SUSTAINABILITY

Sunrise@The Big Chill 2008 was powered using entirely renewable energies from the wind and sun. Following that, the team behind Sunrise have decided to make a commitment to move entirely off biodiesel generators within 3 years. As food prices rise around the world, and as competition for resources grows, we feel it is our duty to reduce our own dependence on liquid fuels, be they bio or not!! Our second event of the 2009 season, Sunrise Off The Grid will indeed be run entirely without dependence on these. An interesting challenge but one we feel is going to be faced by an increasing number of events in the coming years.

In 2009, 5 out of our 6 stages will be run purely from the wind and sun, that's over 83%! It's a first for us here at Sunrise and adds to our list of cutting edge eco friendly innovations. We have also reduced our dependency on liquid fuels in other areas, especially where stalls and cafes are concerned.

We at Sunrise don't believe that being sustainable is just about the dominant issues of the day - like Climate Change and Peak Oil. Whilst these things are important, for us, the real reason to be 'sustainable' is because its good for the Earth. And if its good for the Earth then its got to be good for you, your children and future grandchildren, and all other life on this glowing jewel of a planet. Being Green comes from living well, treading lightly, giving kindness and generally going about life consciously. We hope you can find all the inspiration and information you need to walk that path yourself. We'll be following in your footsteps....

DOWN ON THE (ORGANIC) FARM

In 2009 Sunrise (and its new spin off event, Sunrise: Off the Grid) is being held on a lovely little organic farm in Somerset. The new location is really beautiful and the farming methods have left the land in a delightful condition (so lets not spoil it!!). Not only will you get to spend a glorious weekend on the land, knowing that you won't be ingesting pesticides and noxious chemicals every time you touch the ground, you will also have the chance to consume much of the farm's produce, at various vendors around the site.

We are grateful to the kind family who have taken us in this year and given us a home. Because of its special status, we ask that everybody please be especially attentive as they go about their weekend, ensuring that you really do tread lightly on the earth and think about what you bring with you (and what you take away).

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL

Over the time since its inception, Sunrise has grown year on year. From its modest beginnings, the 2008 festival would have been a sell out at 10,000 attendees. Nonetheless, after last year's watery chaos, and the modest beauty of what took place at the Big Chill, everybody behind the event decided that 2009 would be a year of consolidation, where we would get back to our roots and make sure that what we are producing is something we can really be proud of.

That means 2009's Sunrise Celebration Festival will be somewhat smaller than in previous years, with a bit less overproduction but just as much heart. It also means that we can really concentrate on ensuring that the content at the eventcommunicatesthe Greenmessage effectively. By reducing our size a little, we also have a chance to make sure our environmental policies are enacted efficiently and that our waste and renewable energy targetsare truly manageable.

In 2009, we will also be hosting a new event at the end of the summer season. Sunrise: Off the Gridaims tobe a new evolutionin festival ideals - a conscious community camp, where discussion, forums, workshops, talks and other activities will play as much of a part as the music. The event is dedicated to not only gettingthe message across but forging that message together. It will also be a great way to end the summer season and as inspiring, love filled, rootsey and creative as ever. More to follow...

NATURAL COMMUNITIES

In 2009, the Sunrise events are being produced by a new Community Interest Company (CIC), Natural Communities. This new CIC has no shareholders to take home dividends, which means every penny of profit is redirected back into the community in some way. Its an exciting development that we have been moving towards for years.

Natural Communities is all about sustainability, about forging new pathways in the world, about preparing ourselves for the exciting times ahead. The CIC has dedicated its mission to promoting and establishing sustainable communities, and working to develop and educate on sustainable techniques and technologies. See the About us page for more details.

SUNRISE IS IN TRANSITION

In 2009, Sunrise is linking up with the Transition Towns movement. We have long been admirers of this incredible grassroots initiative that is rewriting the script on all levelsfrom local communityto national government. The Transition Movement was begun by a visionary permaculturalist, Rob Hopkins, and in just a few years has progressed from a college course in Ireland to an internationally acclaimed activist movement - with TT initiatives in places as diverse as New Zealand, Japan and the UK.

Despite its international success, Transition is all about the Local. Its about building community resilience, reclaiming our local environment and taking control of our destinies. As we plunge seemingly inexorably towards climate and energy crises, Transition provides the inspiration to change things - starting at home and in your own towns and villages. Key topics include localising food supplies, Community Supported Agriculture schemes, strengthening community relations, supporting renewable technologies and much much more. We love it!

