H ow did event organizers make this event more environmentally friendly?

12:087 228 CHAPTER 10 SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY Harvest was instead hosted by the Hidden Gardens (www.thehiddengardens.org.uk). a former industrial wasteland behind the Tramway performing arts center (www.tramway org), which NVA transformed into a community garden space in 2003. Glasgow Harvest featured many elements, including a Jam Wall, a 3D interactive shch- ing unit to which attendees could add their own homegrown jars of jam. Lit from behind, the unit illuminated the multicolored jars of jom to produce a rainbow spectrum. Speirs says that the creator, artist Rachel Mimice, wanted the participants to be the artists. Attendees were encouraged to compete in the Creative Container Challenge, in which contestants grew plants in unusual reused or decorated items. "A container made Greener Sports Event: The National Football League (NFL) Super Bowl The 2010 Super Bowl XLIV. in which the is why these initiatives are unpublicized, and New Orleans Saints triumphed over the many are surprised to hear about them. "We Indianapolis Colts, was the most watched recover 90,000 pounds of unserved prepared television program in history, beating the final foods left over," says Supovitz. "not only from episode of Al"A"S'H with 153.8 million U.S. NFL activities at the Super Bowl, but also viewers. As America's top sporting event, every- from participating hotels, broadcasters, spon- one knows the Super Bowl, but few know the sors, and events not affiliated directly with the rigorous environmental policies that are annu- league, and get them to shelters and food dis- ally implemented to keep this mega-event sus- tribution services." tainable and responsible. This is in addition to the efforts of Hunger Vice president of events for the National Related Events, Inc., the charity that runs "Taste Football League (NFL) Frank Supovitz explains of the NFL" in every Super Bowl city. ""Taste" that, after each Super Bowl, cardboard, wood involves restaurants representing NFL home products, office supplies, cloth, paper, office team cities all over the country in an upscale supplies, plastics and metals are recovered and tasting event on the night before the game," says recycled before they get into the waste stream. Supovitz, "and it is the single most successful "We also recover used sports equipment annual fundraising event of the weekend, gen- through students in the host cities of Super crating between $400,000 and $700,000 annu- Bowls," says Supovitz. "Not just football equip- ally for America's Second Harvest." ment, but bats, mitts, protective gear, anything "We are also proud of our carbon mitigation that would go to waste because a kid has out- efforts." says Supovitz. "Trees are planted to grown it, and we get them to families that may mitigate some of the emissions we will add to not be able to afford them. It's another way of the environment during the time we're in town. doing good while reducing waste flow." For Super Bowl XLII in Arizona, our efforts The NFL sees this commitment to waste helped repopulate an area of the Chadeski- reduction and redistribution as the right thing Rodeo forest that had been hit with a forest fire to do, rather than a marketing angle, which before our arrival. In South Florida, trees were -xythos.content.blackboardcdn.com C m12:08 7 all go Local Roots 229 from toy building blocks won, but there were containers made from old television sets, a toaster, and even a guitar case," says Speirs. 27 Glasgow schools also participated in the Double Rubble Chip Challenge. in which students grew potatoes and brought them to Glasgow Harvest to be turned into one of Britain's favorite foods. chips (known as french fries in the United States). At Glasgow Harvest, children peeled and chopped potatoes as dinner ladies from their schools cooked the chips. Each school's chips were judged by the audience in a blind tasting, and the schools with the best chips won 100 to improve their school environment, which could include a garden or new furniture. added to Florida Keys that lost foliage due to Supovitz's advice to green event pioneers hurricanes." is this As part of its commitment to leaving a posi- tive legacy, the NFL builds a community youth Do what's right for the right reason. It's center, called a Youth Education Town (YET). easy to engage in environmental programs in every city that hosts a Super Bowl. "NFL YET because you might think it would make Centers have been around for 15 years." says people feel better about your event, com- Supovitz. "They are brick-and-mortar facilities. pany. or brand, but the public is getting most often run by the local Boys & Girls Club. increasingly hip to self-serving programs. that offer low-income and at-risk youth a safe. If you're doing the right things because supportive environment that offers educational. they are the right things to do, the public recreational and life-skill growth opportunities. will see your efforts as real, genuine, and Every year, the NFL donates $1 million appreciated. Buying renewable energy toward a YET in the Super Bowl host town. credits is laudable, but it's too easy and "Some cities have more than one YET," says leaves the work to someone else. Show Supovitz, "like the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale and the community you care enough to roll Tampa-St. Petersburg areas, but most often. up your sleeves and actively improve the we build one, and if we return, we donate the environment, or mitigate the ecological same amount to help refurbish or recapitalize effects of your event on the region. an existing NFL YET." -Frank Suporitz, NFL. interview: "In 2009. the NFL opened its first YET May 2010 Center in a non-Super Bowl region." says Supovitz. "In recognition of the state of Hawaii By recovering and redistributing thousands playing host to 30 years of the Pro Bowl, our of pounds of sports equipment, event materials, annual all-star game, the NFL funded and and foods, as well as making enormous contri- built a YET Center in Nanakuli, a Hawaiian butions to environmental and social charities. Homelands area on the island of Oahu."Supovitz. the NFL shows a determination to roll up its is particularly proud of this center because, with sleeves and get the job done. Supovitz and his solar panels installed on its roof, it is the first team make social and environmental respon YET designed to be LEED certified by the U.S. sibility an integral part of their high-profile