Since Body & Soul started, they have placed sustainability at the heart of everything that they do, recognising and embracing their responsibility in tackling climate challenges and making great strides each year to reduce the environmental impact of the festival.
In April they marked Earth Day by issuing a powerful call for action in the Irish Times for the Government to further regulate the outdoor events and festivals industry in Ireland. They are the first Irish festival to ever receive a Highly Commended Award and a nomination for International Greener Creative Award with Greener Festival Awards.
This year, to celebrate their 10 year anniversary, they are taking things to the next level and have launched a 2019 Sustainability Strategy.
Here are just some of the initiatives and how you can join their sustainability journey.
Stamping out Single-Use Plastics
The planet is drowning in plastic. So for 2019 Body & Soul have announced that they are banning the sale of single-use plastics at Body & Soul. This means no more plastic water bottles or plastic drinks cups in the bars. They will be switching to canned water and compostable vegware cups in all their bars. They will have reusable water bottles on sale for €5 as usual. You can help by packing your own refillable bottles and reusable coffee cups.
Us & You Green Camping
The Us & You Campsite is for the conscious campers who commit to taking their tents and camping gear home after the festival, separating their waste properly, and leaving it lived and loved. It’s also the cleanest, soundest campsite at the festival! For the same price as a standard Body & Soul ticket, you can play your own part in keeping the festival clean and green. Capacity is limited to 5,000 so buy your Us & You ticket today!
Cup Return System
They will be implementing their Cup Return System again this year, but this time the bar cups will be 100% compostable. For every drink you buy at the bar, a 20c levy is added to it. If you return 5 cups to our designated Cup Return Points, you will receive your €1 refund.
Last year 29,155 plastic cups were returned and recycled over the weekend.
Living Lab
For the second year running, they are again partnering with Ireland’s pioneering sustainable event production company – Native Events – to bring The Living Lab to Body & Soul 2019. The Living Lab is a climate change response activation within the campsite; playing host to climate change experts and activists, workshops, live podcasts and a sustainable marketplace. The aim is for you to leave feeling empowered to take a stance against climate change.
Read about how Ireland’s LGBT+ community are fighting for climate justice in this month’s issue of GCN.
© 2019 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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