Most summer music festivals take a large toll on the environment. Mountains of waste, car parks, food from afar, diesel generators for electricity, tidal waves of plastic water bottles, flying in international artists... In an effort to do less harm, several music festivals around the world have started putting 'carbon neutral' practices into place, offsetting the carbon dioxide they've caused to enter the atmosphere.
A new British student festival is aiming to do more than become carbon neutral. Beach Break Live, a three day event in Cornwall taking place from June 11-14, has taken a number of steps to have an environmentally and socially positive impact. The micro festival (just 3,000 visitors) has organized cheap bus travel for students from their universities, keeping road transit and parking to a minimum. Beach Break Live takes place during a mid-week outside the peak holiday season, which means it's providing the local economy with a boost during downtime. Furthermore, most food and drink will be sourced locally: beef and lamb from neighbourhood farms, beer from Skinner's, a Cornwall brewery, bottled water from a Cornish spring, seafood from Cornish waters, and even toilet paper from a nearby paper recycling plant.
By backing the local community and trying to do as little harm to the environment as possible, Beach Break Live incorporates a number of elements of the still made here trend, as laid out by our sister site trendwatching.com. Check out the briefing for more relevant business examples!
Website: www.beachbreaklive.com
Contact: celia@beachbreaklive.com
It's quite exciting that carbon-neutral activities are becoming cool these days, it means that you don't have to choose between having a good time and looking after the planet.
I wonder if anyone has done this yet: I should think that there is a great business opportunity in being the first AND BEST to set up an agency which helps companies to 'greenify' or eco-fy events. I wonder if the Beach Break Live crew have already considered this, they seem like quite an entrepreneurial group.
I heard about this today too. It really is an exciting concept. If only I didnt have those few days already booked!
Mark Bowness
Totally humbled to see ourselves on spring wise! Thanks spotters. 3 days from the festival now…….
We set out to have a socially and environmentally positive impact. Ultimately, if a business wishes to make profit (in the long run), then it stands to reason it should contribute positively to the environment and society. This will be a journey…. And we will take time to achieve this. Re: helping other festivals do this…..we’re happy to share what we’ve learnt.
Update
This was recently featured on Dragons Den, some details are available on the festival website