Featured

‘Pee Power’ UWE project at Glastonbury Festival

August 23, 2017Featured, NewsGlastonbury Festival, Pee Power, Renewable Energy Technology, UWE BristolBethan Riach

This year Glastonbury Festival used ‘Pee Power’ urinals developed by The University of the West of England (UWE) to create electricity that powered a mobile phone charging station, internal lighting and information panels onsite. The project is part of 5-year partnership between Glastonbury Festival and UWE in which they will work together on waste reduction and energy efficiency as well as showcasing the Pee Power technology in advance of trials in refugee camps and schools in developing countries.

Pee Power works via stacks of microbial fuel cells that use urine as a fuel for direct electricity generation. Teams of scientists were onsite at Glastonbury Festival to explain the technology and engage visitiors with the project. UWE students were also onsite to research energy efficiency measures in collaboration with festival power providers, stage production teams and mobile traders.

Learn more about the Pee Power project HERE.

Tower light advice: Cut fuel bills and CO2 with the right lights

July 10, 2017Featured, NewsCut CO2, energy saving, noise pollution, SMART Power Ltd, tower lightsBethan Riach

Talking to your supplier about choosing the right tower light can help you reduce event CO2 emissions, save you money and cut noise pollution. Here’s how:

Go renewable: Hybrid tower light models are now commonly available in the hire market. Ask your supplier about efficient LED and solar tower lights to cut your fuel bill.

Get PRI sensors: These sensors automatically switch tower lights on/off according to light levels, i.e. at dusk/dawn. Some sensors will also automatically turn on the lights when they detect movement – saving energy and fuel.

Save on hire costs: Some tower lights can double up as small generators and provide power for low wattage applications like LED festoon or small security tents etc, which are often in remote areas of the festival site, saving you from hiring in a separate generator.

Cut noise pollution: Probably the best & most eco-friendly model currently on the market is the Bruno hybrid LED lighting tower (pictured). It provides a comparable light output to a standard unit and offers substantial fuel savings. Thanks to the battery pack it runs without engine assistance during the night, helping to reduce noise pollution.

There is a slight premium for tower lights with these features, but these costs are potentially mitigated by fuel savings & the reductions in both emissions & noise pollution.

Thanks to event power company SMART Power Ltd for the tower light advice. For more details you can contact them here.

Vision:2025 Festivals in the Press: Access All Areas

June 9, 2017Featured, NewsEnergy revolution, Powerful Thinking, Shamblala Festival, Swingamajig, The Show Must Go OnBethan Riach

Meaningful Hedonism: “Collaboration is key to fulfilling the Festival Vision 2025 Pledge and we’re keen to keep proving that meaningful hedonism and environmental ethics can go hand-in-hand.”

For its June edition Access All Areas Magazine headed to Swingamajig to talk to Chris Johnson, Chair of Powerful Thinking, about sustainability at Swingamajig and Shambala Festival, and how projects Energy Revolution, Powerful Thinking and Festival Vision: 2025 are working to build communities of festivals, audiences and suppliers committed to working together to create positive change and a more environmentally sustainable festival industry.

Read the full article at Access All Areas.

Festival Vision:2025 @ The Showman’s Show 2017

May 24, 2017Featured, NewsFestival Vision: 2025, The Showman's ShowBethan Riach

Building on the success of January’s inaugural Festival Vision: 2025 event at the Festival Supplier Awards , we are inviting all Vision:2025 Festivals to SAVE THE DATE for an Autumn meeting on 18 October 2017 at The Showman’s Show.

The upcoming session will be another chance to share information, gain practical insights on energy management, and discuss key issues with other Vision Festivals, energy and waste experts, and suppliers who offer sustainable solutions.

Not signed up? You can sign your Festival up to Vision:2025 by taking the pledge to aim to reduce your event’s CO2. JOIN NOW: www.festivalvision2025.net.

You can register for The Showman’s Show HERE.

