy.

The operation now consists of four main parts: off-grid systems (the technology); a consulting firm (the Water Experts); premium water; and a social purpose (Water Heroes) whose remit is to provide solutions for everyone who needs water.

Bosaq was founded in 2015, and from the outset developed products and services that are in line with the circular economy

Frank Water
Frank Water began after social entrepreneur Katie Alcott discovered that she had contracted dysentery from drinking dirty water. Since 2005, Frank Water has funded safe drinking water and sanitation for nearly 400,000 people in 549 communities.

It aims to provide safe drinking water to the 663 million people worldwide who still lack access to this basic human right.
Summer 2019 saw 182 volunteers serve more than 169,000 refills of chilled, filtered water at 15 UK music festivals, potentially saving the same number of single-use plastic bottles from being sent to landfill or recycling.

The Festival Refill Service serves unlimited refills of filtered, chilled water to people who purchase a refillable water bottle or Frank Water wristband.

The range includes a 500ml BPA-free hardwearing plastic bottle, and stainless steel bottles in 532ml and 800ml sizes. Festival-goers can refill throughout the festival from one of the fixed Refill marquees or from roaming Frank Tanks!

Since 2005, Frank Water has funded safe drinking water and sanitation for nearly 400,000 people in 549 communities

The Green Stop
It was an oceanic expedition and the disposal of single-use plastic in the sea that gave birth to the concept of The Green Stop, an organisation dedicated to the protection and preservation of the planet.

Last summer, the organisation’s bottle refill installations were present at four events, the most notable of which was Osheaga Festival, where it became the event’s official water fountain service.

Additionally, the business model has pivoted for summer 2020 in order to provide hand-washing stations, thus reducing the amount of waste from plastic gloves.

The Green Stop has developed a hand-washing station that allows people to clean their hands using a touch-less faucet, while maintaining an appropriate social distance.

Over four events in 2019, The Green Stop mitigated the use of 140,000 plastic water bottles and 940 plastic trash bags. Events, artists and crew were able to see first-hand the positives of an eco-friendly music festival.

The Green Stop has developed a hand-washing station that allows people to clean their hands using a touch-less faucet

Ecoz
The Ecoz story started ten years ago, and its main aim has always been to do things differently.

In recent years it has become clear that “the inconvenient truth” is quickly becoming a reality, not least in the field of water supply. Water is not a single-use commodity!

The team at Ecoz Mobile is committed to tackling a worldwide problem with regional solutions. The company offers local water-sanitation and strives to make water systems “circular.”

Working at music festivals has given Ecoz Mobile a tremendous platform to reach a very wide audience (festival-goers, press, national and international TV), which has helped boost the company’s credibility and has helped create awareness amongst festival audiences.

“Implementing Ecoz Mobile at festivals has allowed us to road-test our system in very challenging situations. We’ve acquired a lot of data to work with in the future and that we can convert into solutions for everyday use,” says the company’s Wouter Igodt.

“We’ve acquired a lot of data to work with in the future and that we can convert into solutions for everyday use”

Mobile Sanitary Solutions
Mobile Sanitary Solutions (MSS) products are designed with one eye on the environmental profit, whether it is on savings in water consumption (and even better, waste- water reduction), or the fact that most of its products are foldable and/or modular.

For example, it can ship sanitation for up to 10,000 people (POP UP3 vacuum toilets, UReo urinals and ReFresh handwash stations) on just one truck; or 48 ReBoost showers on one truck. And with international partners, MSS also saves on transportation costs by identifying the closest partner to the event venue.

The company has partners in Finland, Sweden, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Portugal, Spain, the United States, Canada and Japan, while it also has deals with companies in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Australia, New Zealand and others.

In addition to working at music events, MSS is increasingly involved in humanitarian and military services in refugee camps, disaster relief situations, campsites, and during the Covid-19 pandemic, in emergency hospitals around the world.

Continue reading this feature in the digital edition of IQ 90, or subscribe to the magazine here.

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Green Guardians: Transport and travel

The inaugural list, which originally ran in IQ 90, features 60 entries across ten categories, selected by the Green Guardians committee, which includes representatives from some of the sector’s most respected bodies, such as A Greener Festival, Go Group, Green Music Initiative, Julie’s Bicycle and Vision:2025.

Following on from last week’s feature on the companies providing decor & set design, this edition of Green Guardians looks at how to reduce our collective carbon footprint with savvy methods of travel.

Transport & travel

Qualité Motel
Canadian electro-group Qualité Motel have always been sensitive to environmental issues, but the main change to the band’s habits came in 2018, when the ACT movement started in Montreal, offering touring artists a deeper understanding of their environmental impact, and providing tools and a list of actions that can be done differently.

The band emphasises that every small gesture counts: they bring reusable water bottles and coffee thermoses to avoid trashing plastic bottles and single-use coffee cups; they bring their own lunch; and their eco artist rider requests local food, local alcohol, “access to water” instead of bottled water, zero-waste catering, etc.

