This post comes from Creative Carbon Scotland

The Edinburgh Mela has taken some really exciting new steps to greening this year’s festival (Sat 31st Aug – Sun 1st Sept). The two initiatives they have taken on this year tackle the issues of waste and audience travel.

With food and drink playing a big role in the festival celebrations, they’ve made the decision to ban all non-compostable packaging from the site, working towards their aim to become a zero waste festival. This year they will be working with the hugely innovative Edinburgh-based company Vegware, the UK’s first and only completely compostable food packaging firm, on board as Associate Sponsor of Greening The Mela initiative.

Vegware’s catering disposables are made from plants, not plastic. In 2013 the Edinburgh firm won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development and were named the best small business in the UK. Its Food Waste Network offers a free matchmaking service for any UK business seeking food waste recycling. The Mela is encouraging audiences to do their bit by putting any used Vegware and leftover food in the compostables bin so it can all be composted! More info on Vegware here.

They are also working hard to encourage visitors to choose to cycle to the Mela this year. Through funding from the EU’s CHAMP cycling project, the City of Edinburgh Council will be helping the festival promote walking and cycling routes to the Mela, and there will be some exciting activities to get involved in. 

Both initiatives are a great example of how to increase the mindfulness of audiences and the environmental impact of their actions not only during the festivities but also when making plans to travel to and from festival. Well done Edinburgh Mela!

The post Greening the Edinburgh Mela appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

Creative Carbon Scotland is a partnership of arts organisations working to put culture at the heart of a sustainable Scotland. We believe cultural and creative organisations have a significant influencing power to help shape a sustainable Scotland for the 21st century.

In 2011 we worked with partners Festivals Edinburgh, the Federation of Scottish Threatre and Scottish Contemporary Art Network to support over thirty arts organisations to operate more sustainably.

We are now building on these achievements and working with over 70 cultural organisations across Scotland in various key areas including carbon management, behavioural change and advocacy for sustainable practice in the arts.

Our work with cultural organisations is the first step towards a wider change. Cultural organisations can influence public behaviour and attitudes about climate change through:

Changing their own behaviour;
Communicating with their audiences;
Engaging the public’s emotions, values and ideas.

Go to Creative Carbon Scotland

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