SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM ELROW

At elrow Town Amsterdam 2019 we’re working together with Revolution in order to create a more sustainable festival. The Revolution Foundation provides sustainable and circular systems for festivals and events. They work together closely with events, companies and governments to design and implement circular blueprints for festivals, accelerating the transition to a sustainable economy.

Their projects demonstrate that it is possible to transition to circular systems without having to compromise on quality or experience. Together we believe that this is the best way to introduce the world to a new economic paradigm, in which we distance ourselves from the ‘linear’ (take-make-waste) era.

The Revolution program at elrow Town Amsterdam 2019 consists of a collection of circularity projects in systems such as food, resources (previously known as waste), and energy. Important points include the conscious and circular use of resources as well as the minimalization of CO2-emissions. We underline that a fundamental change is necessary within these pillars if we want to continue organizing events in the future.

HARDCUPS

One of the most visible components of the Sustainability program is the use of the hardcup-system. Visitors no longer get drinks served in traditional disposable softcups but in a reusable hard cup. This not only saves a huge amount of plastic waste but also makes visitors reflect on their current “linear” behavior (take-make-waste) and it presents a new perspective on reusing precious resources.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN

At a circular festival, there is no place for waste. elrow shifted from seeing “waste as a problem” to “resources as a solution”. The festival no longer sees waste as materials to be burned or landfilled but as a collection of precious resources. elrow provides central “resource collection points” for visitors, in order to ensure a high rate of recycling of resources. All resources are to be collected there, to be made ready for separation and processing. The festival will sort, clean and process all resource flows.

SMART ENERGY PLAN

Regarding energy, elrow does not shy away from the challenges of the energy transition, in fact, the festival embraces them. elrow works with a smart energy plan, maximizing the consumption of energy from the power grid and other renewable sources.

ZERO-WASTE FOODCOURT

About 10,000 dishes are consumed per festival day, which ensures a large flow of organic waste and used disposables and cutlery. In this zero-waste food court there are no more trash bins, but a central collection point for disposables and food scraps. We then convert all the organic waste and the used biodegradable disposables into compost. In this way we eliminate food waste and we show that food consumption can also be handled sustainably on a large scale.

CASHLESS

elrow is cashless. That means paying directly at the bar with your debit or credit card as well as with your smartphone via Payconiq. The Payconiq app allows you to pay with your smartphone - quick and easy. Simply download the app from the App Store or Google Play Store and connect your bank account.

VOLUNTEERS

A core tool for supporting and strengthening our sustainable and circular systems is our volunteer program. Revolution offers volunteers the chance to obtain practical experience at our partner festivals and events. Not only do volunteers play a key part in communicating our sustainability efforts to the visitors, but we also provide them with circular knowledge, an opportunity for networking and a meaningful learning experience.

ADDITIONAL:

In addition to the above:

We’ll use bio degradable confetti

The remaining inflatables go back to Barcelona where they will be recycled for a massive decorative object During build up and break down elrow uses bio diesel and batteries.

Together we make magic happen ❤