“We also encourage them to extend as much as they can those principles to the rest of the event,” says band member François-Simon Déziel. In 2019, Qualité Motel launched a new festival called La Virée du Saint-Laurent where they organised three beach parties along the Saint-Laurent River, and embarked on a seven-day tour using a sailing boat in an effort to achieve zero-waste events, zero-emission transport and 100% local proposition for food and alcohol.

The band emphasises that every small gesture counts: they bring reusable water bottles and coffee thermoses

Chooose
As human beings, we leave an unavoidable carbon footprint, simply by existing on Planet Earth. By now, we’ve learned that the choices we make, especially with regards to travel, can affect the size of that footprint, and many of us already make an effort to reduce our emissions where possible.

Chooose makes it easy to act on climate change by making solutions for global CO2 reduction available to everyone. With a monthly subscription, it is possible to directly support some of the most impactful CO2-reducing projects around the world.

These projects are carefully handpicked by the Chooose international carbon advisory team, and verified by acknowledged institutions such as Veritas, DNV GL, and the United Nations.

The average CO2 footprint for a world citizen is 4.8 metric tons per year, but emissions vary depending on the country e.g. the average person in Nepal emits 0.3 tons per year, compared to the average Canadian’s 15.2 tons.

Based on numbers provided by The World Bank, Chooose therefore offers subscriptions based on country.

Chooose makes it easy to act on climate change by making solutions for global CO2 reduction available to everyone

Rock Werchter
During the 2006/07 season, when Yourope (the association of European festivals), launched its Green & Clean guidelines for greener festivals, Rock Werchter was among the first to get on board.

In association with Belgian public transport companies, SNCB and De Lijn, Rock Werchter offers a free train e-ticket for anyone who buys a ticket to the festival, and/or free return travel by train or bus.

Festival-goers can take the train to Leuven or Aarschot stations, from where De Lijn takes them by shuttle bus to the Werchter site on either hybrid buses or buses with diesel filters.

NMBS also provide night trains to ensure people get home after each day of Rock Werchter, and after the promoter’s one-day festivals.

The festival also encourages fans, crew and volunteers to cycle to Werchter and runs a park & bike scheme whereby fans can use car-parks near the festival for free, before using their own bikes to complete the final leg of the trip.

Rock Werchter offers a free train e-ticket for anyone who buys a ticket to the festival, and/or free return travel by train or bus

Big Green Coach
Big Green Coach claims to be the largest events travel company in the UK, through its work with more festivals and gigs than any of its industry rivals.

It is the official and exclusive coach partner to major festivals such as Boardmasters, Creamfields, Download, Isle of Wight Festival, Latitude, Leeds, Parklife, Reading, Wireless and many more. Further afield it transports fans to the likes of Outlook, Hideout, Tomorrowland, Rock Werchter and Pukkelpop.

Since its creation in 2009, Big Green Coach has been working hard to make a positive impact on the environment. More recently, for every customer who books travel with Big Green Coach, the company commits to sponsoring and protecting 5 square feet of Amazonian rainforest for ten years.

This has resulted in more than 1.2million square feet of rainforest in Peru being protected by Big Green Coach for the next ten years. The company’s target is to protect an area covering 3m square feet during the next five years.

The company commits to sponsoring and protecting 5 square feet of Amazonian rainforest for ten years per customer

Pieter Smit
Sustainability goes hand in hand with Pieter Smit’s efficiency-driven factors, and as a result, all its trucks are Euro 6 and equipped with state-of-the-art technology, meeting all the latest EU standards.

This is the most environmentally friendly technology available for (long-distance) trucking. In addition, all Pieter Smit vehicles are equipped to run on biodiesel.

Company policy dictates that vehicles must drive as few unnecessary kilometres as possible, which often means leaving trucks and trailers at venues for a few days, while the driver travels home on public transport.

Among its various sustainability credentials, Pieter Smit’s new and renovated buildings use geothermal heating systems (earth warmth) together with improved insulation materials and triple-glazed windows.

At company HQ, 600 solar panels, with a 153 KWP capacity have been installed, and the buildings have been fitted with LED lighting to reduce energy consumption, meaning the company delivers electricity back to the grid.

All of its trucks are equipped with the most environmentally friendly technology available for (long-distance) trucking

FahrradGarderobe
Literally translated as ‘bicycle cloakroom,’ FahrradGarderobe (FG) promotes quality-conscious, environmentally friendly and socially responsible event tourism throughout Germany and beyond.

Bicycle cloakrooms (or ‘bike racks’), are becoming commonplace at festivals and sporting events, thanks to FG, who provide guarded, insured, and fully accessible, mobile parking spaces for attendees’ bikes.

The use of bicycles delivers a significant CO2 reduction for events, with the bonus that FG staff and volunteers can directly record the diverse positive and negative visitor impressions at each event and pass that feedback to the organisers.