Green Building Council (USCBC). business. A ral-1-prod-fleet01-xythos.content.blackboardcdn.com12:081 96 CHAPTER 5 GREEN LIGHT: SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION Model Greener Event: Capital Fringe Festival Since 2005. the Capital Fringe Festival has materials warehouse Community Forklift transformed the cultural life of Washington, (www.communityforklift.com). Church pews, DC, by presenting an annual summer festival donated freely from a defunct congregation, of performance, which anyone can participate became the most popular seats in the house. in (www.capitalfringe.org). Featuring hun- Instead of buying expensive new theatrical sand- dreds of performances and serving more than bags. Production Manager Zoia Wiseman made 20,000 audience members, the festival is her own from local Virginia sand and reused managed by just two full-time staff members, bags. at a fraction of the cost. Scot Mckenzie and Julianne Brienza, who are Brienza knows that going green isn't always committed not just to telling DC's stories and a walk in the park, and Brienza recalls the disap supporting local talent, but to protecting the pointing patron attitudes toward recycling, saying. environment as well. One thing I was very surprised at was that recy Considerations for transportation figure cling was something that needed to be managed highly in the Festival's environmental commit- at the bar. We had to instruct patrons to recycle. ment. After three years at separate venues all Numerous times, myself and five to six other staff over DC, in 2009 the Festival centralized all members would go around and take bottles out of venues into a three-block radius, accessible the trash, or see someone throwing their bottle in from two Metro Rail stations. four Metro Rail the trash and say. 'No, really, you want to put that lines, and several Metrobus stops. When I in the recycling, right next to it." spoke to her following the July 2009 Festival. Brienza discovered that certain environ- Brienza described the way a centralized loca- mental policies, like the use of organic cleaning tion vastly improved patron experience, saying. products, were hard for the staff to get used to. "They loved it. We sold so many more passes this She says that. "In using cleaning supplies that year. People were just jumping around because are good for the environment or might just be they could. You could literally end the show at old fashioned, it can require extra arm strength. four forty-five and go to a five o'clock show, no There were some secret bleach attacks." She problem. And get a drink on the way." turned this staff challenge into an educational centralized location also decreased staff opportunity, saying, "I would find out and talk travel, cutting costs and the carbon footprint. about it with them." Whereas in 2008 the Festival spent roughly She believes that environmental managers $2,000 to rent two cargo vans, in 2009 they must be firm in order to generate respect and spent around $1,000 to rent one truck, which understanding for environmental alternative was driven about half as much. work methods. Brienza reflects that, "I could Festival Director Scot Mckenzie has a have loosened up, but I didn't. In the end it firm belief in reusing old materials to create was more meaningful." This firm policy spread new experiences. He created the sensational throughout the culture of the organization. Baldacchino Gypsy Tent Bar out of reused ensuring staff compliance. Brienza recalls that. domestic doors. Funky vintage furniture was "At the bar they used all green cleaning sup sourced at little cost from reused building plies. I didn't even tell them that they had to. The complete Guide to Greener Meetings and Events Goldblat, Samevel le Blanc 2012 John wiley a Sons -xythos.content.blackboardcdn.com C m12:087 ull 7 0 Make It Worth the Trip 97 CAPITAL FRINGE FESTIVAL Capital Fringe Festival repurposes neglected buildings in Washington, DC, such as the former A. V. Ristorante Italiano, now Fort Fringe, into vibrant art centers. Courtesy of Paul Gillis. they just thought it was the law:" She believes bus stop was to how to recycle. Lasth, we sent that discussing environmental policies is criti- all participating artists How to Be a Green Artist, cal to staff acceptance. saying. "The biggest which included advice on sourcing reused cos- benefit was just making staff aware. We had 40 tumes and limiting paper waste. staff who were exposed to that and what they Brienza and Mckenzie remain actively choose to do with that is up to them. I think committed to reducing their carbon footprint five of them will take that into their daily lives. and to engaging their audiences in discus- which is pretty good." sions about the environment. An upcoming In 2009. I served the Capital Fringe Festival performance, Wattage, will tackle issues of as Environmental Officer, and began by creat- energy, natural resources, and responsibility ing three documents. The first was our Strategic to the planet. Thanks to their commitment to Green Plan. which included a prioritized list of innovative event experiences and their fierce environmental goals. The second was called determination. they are helping to raise the How to Be a Green Andience, and gave patrons profile of the arts and the environment in advice on everything from where the nearest Washington, DC. 228 CHAPTER 10 SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY Harvest was instead hosted by the Hidden Gardens (www.thehiddengardens.org.uk). a former industrial wasteland behind the Tramway performing arts center (www.tramway org), which NVA transformed into a community garden space in 2003. Glasgow Harvest featured many elements, including a Jam Wall, a 3D interactive shek- ing unit to which attendees could add their own homegrown jars of jam. Lit from behind, the unit illuminated the multicolored jars of jam to produce a rainbow spectrum. Speirs says that the creator, artist Rachel Mimice, wanted the participants to be the artists. Attendees were encouraged to compete in the Creative Container Challenge, in which contestants grew plants in unusual reused or decorated items. "A container made Greener Sports Event: The National Football League (NFL) Super Bowl The 2010 Super Bowl XLIV, in which the is why these initiatives are unpublicized, and New Orleans Saints triumphed over the many are surprised to hear about them. "We Indianapolis Colts, was the most watched recover 90,000 pounds of unserved prepared ral-1-prod-fleet01-xythos.content.blackboardcdn.com