Through it’s many eco initiatives, Envision Festival – in Uvita, Costa Rica – has been showing the festival world how to create a more sustainable event for many years. Last year their efforts were recognized at the FestX Awards.
FESTX AWARDS 2018
Last December, the second annual FestX Awards were hosted in Las Vegas. Event producers, marketers, influencers, and supporters gathered together to celebrate another year of successful festivals. Winners were selected from thirteen different categories. The nominees for Outstanding Green Event this year were California Roots Music & Arts Festival (Monterey, California), Envision Festival (Uvita, Costa Rica), Lollapalooza, ACL Fest: Rock and Recycle Program, Luminate Festival (Golden Bay, New Zealand), and Splendour in the Grass (Byron Bay, Australia). Envision Festival was selected as winner due to their commitment to making their event as sustainable as possible.
Achieving Sustainability
So how does the festival go the extra mile to lessen it’s impact on the environment? According to them this is how:
Since 2009, the festival has worked closely with the non-profit organization, Costa Verdes, to plant over 45,000 trees on the beaches surrounding the festival grounds. These trees have a tremendously positive effect on the environment. They provide shade that lowers the sand temperature for sea turtles, they bring back native animals like macaws and monkeys, and have many other benefits to the ecosystem they grow in.
Federico Gutiérrez, who has dedicated his life to this project, exclaimed his love for the depths of Envision. “We are really changing lives here. We are trying to inspire people to live a different life with a different mindset. I’m saying all this from my personal experience and what I have gone through. What we are doing here requires education and knowledge, and Envision is really the platform for that. We are making things happen.”
Onsite Initiatives
From the building of the stages to the serving of food, every activity on the festival grounds is conducted with the environment in mind. The stages are constructed using local materials by a local construction company, Living Space. They are built to last and to be used year after year by the festival. All guests are encouraged to bring their own utensils and refillable water bottle. There is no one time use containers on site, besides the occasional banana leaf which can be composted.
Eco Hub
The Eco Hub is the festivals largest initiative on the grounds to help move the event towards being completely zero waste. Basically, anything that guests are looking to discard can be taken there to sort it into the best place. Their eco-warriors are staffed at the hub to be able to help attendees ensure that they are placing their waste in the right place. This year they are ramping up the initiative even more through increased outreach and education.
You can read more about the festival’s sustainability initiatives here. Envision Festival will take place in Uvita, Costa Rica from February 28th-March 3rd, tickets can be purchased here.