Sustainable Music Festival: Goldenvoice's Cali Vibes Leads the Way in Eco-Friendly Events
Large-scale music festivals often pose significant environmental challenges, generating considerable waste and emitting high levels of CO2. Goldenvoice, a division of AEG, is challenging this norm by leading the way in sustainable festival organizing. Their three-day music festival, Cali Vibes, held in Long Beach, CA, serves as a model for greening festival operations.
For the second year running, Cali Vibes has teamed up with Three Squares Inc., an environmental consulting firm based in Los Angeles, to develop a comprehensive sustainability program. This initiative aims to reduce emissions, minimize waste, educate attendees and staff, and promote eco-friendly practices.
With 25,000 fans per day, Cali Vibes has embraced sustainability as a focal point, implementing various green initiatives:
For the second year running, Cali Vibes has teamed up with Three Squares Inc., an environmental consulting firm based in Los Angeles, to develop a comprehensive sustainability program. This initiative aims to reduce emissions, minimize waste, educate attendees and staff, and promote eco-friendly practices.
With 25,000 fans per day, Cali Vibes has embraced sustainability as a focal point, implementing various green initiatives:
- Food Waste Reduction: Surplus food is donated to local shelters, and 20% to 30% of food vendors offer vegan options, with all required to provide at least one vegetarian option.
- Reusable Cup Program: Partnering with r.World, the festival eliminated around 300,000 single-use plastic cups by using r.Cup reusable cups. Water is served in aluminum cans, and refill stations are readily available.
- Energy Reduction: Overdrive Energy Solutions’ battery power stations capture solar energy to light parking lots, merch stations, and bathroom zones. Battery-powered LED lights are used for efficient lighting, and locally-produced renewable diesel powers generators and heavy equipment, eliminating 43 tons of carbon emissions.
- Emission Reduction: The festival encourages the use of public transit by offering free or discounted rides through L.A. Metro. A "no idling" rule is enforced, requiring cars and gas-powered golf carts to be turned off when not in motion.
In addition to these operational changes, Goldenvoice partnered with AEG's Social Impact department to host an AEG Futures event at the festival. This program brought together 50 underrepresented high school and college students to explore sustainability-focused career opportunities in live entertainment. Through mentorship sessions, industry expert talks, and firsthand experiences at the festival, students gained insights into sustainable practices in the music industry.
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