Climate Wave Enterprises

Eco-Logical Event Solutions

  • Home
  • Event Management
    • What is Sustainable Event Management?
    • Sustainable Event Management Services
    • Checklist to a Sustainable Event
  • Eco Challenge
    • Take the Eco Challenge!
  • About
    • Cookie Policy
    • FAQ
    • Mission-Vision Statement
    • Service Providers
    • Sustainability Policy
    • Testimonials
  • News
  • Contact
  • Log In

SWU (Starts With You) FESTIVAL

Main stage at Starts With You Festival

Rocking out at SWU Festival

SWU
That’s the message from a huge music festival staged in the town of Paulinea, a growing cultural hub next to the city of Campinas in the interior of Sao Paulo state. From its inception the SWU festival has sustainability as it’s motive. My friends in Rio and in particular, Felippe Llerena mentioned the green principles of the festival and I was keen to check it out up close. Felippe with his multiple contacts in the Brazilian music scene organised a couple of tickets and after some juggling, I was organised to go to this mega festival. My opportunity to audit from a patron point of view, sustainable event management practices in Brazil.

To get there it was quite easy (if you understand Portuguese). Buses were taking people from Viracopos airport and Campinas’ main bus station at regular intervals, providing an efficient, cheap and quick transportation to the show grounds, which were also close to Paulinea’s main bus station. To get in and out of the festival was easy.

From the entrance I could see how mega the structures were. Multiple stages, shops, food courts and several types of amenities composed one the biggest festivals Paulinea has ever hosted.

As I walked in the first thing that grabbed my attention was a structure with solar panels on the top together with a couple of wind mills to generate energy.

Wind power at SWU Festival

Wind power at Starts With You Festival

I go in and ask what was all about it and found out that they were using the energy generated to charge mobile phones and a special light effect for an art exhibition. Outside, a lounge with some cool recyclable furniture made of old tyres and special bins for cigarette butts were providing a “sustainable atmosphere”.

I keep going and notice a huge marquee with several environmental organizations and NGOs presenting their work. Greenpeace,…..,……, amongst them and I thought it was really good. Seemed like the education component of the festival was covered. I also found out that were having several forums about sustainability with scientists and music celebrities, including Neil Young, as part of the activities of the festival. However, to be able to attend them you would have to book previously and seemed a bit VIP for my taste as the vast majority of the patrons was ousted from that. And they could have done more sustainable awareness announcements between the concerts.

I keep walking looking at the huge public in the tens of thousands, searching for waste stations. All I could see was bins scattered around the place, some colour coded, some with stickers indicating the type of rubbish, some with no indication. I looked inside a couple of them and I see all types of rubbish mixed up, most of the recycled items contaminated with food scraps. Not good. They could’ve done a much better job.

In the food courts, which also provided vegetarian and vegan foods, the catering products including plates, cups and cutlery were made out of plastic, lacking a huge opportunity of improvement in this area. The only green practice I noticed was that they were pouring all the drinks in recyclable cups, retaining the bottles and cans for (I hope) late separation and less rubbish disposal by patrons.

The stages with its mega structures were providing the latest technology in sound and visual effects and I learned that lots of the props and scenography would be recycled after for other shows. The energy for that and for the rest of the event came from the main grid, which in Brazil is provided most from hydroelectric sources making this energy greener.

Restrooms were most chemical toilets and bathrooms already existent in the precinct. Water technologies for taps, urinals and toilet bowls were old with no dual flush systems, motion sensors or dry toilets. And the queues were in the hundreds of meters, especially for the ladies, taking long time, making you wonder if you want to have another drink.

Camping ground was provided as accommodation. But just for the brave. With the heavy rain and astronomical prices did not sound like the smart choice. With hotels in Campinas for half of the price and double the luxury it made me think about the prices for everything in the festival. After all, sustainability is a holistic concept and it should go into all levels of operation.

I went to SWU’s merchandise tent and the cheapest t-shirt was R$ 80.00 (US$ 46.00) and a key ring R$ 20.00 (US$ 12.00). Brazil with prices like Europe! From tickets, merchandise, food and drinks, prices were very expensive, limiting the entertainment for just a part of the population. Not only that, but inefficient security for patrons was a concern as my friend John Brown got his glasses stolen from his face and more people got robbed during the festival.

My overall view of the SWU Festival was that it was an event with good intentions but still a long way in regard to sustainable event management practices. And I am not aware of the legacy for the local community apart from big businesses that profited with the event.

The rest was rock’n’roll and I like it! With the bands Primus and Stone Temple Pilots my highlights.

The Festival Starts With You focusing in sustainability is a good initiative, a step on the right direction, but it is stairway to heaven…

working with the planet

Guil Araujo

Posted: November 30, 2011

+61 (0) 414 939 942

In a nutshell

Climate Wave Enterprises deliver events that comply with sustainable standards. We work with the planet for positive, ethical and social outcomes, and provide a holistic recreational event experience that engages all stakeholders in a journey that will reduce environmental impact whilst having fun.

Click to read more about Climate Wave

Google reviews

Climate Wave Enterprises
Climate Wave Enterprises
5.0
Based on 1 reviews
powered by Google
See All Reviews
js_loader

Contact us

Climate Wave Enterprises
3/12 Wagawn Street,
Tugun, QLD, 4224
Phone: +61 (0) 414 939 942

Email: info@climatewave.com

Connect with us

Recent posts

  • A short video of composting at events
  • Tip single use plastic items out of your events
  • Why should you certify or accredit your events?

How can we help?

Copyright © 2022 Climate Wave Enterprises

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Reject
Cookie Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT