It used to be associated with rock ‘n’ roll, but gone are the days of irresponsible abandon at music festivals. Nowadays, ticketholders to festivals like Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo are more likely to recycle their rubbish than litter the grounds. No empty cans strewn around, please. It’s all about being sustainable. If anyone is going to suffer a hangover from all that music, food, and festivities, it better not be the environment.
Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco is one event trying to raise the bar, and Nayelli Gonzalez from Saatchi & Saatchi S recently wrote about her experience of working with them at one of our Lovemarks Academies.
”Launched in 2008, Outside Lands attracts up to 60,000+ attendees a day. The numbers are fantastic, but that’s a lot of people at Golden Gate Park. To minimize the effect of thousands of footprints, Outside Lands uses recyclable energy, encourages people to cycle by providing a ‘bike valet’ service, and vendors food from local farms and producers. But in their eyes, that’s not enough. Outside Lands doesn’t just want to be an “eco-centric rock festival.” It wants to be a Lovemark. Through deepening their local roots, extending their partnerships, inspiring attendees to act now, and creating shared value, I’ll say that they are well on their way.”
