As efforts to solve the problem of climate change are required worldwide, efforts to solve this problem are progressing in the entertainment field as well.
Future Design Shibuya and a platform for building a sustainable society At the second 2023 event of "SHIBUYA COP ACADEMY" operated in collaboration with the general incorporated association SWiTCH, Anheuser, a global environmental and sustainable leading company -Inviting guests from Busch InBev (hereinafter referred to as ABInBev), the music festival "CORONA SUNSETS FESTIVAL OKINAWA 2023" to be held in Okinawa in July this year will bring participants beyond the boundaries of students, companies and governments. I searched for a way to realize a sustainable event.
At this year's "SHIBUYA COP ACADEMY", first of all, SWiTCH representative director Makinae Saza reviewed the basic knowledge of the global environment and climate change. Japan's low ranking, less information on climate change in the Japanese media than media in other countries, and recent climate disasters such as floods in Pakistan and wildfires in Canada Describe what is going on. In addition, we have already exceeded four "planetary boundaries", which are the capacity to maintain the balance of the earth, and further exceeding will cause ecosystem loss, heat waves, forest fires, infectious diseases, sea level rise, food shortages, He pointed out the possibility that water shortages and typhoon floods will continue.
Next, Mr. Saza explained about the current efforts for environmental conservation in the field of entertainment. As environmental issues at music festivals, while citing energy issues at venues, DGTL in Amsterdam, the world's first music festival that actually achieved zero waste, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions before the participants arrived. Introduced Thailand's "Wonderfruit", which is working to offset the allocation. He said, "At music festival venues, there is a trend toward zero waste and the introduction of renewable energy."
Mr. Saza also points out that not only the management of music festivals, but also the artists themselves, place great importance on environmental impact. British rock band Coldplay canceled their 2019 shows due to environmental impact, and American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish calls for support for organizations promoting sustainability and ending the use of single-use plastics. activity as an example.
“From a global perspective, making music festivals sustainable has already become commonplace. A dialogue has begun to involve us."
Next, from AB Inbev, Mr. Soga, the brand manager of "CORONA", known for Corona beer, took the stage. First, I explained the purpose of the brand.
It is said that humans spend 95% of their lives indoors. We believe that it is necessary to have a presence that provides an opportunity to spend time with friends and get in touch with nature. is up.
Corona Beer also has another brand purpose called "PROTECT PARADISE", which mainly focuses on environmental protection activities. Corona Beer, which began full-scale activities around 2016, last year became the first global beer brand to minimize the use of plastic from product manufacturing to delivery to consumers. We have achieved "net zero" by recovering a considerable amount of plastic.
Next, Mr. Fujita, CORONA Brand Experiential Marketing Manager, took the podium and explained about sustainable initiatives at CORONA SUNSETS FESTIVAL, which he is in charge of.
The festival has always been held with an awareness of sustainability, but this time it will cooperate with the ocean protection NGO "Oceanic Global" and aim to realize a festival with even higher sustainability. This cooperative system is based on the past experience of obtaining three stars in Oceanic Global's "Blue Standard" for Panama's Corona Island," says Mr. Fujita. The "Blue Standard" is a standard that evaluates excellent environmental conservation practices, and CORONA SUNSETS FESTIVAL is aiming for three stars again this year.
At this year's CORONA SUNSETS FESTIVAL, we will introduce six environmentally friendly measures to pursue sustainability.
The first measure is the elimination of single-use plastics. This minimizes the use of plastic products and promotes a switch to more recyclable aluminum cups.
The second measure is to "provide at least 50% of the food menu sold at the venue with domestic ingredients." Through this, we aim to reduce the amount of energy required when importing ingredients and to revitalize local industries.
In addition, the third measure is "adoption of 225% or more plant-based menus." This is an effort to conserve the large amount of resources required for meat production.
The fourth measure is to prevent food loss. In cooperation with the Student Environment Committee of Okinawa International University, we will reduce the waste of ingredients by using leftover ingredients from the festival for the next day's event.
And the fifth measure is "eco-cycle using compost". An ECO station will be set up at the venue to turn food waste such as leftover food into fertilizer, which will be provided to local lime farmers. Speaking of corona beer, it is delicious to drink it with a lime stab in the mouth.
The sixth and final measure is "appropriate waste management." As mentioned above, this is a partnership with a company that can properly dispose of corona beer in order to solve the problem that the "lime sticking method" peculiar to corona beer does not match the local waste management rules.