We believe in the ideals of Transition Towns and are entirely committed to enacting the principles of the movement in our own temporary festival community, and spreading that message to others. In 2009 we will be hosting 'Transition Sunday' a whole day themed around the subject, with talks, forum discussions, movies and more to inspire everybody to get involved in their own local initiatives. We are lucky to be based here in Somerset, where even the county council have made a commitment to becoming the UKs first Transition Local Authority! Representatives from Transition Somerset will be present, along with those from the national network.

We are proud to say that Sunrise is in Transition...

For full details please visit Rob Hopkins own site - www.transitionculture.org or else www.transitiontowns.org

Not only can you have an amazing time living it up under glorious skies, dance all night at one of many stages, listen to incredible bands but you are also doing this with a low impact. This is the essential spice of life for Sunrise – guilt free partying is our aim.

Also there are the more wholesome activities to get on with during the day. Including crafts like willow weaving, felt making, green wood work andpottery, bushcraft skills workshops and walks, wood lathing, creating recycled art and sculptures, planting seeds for kids. There is also a lot to learn along the way to soak up green goodness into your minds. Spreading the message is a big part of the revolution taking place right now. The more people learn the more we can grow to make change possible. We want to provide plenty of opportunities for you to learn how to live sustainability and become aware of what you can do in your lives - every day alchemy.

The 'Sustainable Being' Yurt is one of Sunrise 2009's centres of learning. There will be 4 themed days of talks, workshops and debates. Day 1 is dedicated to permaculture and the principles thereof. Day 2 features a day of Sustainable Community living - from urban squat culture to ecovillage principles. Day 3 is a day of Ancient Futures - exploring ancient cultures and what they can bring to our lives now. And finally Day 4 is entirely given over to Transition Towns. Each day will end with a full debate or open floor discussion.

All this is in addition to the green innovations area where there will be displays of green technologies, eco-building designs and more. The permaculture gardenwill give you a practical display of how you can grow your own food in plentiful supply using natural systems, making environmentally damaging concoctions of pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers unnecessary.

Our aim is for every single participant at the events to walk away inspired, and taking at least some of what they have learnt out into their everyday lives.

Most of our stalls in the market area have been selected because of their green credentials. Other areas which you will also find especially rich in green goodness include the Green Innovations area and the Permaculture Garden both of which can be found at the top of the arena field. Stalls from green businesses and organisations can be found here too.

We have also put a lot of thought into how we can minimise our waste on site. Disposable packaging from food stalls and bars makes up a large part of festival waste, with plastics that are often not able to be recycled. To combat this problem at the Sunrise Celebration we have made it a strict policy that all packaging used on site by food stalls traders must be compostable, which means that whatever you are eating is not only good, organic and local, but even its packaging is non-harmful to the planet.

Sunrise prides itself on the fact that we are not just offsetting our carbon footprint and other environmental impacts but we are actually reducing them. For example our healing area doesn’t use any power at all and will be using candles at night. That’s minimising or what! A large number of our cafes and stalls use just solar or wind power. We are increasing this number every year.We use energy efficient technologies such as LED lighting etc to reduce our energy requirement by loads more. This means that areas such as the welfare base, lost kids and art gardens all run off 12 volts of power. That’s what you get from plugging into your car! We are also minimising on new materials and resources used. Much of our décor, sculptures and art are made from recycled, reclaimed and eco friendly materials.

All the energy used on site is from renewable sources with biodiesel, solar power, wind power and pedal power making everything run from stages to lighting. Bio-diesel is better then any petro chemical alternatives but Solar and wind are our priority as these are the least impacting forms of renewable energy and we are always aiming to be as eco-friendly as possible. To top up energy where it is needed in large amounts we use biodiesel though in 2009 this is massively reduced. Like the rest of the world, we need to get off our dependency on liquid fuels and encourage the development of an alternative fuel economy. As technology gets better and we can produce larger amounts of energy from other sources such as solar and wind we will be using them even more. Each year we preferentially book traders and production crew who run their equipment off solar, wind or pedal power.

One exciting little development for 2009 is the trial of an experimental hydrogen fuel cell at the Eartheart Stage and Cafe. There will also be a very unusual little installation at the Chill and Dance Area. The fire there will be topped by a steam engine, that will see water heated by the fire, evaporated into steam and used to power the lighting systems! It may not be the shiny spangly Jetsons future we've all dreamed of, but it will go to show home-made technologies can be fun and effective.

The most obvious environmental impact caused by festivals is the huge amounts of waste produced on site. One of our top priorities is to reduce this waste and recycle and reuse as much of it as possible.

Disposable packaging from food stalls makes up a large part of festival waste, with plastics that are often not able to be recycled. To combat this problem at the Sunrise Celebration we have made it a strict policy that all packaging used on site by food stalls traders must be compostable, which means that whatever you are eating is not only good, organic and local, but even its packaging is non-harmful to the planet. We will have composting bins outside all the food stalls where people can throw in any leftover food and their packaging. Cups, plates, knives, forks, spoons will all be compostable and can be thrown into these bins. These will then be taken away to make wholesome food for plants to grow in.