Vision:2025 Festivals win Julie’s Bicycle Creative Green Awards

May 8, 2017Featured, NewsCreative Green Awards, Festival Republic, Julie's Bicycle, Shambala FestivalBethan Riach

Congratulations to Shambala Festival and Festival Republic for their recognition in Julie’s Bicycle’s Creative Green Awards last month.

Festival Republic won Best Creative Group and Shambala scooped a double win, receiving both the Best Festival and Outstanding Achievement Awards. Inspiring stuff!

The awards were presented at Somerset House on the Tuesday 25th April by Caroline Lucas, Co-Leader of the Green Party and MP for Brighton Pavilion.

The Creative Green Award is the only pan arts award recognising the contribution of the creative industries to climate change, and celebrates over 50 arts organisations undertaking Creative Green certification in 2016/17.

Running since 2009, Creative Green is a certification enabling venues, museums & galleries, festivals and offices to assess their environmental commitment, understanding and improvement. With over 250 Creative Green certificates awarded this is the only scheme designed specifically for the cultural sector.

Full details on the Julie’s Bicycle news pages.

Powerful Thinking to Launch Sustainable Supplier List

April 3, 2017Featured, NewsPowerful Thinking Guide 2017, Sustainable Supplier ListBethan Riach

A key factor in the journey to more sustainable events is finding power suppliers who are also committed to finding sustainable solutions.

To help build a community of suppliers and event organisers with aligned values, Powerful Thinking is compiling a list which highlights the many UK suppliers that offer sustainable approaches and equipment.

We intend to host inventory of suppliers as an online resource for event professionals, and also to signpost it from the recently launched online Powerful Thinking Guide 2017.

The supplier list will be shared directly with the 50 plus Vision Festivals, that have pledged to work together to reduce their environmental impacts, and with our wider database of over 2,500 event professionals.

To find out how to be part of the Powerful Thinking Supplier List contact: bethan@powerful-thinking.org.uk

Powerful Thinking Guide Launched at GEI9

March 7, 2017Featured, NewsA Greener Festival, Festival Republic, Green Events and Innovations Conference, Powerful Thinking Guide 2017, The Green Gathering, ZAP conceptsBethan Riach

Powerful Thinking launched their latest guide to Smart Energy for Festivals and Outdoor Events at the Green Events and Innovations Conference (GEI9) hosted by A Greener Festival at the ILMC on 7^th March.

Chair of Powerful Thinking, Chris Johnson, presented event professionals and delegates at GEI9 with the new Powerful Thinking Guide, an up-to-date knowledge and practical resources to help them manage temporary energy smartly, reducing environmental impacts and fuel bills at events.

Since the first edition of the guide in 2012 a significant shift towards more efficient energy management has taken place in the events industry. Events are typically able to save between 10% and 50% of their fuel consumption and the guide uses case studies of recent events to illustrate how and where this has been achieved to inspire and guide event organisers in achieving similar results. The guide is created from a collection of modular resources, factsheets, case studies and templates, which are also available as standalone resources online.

The guide was co-written by members of the Powerful Thinking steering group with leading European energy consultants, advisers and festival organisers under the direction of lead author Chris Johnson, Chair of Powerful Thinking and Operations Director of Shambala Festival. Key contributors include: Chiara Badiali (Julie’s Bicycle), Paul Schurink (ZAP Concepts), Sid Rogerson (Entersys), Tim Benson (ZAP Concepts UK), Sjoerd Schouten (Watt-Now), Shaun Pearce (Production Services Association) and Liz Warwick (Lansdowne Warwick).

The Powerful Thinking Guide can be downloaded as a PDF from the Powerful Thinking Website: http://www.powerful-thinking.org.uk/resources/powerful-thinking-guide-2017/

Standalone resources can be found here: Factsheets and Case studies.

Powerful Thinking Guide will launch at #GEI9

March 2, 2017Featured, NewsA Greener Festival, Power Behind Festivals 2017. Green Events InnovationsBethan Riach

Powerful Thinking will launch the second edition of the Powerful Thinking Guide at The Green Events and Innovations Conference, hosted by A Greener Festival at the ILMC, on Tues 7^th March.