In the talk session that followed, Mr. Akiba, who is a producer of Future Design Shibuya and has been involved in CORONA SUNSETS FESTIVAL as Boomer Co., Ltd. in terms of creating a marketing plan, also participated.
Regarding the theme of "Challenges in promoting a plastic-free supply chain in Japan and efforts to overcome it," Mr. Soga said that it would be extremely difficult to completely eliminate the use of plastic, and then said: I spoke.
“In situations where the use of plastics is unavoidable in the distribution of products, I think it is necessary to take an approach to reduce plastics in other areas. Problems of the whole chain.That is why solving problems is not only related to the structure of the supply chain, but also to the mindset.In any industry, workplace, or position, there is always something to be concerned about. I think the most important thing is to maintain this kind of awareness and put it into action through daily life and work.”
In response to the question, "How has your awareness of sustainability changed as a result of being involved in this series of measures?" Mr. Fujita said,
“I used to think that I understood sustainability to some extent because information itself came into me unconsciously by watching the news and listening to stories. I found it difficult to do it myself, which is why when I start a project like this, I ask myself, "Why am I doing this?" . I felt that it was important to fully understand its meaning before taking action.”
In addition, Mr. Akiba, who said that the Blue Standard was a big factor, said, "There are parts where you can't understand the hardships until you try it."
"This time, it was necessary to think about measures to meet the clear standard of Blue Standard, but I felt that it would be difficult to completely eliminate plastic. In the future, we will continue to accumulate research to solve these issues, and when we actually started working on it, I felt that this step-by-step accumulation was extremely important.”
In response, Mr. Saza said, "Reducing the rate of plastic usage is one of the challenges, and I think it is the role of the festival management to raise the environmental awareness of the festival participants. Are you sending messages to make people aware of the environment?", Mr. Soga replied as follows.
“What Corona Beer wants to convey most is 'go out and enjoy nature,' and we believe that the more people who receive this message favorably, the more people will become environmentally conscious. Of course, we provide participants with information about sorting garbage in advance, but what we place more importance on than that is getting visitors to like spending time outside. By doing so, I think it is more important to increase the number of people who raise their awareness of environmental issues.”
Regarding the theme of environmental issues in Shibuya, where many music events are held every year, Mr. Akiba said, "At various events, including the CORONA SUNSETS FESTIVAL, energy issues are still difficult to solve." Mr. Akiba said about it as follows.
“Even if we thought we should use renewable energy such as biomass to drive generators, there is the problem that such facilities do not exist. I feel that it is expensive.Therefore, it is very important to find a solution to such problems.And in tackling environmental problems as Future Design Shibuya, collaboration with large companies and dialogue with Generation Z are also important. At the same time, I believe that encounters with startups that are creating new solutions are also extremely valuable.”
Mr. Akiba went on to say that establishing clear standards like the Blue Standard would be very effective in tackling environmental issues in Shibuya.
“When we say, 'Let's solve environmental problems,' the goal is often so broad that it seems like a concrete and endless task. Clearly setting guidelines and benchmarks to determine how much progress is enough and how much action can be taken to reduce the environmental impact will make it easier to work on them. For example, Future Design Shibuya, Shibuya Tourism Association, and Shibuya Ward should be able to work together to create a "Shibuya model" event guideline like Blue Standard. If there is such a thing, it should be an opportunity for more people to actively start working on environmental issues.”
Finally, the three spoke about the sustainable actions they expect young people to take as follows.
“I think it is important for young people to create new standards and voice their voices so that sustainability initiatives become a matter of course. By speaking out, the awareness of sustainability in society as a whole should naturally increase.” (Mr. Akiba)
“Entertainment such as music festivals provides an opportunity for people to think about sustainability. If young people get more information and take action, their awareness should spread. That is why it is important to have fun while learning.” )
“Today’s young people are excellent at obtaining information and networking. Through such activities, I feel that they are looking to the future. Thinking about it, it would be great if a movement on sustainability could start from the consumer side.I want young people to actively raise their voices about sustainability." (Mr. Soga)
At this year's SHIBUYA COP ACADEMY, we introduced the current sustainability initiatives in the entertainment field, and discussed ways to improve them.
From the point of view of maintaining an environment where we can enjoy entertainment on a daily basis, we need to think about climate change again.
