Introduction

Global warming affects each and everyone of us. With his ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ and ‘Live Earth’, Al Gore boosted awareness. The call of pop and rock artists who are striving for a greener world was and is still heard. Green entrepreneurship is not a hype, it has become a reality. So the music business - organisations and festivals - are rightfully scrutinised. Both one-day and several-day festivals have an impact on the environment. This impact can be kept under control and even reduced. As a consequence, the goal of Rock Werchter, TW Classic and Werchter Boutique is to reduce their impact as well. That is nothing new. But the measures taken to reduce the impact of these festivals on the environment, are once again extended beyond last year's efforts.

In 2007 Werchter had its ecological footprint measured for the first time. Energy consumption, mobility, waste disposal, water, daily activities and catering were investigated and mapped. The results enabled the festival organisers to obtain a better view and insight on the festival's actual impact on the environment. Rock Werchter, TW Classic and the Rolling Stones' concert had an accumulated footprint of 662.5 hectares. A hard to interpret number since there is no comparable research available, although specialists in this field were able to conclude that a weekend of Rock Werchter had less impact on the environment than a weekend trip to Barcelona. Waste (36.3%), mobility (22.6%), energy (18.2%) and the use of space (17.7%) impacted the footprint the most. The share of catering (5.1%) and water (0.03%) is limited. In 2008 the ecological footprint was measured once again. In collaboration with the province of Flemish Brabant and the municipal authorities of Rotselaar and Haacht, the peripheral events will be taken into account as well. Of course, the various parking lots, camp-sites and activities alongside the main road also have an impact. And they were not included into the 2007 calculations. The results of the ecological footprint of the festival summer of 2008 are awaited.

Thanks to the smooth collaboration between Rock Werchter and both the NMBS (the Belgian National Railway Company) and De Lijn (the Public Transport Company of Flanders), for four years now, the festival ticket includes the use of public transport to and from the festival. This way, Rock Werchter is encouraging festival-goers to leave their car at home and come to the festival by bus and by train. In 2007, De Lijn transported 122,200 festival-goers during the Rock-Werchter weekend. During TW Classic and Werchter Boutique there were 11,000 and 9,500 passengers respectively. The success story continues in 2009, since, once again, the price of a festival ticket includes free train and bus rides. De Lijn have taken some sustainable steps of their own by the way. 

The piles of waste that are generated by a festival, should be a point of particular interest, since waste accounts for 36.6% of the ecological footprint. Both on the festival ground and on Rock Werchter's camping facilities waste is sorted thoroughly. For this purpose, FOST Plus has provided material to collect waste while also taking care of sensitising. The principle of “1 drinks voucher in exchange for 20 goblets” has been the rule on the festival ground and beyond for years now. He or she who collects and clears goblets, receives a reward. The collected goblets end up in an alternative recycling stream operated by our waste partner Veolia Environmental Services. 

As from now, festival-goers no longer have a reason to leave their refuse about on the festival ground, because Superman and Batman now have a formidable rival. Captain Rabbit and his Invincible Carrots were especially created by Veolia Es to collect waste on the festival ground. A virtually 'wasteless' grounds is cleaner, more hygienic and just nicer after all. No more grey, ugly dustbins... So please do feed the rabbits & the carrots instead!

Rock Werchter, TW Classic, Werchter Boutique and the ecological partners also want to make a difference. Apart from the music, the various festivals definitely give space to socially relevant initiatives like ecological awareness. Yourope, Europe's co-ordinating festival federation, gave Rock Werchter and TW Classic the Green’n’Clean Award for their efforts so far.