Retro rumble sustainability report

Retro Rumble Sustainability report

By The Green Scene

For

HMS POP up Productions

Overview

The Retro Rumble Free Event was a family friendly cultural event of

diverse retro music and arts, which brought Northbridge alive with the

sounds of forgotten eras. The event took place on November 24th 2013.

As well as having 8 Perth and Interstate bands, bringing sensational

retro sounds to the City, HMS Pop Up Productions and OnWilliam created

a massive retro ‘custom culture’ markets in Russell Square. The free

event attracted around 2000 people to the heart of Northbridge to

enjoy a free retro music festival.

HMS Pop up Productions aim to reduce the impact of their productions

by reducing their emissions, and offsetting the emissions they do

create. HMS Pop up Productions also puts a strong emphasis on reducing

their events waste and raising the awareness of patrons on

sustainability issues.

The Green Scene

The Green Scene is a Social Enterprise sustainability consultancy that

works with businesses, events and individuals to make sustainability

happen one step at a time. They are a small consultancy with a big

vision to create positive change.

The Green Scene’s mission is to make sustainability practical and

accessible and to inspire positive change. If everyone starts to takes

steps towards more sustainable actions then our overall cumulative

effect will be a positive shift for our planet, our society and our

local economy. The Green Scene focuses on education and awareness

raising as well as individual, one on one consulting.

The Green Scene was hired as sustainable events consultants for the

Retro Rumble Free Event. The following are the areas that The Green

Scene was able to assist the Retro Rumble in ‘Reducing Their

Environmental Footprint’:

Waste – prevention and disposal

Emissions – calculating and offsetting emissions

Awareness Raising – providing platforms for the public to be

engaged with sustainability issues.

The Retro Rumble was able to become a waste wise and carbon wise event

with the initiatives that The Green Scene put in place. The following

outlines in detail the initiatives put in place by The Green Scene for

the Retro Rumble Free Event on November 24th.

The Green Scene Team

Waste

The Retro Rumble took necessary steps to minimise and carefully

dispose of the waste from the event.

Prevention

• Stall holder waste guidelines were produced, which ensured

stallholders and food vendors chose environmentally responsible

packaging. No single use plastic was allowed at the event.

• HMS Pop up productions provided up to 50, 100% compostable bags

to all stallholders at the event through the sponsorship of

Nature Works Packaging

• 100% Compostable cups were provided at the bar and water stations

due to the sponsorship of by Biopak. Biopak’s PLA

bioplastic requires 68% fewer fossil fuel resources to produce

than traditional plastic.

• A water station was provided where re-usable bottles could be

filled. This was promoted to patrons prior to the event via

Social Media.

• Up cycled Signage, that used

materials that otherwise would be

sent to landfill. These signs

assisted patrons and stall

holders in identifying on site

waste separation, and other

sustainability initiatives.

Waste Management

Onsite waste sorting –

• Through signage and using Green Team monitors, we were able to

sort bins into co-mingled recycling and compost with little

contamination.

• Most packaging was biodegradable and was able to be composted,

whereas the majority of recycling was glass.

• Final Audits of the bins were conducted and the was less than 10%

contamination between the two waste streams

• We were able to eliminate

waste to landfill by using

the SMRC resource recovery

facilities, which included a

industrial composting system

and a co-mingled recycling

facility.

Emissions

Efforts were made to reduce the

amount of emissions from the event,

however some emissions were

inevitable in the production and

running of The Retro Rumble. The

majority of emissions came from

flights for artists to the event.

The second largest emitter was power from both mains power and

generators.

Emissions breakdowns for the Retro Rumble:

Please see

Appendix # 1

For a more

detailed

breakdown.

Area Emissions in T of CO2-e

Percentage

of Emissions

Fleet (by Kilometre) 0.11 1%

Energy 42.96 48%

Air Travel 33.69 38%

Waste 0.49 5%

Event Production Misc. 11.04 12.5%

Total 88.29t CO2-e

We are able to offset these emissions by purchasing two types of

offsets from Carbon Neutral. One is a tree planting initiative that is

based in Western Australia and the other is purchasing Verified Carbon

Units that are assisting in various global initiatives.

Awareness Raising

The Retro Rumble endeavoured to use various incentives for the public

attending the event to raise the awareness of

sustainability issues.

• Public Transport and Biking

incentives. We offered $2 off at the

bar and $2 of an eco–Retro Rumble

Bag for those that came by Bus,

Train or bike.

• The Green Team- 12 Green Scene Team

Volunteers were on site monitoring

bins and also speaking to the public

about the sustainability initiatives

of the event.

• ECO Hub Stall – The Ecohub Perth set

up a stall in the market areas that

gave practical advice and tips on

how to live more sustainably. The

Public could also learn how to make

a planter out of newspaper.

Carbon Neutral has provided a detailed

proposal that allows us to choose our

preferred offsetting method. Please see

appendix #2 for more information.

• A random transport survey was done throughout the event and

200 people were surveyed on how they got to the event. The

results were:

The average car trip was 15km and was included in the events

total emissions.

• Up-cycled signage was used to indicate we were a waste wise

and carbon wise event as well as promoting our public

transport incentives.

• Prior to the event a media release and social media campaign

was used to highlight the green steps being taken at this

event.

Areas for Improvement

Waste:

• Stallholders were informed prior to

signing up for event that there were

restrictions on what type of packaging

could be brought to and disposed of at the

event. While 65% of stall holders followed

these guide lines, there was still room

for improvement. Some stall holders

disposed of single use (non-recyclable)

plastics at the event. This could be

better regulated and is an area for

improvement in the future.

• Utilising different coloured bins would

make a difference in waste sorting and

allowing the public to differentiate the

bins sorting system from afar.

• Smaller skips for the event would have also been an addition to

make for future events.

Emissions

• We were not able to measure on site mains power which meant that

Green Power could not be purchased for the event. This left only

the option of offsetting the emissions from the mains power. This

was a more expensive and less effective approach.

• Procurement of goods – Being in WA has some limitations due to

location and what is available. There are limited environmental

event resources available such as: bio-diesel generators, eco-

portable toilets, an environmental waste disposal company etc.

• Emissions estimated – In future more verified information needs

to be sourced, to allow us to more accurate emissions.

Appendix 1:

Emissions Estimations:

Carbon Neutral Emissions Calculator for the Retro Rumble

- Please note estimations were made for onsite power based on the

stallholders appliance usage (based on standard ratings).

- Toilets were not included in the emission estimates.

- Generators were estimated by approximating fuel use and time on.

Appendix #2

Carbon Neutral Offset Options.

Appendix #3

City of Perth Sustainable Events Checklist. Complete