We at the Sunrise love recycling and we hope you will all join in by recycling as much as possible at the festival. Separate recycling bins will the provided for paper, metal, plastic and glass. These can be found all over the site and will be clearly marked so no excuses not to use them. Re-use boxes will also be around for you to put in any unwanted items that others can give a new life to. These will be marked on the site map so don’t bin it – re-use it. You are all welcome to come visit the boxes and see what goodies need a new home. Any leftover items will be given to charities and local community projects.

The Sunrise Celebration is deeply committed to achieving and improving environmental standards. As such we are applying strong environmental policies to our event. Follow this link for an outline of our environmental policies from 2008, which we are of course aiming to improve on in 2009.

This year we are carrying out a sustainability appraisal of the Sunrise Celebration festival as a follow-up to research conducted in previous years. This is an audit that will measure environmental factors such as our carbon footprint, waste management and other aspects, as well studying the effect on the well-being of attendees. As part of this audit, we will be looking to you, our audience, to get details of how big your smile is, how far and how you travelled and more. Watch out for our Eco-Rangers at the Sunrise event.

As an essential part of our carbon neutralising, we are committed to beautifying the landscape in Somerset. We have planted quite a few trees over the years and now we wish to increase the size of this project, turning the events site into a green haven and a sanctuary for wildlife. As part of a sustained programme of eco-investment, we are looking more funding for this area of the Sunrise project.

Spreading the message is a big part of the revolution going on right now. The more people learn the more we can grow to make change possible. We want to provide plenty of opportunities for you to learn how to live sustainability and be more environmentally conscious. Guest speakers will be giving eco-talks and eco-workshops, environmentally aware films will be playing and environmental campaign groups will be joining us so we can learn how to get active and save our planet. This is in addition to the green innovations area where there will be displays of green technologies, eco-building designs and more. The permaculture area will also give you a practical display of how you can grow your own food in plentiful supply using natural systems, making environmentally damaging concoctions of pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers unnecessary. With all the environmental initiatives taking place at the Sunrise we hope you will leave inspired to go forth and be green!
We welcome all those who want to get involved in our environmental initiatives. If you have any eco-innovations and awareness raising projects you would like to display, are a part of an environmental campaign group, would like to give eco-talks, workshops or show your environmental films please contact: info[at]sunrisecelebration.com

We can enjoy this world and have a wild time without destroying the planet. This is a key message from the eco rangers. Remember this! It will be vital to your way of life shortly! To show how easy it is just follow our simple tips on how to be green at Sunrise. Once you have got the hang of this – which you undoubtedly will! You are ready for the big wide world and making simple changes out there to reduce your impact and help save the planet.

GIVE OUR ECO RANGERS A HUG
The Eco Rangers will be roaming all over the site, making sure that everything is staying environmentally friendly. We are a very friendly bunch and would love it if you asked us questions on eco-initiatives at the festival and where to find things like recycling points. Also if you see any eco problems happening on site such as leaky taps, an invasion of very distressed looking frogs, litter or anything please come to us so we can sort it out!

LOVE THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Travelling by train, coach or bus is much more environmentally friendly then travelling by car. Trains emit the least amount of CO2 compared to all other forms of transport so we really encourage you to travel by train and have set up shuttle buses to and from the train station to help you do this easily. Coaches and buses are the 2nd best way to travel with cars coming in a poor last. Check out our getting here page for more details. We are looking at putting on a used cooking fuel bus from at least one location. As a way to try to discourage people bringing their cars we will also be asking you to buy a ticket per vehicle you bring on site. Check out liftsharing on our Getting Here page.

SHARE YOUR CAR
If you have to travel by car then please car share. It is a great way to reduce the impact you have on the environment. If you get 5 people in your car you will each be emitting nearly 5 times less CO2 and 5 times less pollution then driving on your own. It’s also a lot more fun! If you didn’t do it this year but want to do it next year check the lift share forum linked on our website. If you see one of the eco rangers gathering information on how you travelled to the site - join in and tell them all. This will help us find out how much CO2 is being generated from people travelling to the festival.

