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Organizing large-scale music festivals is often associated with significant environmental challenges. Festivals can generate massive amounts of waste, from attendees discarding single use-items like plastic cups and food containers, to emitting high levels of Co2 emissions from the generators powering each stage.
AEG’s Goldenvoice is challenging convention by pioneering sustainable practices in festival organizing and utilizing its three-day music festival in Long Beach, CA, Cali Vibes, as a blueprint for greening their own festival operations.
Now for the second consecutive year, Goldenvoice’s Cali Vibes, has partnered with Three Squares Inc., a Los Angeles-based environmental consulting firm, to develop a comprehensive sustainability program aimed at reducing emissions, minimizing waste, educating attendees and staff, and fostering eco-friendly practices throughout its operations.
Welcoming 25,000 fans per day, Cali Vibes allowed sustainability to take the main stage by adopting the following green initiatives:
- Food Waste Reduction – All extra food at the festival was donated to local community shelters. Additionally, roughly 20% to 30% of the food vendors at Cali Vibes provided vegan menu options, with all vendors required to offer at least one vegetarian option.
- Reusable Cup Program: Through its partnership with r.World, the festival utilized r.Cup reusable cups and eliminated approximately 300,000 single-use plastic cups. Water was served in aluminum cans, and refill stations were located throughout the festival.
- Reducing Energy: To reduce on site energy consumption, Cali Vibes sourced Overdrive Energy Solutions’ battery power stations to capture solar energy to power light towers in parking lots, merch stations and bathroom zones. Energy efficient lighting systems relied on battery-powered LED lights. By sourcing locally-produced renewable diesel to power generators and heavy equipment, Cali Vibes eliminated 43 tons of carbon emissions at this year’s festival.
- Reducing Emissions: The festival promoted public transit use by offering attendees free or discounted public transit rides through a partnership with L.A. Metro. Festival organizers also implemented a “no idling” rule to reduce emissions by requiring cars and gas-powered golf carts to be turned off when not in motion.
In addition to greening its festival operations, the team at Goldenvoice partnered with AEG's Social Impact department to nurture the next generation of environmental stewards by hosting an AEG Futures event at the festival. The career program brought together [50] underrepresented high school and college students to learn about sustainability-focused career opportunities available in live entertainment. The program offered students a chance to learn from industry experts about career opportunities, meet sustainability vendors who spoke to them about the specific Cali Vibes initiatives, participate in mentoring sessions, and explore the festival grounds, fostering a deeper understanding of sustainable practices in the live music space.