Bike parking also cuts down on possible congestion around escape routes, while space-saving on a large scale.

FG also encourages event visitors to check out the local area outside of the event itself, and supports regional eco-cycling initiatives.

Continue reading this feature in the digital edition of IQ 90, or subscribe to the magazine here.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Green Guardians: Decor & set design

The Green Guardians Guide, spearheaded by the Green Events and Innovations Conference and IQ Magazine, is a new yearly initiative highlighting some of the work being done around the world to reduce the carbon footprint of the live entertainment business.

Following on from last week’s feature on the companies providing resource management, this edition of Green Guardians looks at salvaging strategies and sustainable solutions for artists.

Green Guardians: Decor & set design

No Time To Waste Arts
No Time to Waste Arts was created in 2018 by a trio of artists with the aim of transforming waste tyres and scrap metal into visually stunning public sculptures and installations. Their pieces address environmental issues both in the materials they are made of and their themes. These issues have included ocean plastic, global tyre waste, deforestation and pollution.

The artists also have a charitable project, waste not want not charitable salvage, which collects waste materials from event sites, such as wood, tents, bedding, tools and materials, and redistributes them to community projects, adventure playgrounds and for charitable purposes.

It has collected large quantities of bedding and tents from UK festivals and redistributed them to homeless projects throughout the UK and Calais refugee camps, as well as collecting wood from corporate events and re-distributing it to adventure playgrounds in the UK, and playground building project Team Playground in The Gambia and Senegal.

The artists provide a clearance service and can help with waste management and recycling strategies. They advocate that event organisers source recycled material and support local salvage of materials.

Their pieces address environmental issues both in the materials they are made of and their themes

Ruth Herbert
As an art director and set designer, Ruth Herbert has been engaged in sustainable design since her training as a technical artist for film and TV, when she admits to being hugely shocked by the waste and toxic materials used within these industries.

Through experience and autonomy, however, she has managed to find more sustainable solutions without impacting the final product.

For the last five years, Herbert has been art director for the UK’s Noisily Festival of Music and Arts, where she ensures all artwork and set design follows the sustainability ethos at the core of the festival planning.

She works with companies and institutions such as the V&A Museum to reuse components from their previous exhibitions, adapting each donated item to fit the unique aesthetic of the event.

“Making the right sustainable choices in design is an obligation as well as a way to educate the audience, incorporating the narrative either through leadership, the installations commissioned, or simply through the materials used,” she says.

“Making the right sustainable choices in design is an obligation as well as a way to educate the audience”

Ian Garrett
Ian Garrett can point to 2005 as the beginning of his fusion of design for performance and sustainability in art making. “I started to question the impact of my practice,” he recalls. “Some quick calculations in my notebook, about the environmental impact of a project I was designing, spun off to a career dedicated to environmental issues in art making.”

He is working with the National Arts Centre in Canada to calculate the carbon footprint of their events, having completed similar projects with the Fuse- box Festival in Austin, Texas and the Hillside Festival in Guelph, Ontario – Hillside was certified carbon neutral as part of that research.

“I’ve contributed to smaller projects too, and we often found that the environmental impact of a performance was less than what an audience would have if they stayed home,” he reveals. “So a lot of our work has shifted to audience behaviours since their transportation is consistently the biggest source of emissions for cultural events.”

“I started to question the environmental impact of my practice”

Daniel Popper
Rather than fixating on issues relating to the environment, Daniel Popper says he is more influenced by relationships with nature and the wonders of the natural world. “The wonderful by-product is that my work then begins to raise awareness around the issues threatening this very experience,” he says.

Early in his career, Popper was involved with projects such as building a giant baobab tree as a symbol of sustainability for the COP17 eco-summit. That led to him creating other large-scale structures to which he added reclaimed materials and natural fibres, allowing the organic textures to resonate with the message of the work, which is to strengthen our relationship with nature.

“Develop your relationship with nature; spend time with nature; fall in love with nature. Once you recognise how connected you are, protecting it will be second nature,” says Popper.

“The wonderful by-product is that my work then begins to raise awareness around the issues threatening this very experience”

Ecosceno
Écoscéno was created by four women working in the Montreal cultural scene with a shared concern for the amount of waste produced by the art sector.

Écoscéno’s mission is a process: firstly, to educate people on the challenges and opportunities the industry faces regarding sustainability; then to instil reflexes and habits in producers and creators so that they really think about what the future of the materials they are using could be; and finally to help productions find ways to repurpose, re-use or donate their materials in order to save them from going to landfill, thereby creating a circular economy in the industry.

Key impact indicators are essential to the organisation’s work, as they quantify the value of what Écoscéno does. The amount of production waste that is saved from landfill by being reused or repurposed is tracked, and the organisation also looks at the savings made by the adoption of sustainable practices, in order to debunk the myth that being greener is more expensive.

Continue reading this feature in the digital edition of IQ 90, or subscribe to the magazine here.

https://issuu.com/gregiq/docs/iq90/46

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