RECYCLE FOR LIFE
We can recycle TETRAPAKS! Remember this. Put any of these in the tetrapak recycling bins. Sunrise was the first festival that we know of last year to recycle these – and we are going to do it again! Of course! We will also be recycling paper, plastics, metals (including those wasteful nitrous canisters, which are actually banned from the site) and glass etc. We will also be giving out clear plastic bags for you to recycle in your campsite. Recycling is an important way to save natural resources. Each tonne of paper recycled saves 15 average sized trees and we like trees. A lot! 25 plastic drink bottles makes a fleece jacket – well isn’t that exciting. Recycling also saves energy. You can make 20 cans out of recycled materials with the same amount of energy it takes to make a single one can from virgin material. We would love to recycle as much waste on site as possible. Join our mission. Sunrise is like a mini village of its own – so it’s a good testing ground to show how green us humans can be. It is estimated that up to 90% of what is put in our bins could either be reused or recycled. It would be amazing if we could reduce our waste by that much. It is in your hands.

COMPOST FOOD AND DISPOSABLE CUPS/PLATES
This is a quick and easy step that has a huge impact. If everyone did this we would drastically reduce the levels of methane going into the atmosphere. Methane is a really powerful greenhouse gas that we don’t hear much about. All the biodegradable material such as food waste and paper that gets buried in landfill sites ends up decomposing without any oxygen producing huge amounts of methane. Cows also fart methane! So another step would be to reduce your beef and milk intake! The less we can send to landfill the better so please put food waste in the compost bins. All disposable cups and plates from cafes on site will also be compostable so you can put these in as well. Compost bins will be provided outside catering stalls and within the camping area. Look out for the signs. All waste food can be placed in the compost bins. Please tell the eco rangers if you find a café using non compostable cups – it’s our job to make sure all the Sunrise eco plans actually work on the ground!

COLLECT YOUR LITTER
Collecting our litter is something that we all do. There are some occasions which are a bit surprising though… like at the end of the night when the main stage is turned off and everyone seems to have forgotten their beer cups.. what’s going on? It’s a mass collective thing. If one person does it – it gives an excuse for another person to do it – and they will just automatically without thinking. Break the loop. In fact why not start one of your own. But a green one that means we aren’t shocked by our collective behaviour.

SAVE THAT WATER
Water is life! Clean water is something to treasure especially as it takes a lot of energy to produce it. Simply just make yourself aware of wasting water when you use taps or showers. It’s so easy. Just don’t leave taps / showers running when not in use. And try not to use too much. If you see any broken/leaky taps and showers please tell one of our Eco-Rangers or a crew member. A leaky tap with only a tiny trickle of water wastes something like 60 litres of water an hour!

USE BIODIESEL - but only if it’s locally produced!
We will have locally sustainably produced biodiesel onsite for you to fill up your vehicles on your return journey. Biodiesel is a diesel substitute which is obtained from plants – so it’s a renewable energy source to fuel your vehicle. Biodiesel can be used in unmodified diesel engines and you can put either pure biodiesel or a mixture of biodiesel and normal diesel into your vehicle depending on its type. But don’t believe the hype – it won’t save the world – but it is a good stop gap until we invent a better solution. Come on guys – get inventing!

TAKE UNWANTED ITEMS TO RE-USE BOXES
We will be setting up re-use boxes in the festival for people to put in their unwanted items. These items can then be picked up by anyone who wants them. If there are any left over after the festival we will give them to charity. These items can be anything from blow up beds, old tents, pots and pans, hats, scarves or dodgy sunglasses. This is especially important at the end of the festival when things get left. Anything you don’t want anymore just put them in. Give them a new lease of life!

CREATE A GLASS FREE HAVEN
Glass hurts! Let’s not leave it lying around. We want our toes left by the end of the festival! No really we do! Sunrise has a no glass policy for this exact reason. We will have glass amnesty points where all glass will be recycled.

RECYCLE THEM BATTERIES
Batteries contain heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury which are harmful to wildlife and pollute soils and rivers. 300 million batteries go into our landfill sites each year! We want to be part of the solution. Any batteries that you think of throwing away – put them in the metal recycling point or even better give it to one of the eco rangers to dispose of. They are after all eco-hazards! Any other eco-hazards on site please tell our eco rangers. We are there to stop the pollution. If you have rechargeable batteries then big smiles to you! You are doing more good then you probably know. To make it easier for you we have power points where you can recharge these on site.

GET YOUR BUTTS OFF THE GROUND
95% of all cigarette butts are made of cellulose acetate (a plastic) which persists in the environment, leaks toxins and ends up in the stomachs of animals. To prevent this from happening we will be distributing containers which you can put your cigarette butts in.

LET ECO-FRIENDLY SOAPS AND SHAMPOOS RULE
To prevent build up of toxins in the land around the festival it is really good to use natural, phosphate free, biodegradeable soaps, shampoos and conditioners. We will be supplying these in all showers and sinks. Also all stalls at the festival will only be selling and using these types of soaps. Please use them.