The Powerful Thinking Guide provides event professionals with up-to-date knowledge and practical resources to help manage temporary energy smartly, reducing environmental impacts and fuel bills. It is created from a collection of modular resources, factsheets and case studies that are also available online. This edition is European in focus, reflecting both the progress being made across Europe on this topic, and the partners involved with the guide’s content.

Since the first edition of the guide in 2012, a significant shift towards more efficient energy management has taken place in the events industry. Events are typically able to save between 10% and 50% of their fuel consumption and there are many examples that illustrate how and where this has been achieved in the new guide.

The new guide has been co-written by a group of leading European energy consultants, advisers and festival organisers under the direction of lead author Chris Johnson, Chair of Powerful Thinking and Operations Director of Shambala Festival. Contributors include: Paul Schurink (ZAP Concepts), Chiara Badiali (Julie’s Bicycle), Sid Rogerson (Entersys), Tim Benson (ZAP Concepts UK), Sjoerd Schouten (Watt-Now), Shaun Pearce (Production Services Association), Liz Warwick (Lansdowne Warwick).

The Powerful Thinking Guide 2017 will be available online on the Powerful Thinking website from 7^th March.

40 Vision: 2025 Festivals met to shape the future

February 14, 2017Featured, NewsFestival Republic, Festival Vision: 2025, Julie's BicycleBethan Riach

40 Festivals and organisations met on the 26th January to shape the future of the Festival Vision: 2025.

Hosted by Chris Johnson (Shambala Festival/Powerful Thinking) and Julie’s Bicycle founder and CEO Alison Tickell, the day included presentations from Richard Gilles, former Sustainability Director at M&S and Director of Festival On The Wall, ZAP Concepts event sustainability consultants Rob Scully and Paul Schurink, Programme Manager Laura Pando from Julie’s Bicycle and Victoria Chapman, Sustainability Coordinator at Festival Republic.

Topics included cup deposit systems, changing the supply chain, energy efficiency and water management. Workshops on managing and monitoring energy effectively and understanding travel and waste data gave delegates the chance to share experiences, get advice, and gain practical knowledge to help with meeting the shared vision for a sustainable future for the UK festival industry.

Outcomes from the day include a call for clearly defined standards and reporting on waste across the events industry; the development of affordable energy monitoring equipment accessible by all Festival Vision:2025 events, and exploration of a purchasing consortium.

Find out more about Festival Vision: 2025 and join the 56 festivals who have already pledged to work together for a more sustainable festival industry at www.festivalvision2025.net

Industry Green Survey: The results are in!

February 7, 2017Featured, NewsIndustry Green Survey resultsBethan Riach

Thank you to all the festivals that took the Powerful Thinking 2016 Industry Green Survey. The results allow us (the industry) to chart progress and identify shifts in industry practices, which will help to shape our resources and research to meet current needs within the festival industry.

The headlines:

71 UK festivals were represented, a 50% increase compared to 2015.
Around half of festivals taking the survey are now using LED festoon lighting.
Around half are also measuring energy and fuel consumption, significantly more than 2015.
One in five festival have introduced a role in their organisation focused on sustainability within the last year.
Over 50 festivals have signed the Festival Vision:2025 pledge, 9 out of 10 whom say, “they have been inspired or encouraged to take action,” as a result of being part of the initiative.
The survey data from this year shows a real focus (and frustration) amongst event organisers about best practice guidance in sustainable waste management, and the options available in the supply chain.

In future, information from Vision:2025 events will be analysed (anonymously) to gain a greater understanding of trends in emissions, energy efficiency and waste management, using data generated by using online tools such as the Julie’s Bicycle Creative IG Tool. To participate in Powerful Thinking’s research and vision for a more sustainable future for festivals visit: www.festivalvision2025.net

Photo credit: Lousie Roberts courtesy of Shambala Festival