Warped Eco Initiative

why it's important:

Implemented in 2005, the Warped Eco Initiative aims to reduce Warped Tour's carbon footprint by way of a solar powered stage, volunteer driven recycling program, biodiesel fueling of 40 vehicles, waste reduction program, tour volunteer days and educational contests for bands.

We utilize volunteers, education, media, band interaction, and experiences to empower people to take the Warped Eco idea home with them and, in turn, restore and protect their communities and the Earth.

This past summer, we managed to divert 40,000 lbs of recyclable material from the waste stream by way of our volunteer driven recycling program. I have accumulated a solid base of volunteers from around the country who come out to their local Warped Tour and spend their day overhauling the entire front of house recycling effort. These individuals place recycling bins, pick up off the grounds during and after the show, dig through trash cans. You name it…we go to any extent to recover recyclable materials.

Under the umbrella of the Warped Eco Initiative also lies a solar powered stage which hosts ten bands per day, solar canopies which hosts special electro acoustic performances from bands and provides power for the entire non-profit area, on-site coordination of bio-diesel fueling of 40 tour vehicles, biodegradable and washable plates/utensils in catering, and donations from environmentally conscious vendors. At the conclusion of the summer, the Warped Eco Initiative managed to reduce the tour's carbon emissions by 742,218 lbs through our solar, bio-diesel, and recycling programs.

Music has always been a powerful tool for social change. Therefore, one of our most vital programs is our incentive based contest which not only gives bands the opportunity to win an eco-adventure with Phillippe Cousteau and Earth Echo International but, also re-develop their own mindset about humans harmful impact on the environment. Most importantly, these individuals can then make significant changes in their own habits which they can translate to their built in fan base. The transformation of those who were involved was incredible. Bands were assisting with cleaning up recycling from grounds at the shows, printing their merchandise on organic cotton, holding signings at the official Warped Eco Initiative booth, switching their bus to run on bio-diesel, etc. You name the environmental issue and somehow a band on the Warped Tour was making sure it was addressed. This past October, we brought the winning band, Alesana, to St Croix in the Caribbean and exposed them to several habitats of coral reef which have been destroyed by unconscious human activity such as cruises, chemical dumping, and over-fishing. The botanical gardens were toured as well as the Sustainable Farm Institute, a completely self-sustaining organic farm community.

Our annual volunteer day was held in Monterey Bay, CA in conjunction with Earth Echo International and the Monterey Marine Sanctuary. For the entire day, 150 band, crew and sponsor members worked to cleanup beach trails, post anti littering signage, reintroduce native plant life in wetland areas by planting over 300 indigenous trees, and clear invasive seaweed from harbor and beach areas.

the plan of action:

---Stats from 2008---

Biodiesel-
Bio-diesel Fuel was used in all production buses and trucks.
-103,290 B20 gallons pumped on site
-Straight Diesel usage reduced by 21,858 gallons (20%)
-Used in 18 Trucks, 18 Buses, 3 Generators, 2 Mules
-CO2 emissions reduced by 333,028 lbs.

Recycling-
– 40,000 lbs of recyclables collected
– Recyclables account for a CO2 reduction of 400,000 lbs
– All Tour ad posters were printed on 100% recycled paper
– Tour books for production and bands were printed on 30% recycled paper
– Over 1,200 batteries were saved from potentially causing groundwater contamination and leaking heavy metals
– Hundreds of cell phones were collected for "Cell Phones for Soldiers"

Warped Tour Volunteer Clean-Up Day in Monterey-
– On August 12th, The VWT Eco Initiative brought 150+ bands, sponsors and crew members to work with Earth Echo International and the NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in an effort to impact the local environment positively
– Groups worked to cleanup beach trails, post anti littering signage, reintroduce native plant life in wetland areas by planting over 300 indigenous trees and clear seaweed from harbor and beach areas.

Solar Power-
This summer, the Tour continued to expand on it's solar initiatives by building a solar stage for the Kevin Says Stage as well as utilizing solar panels (canopies) to power the entire Non- Profit Area
— Solar Stage used an estimated 662kWh of solar produced power.
-Solar Canopies had a production capacity of more than 200KW.
- These also hosted many smaller scale, solar powered performances from bands like The Academy Is, Tat, Panima,Between the Trees, and The Color Fred.
— The solar use / production equaled the averaged per household electricity usage in 2001 of 888kWh / month.
- Between the two, add in an estimated savings of an additional 380 gallons of diesel, resulting in a CO2 emission reduction of 8,360lbs.

That is 408,360 pounds of ACTUAL carbon reduction...not carbon credits or offsets but CO2 diverted from the atmosphere by recycling and supporting the solar stages.

In conclusion: Bio-diesel+ Solar Power+ Recycling=742,218 lbs =total carbon emissions saved by the Warped Eco Initiative this summer.

how you can get involved:

Volunteer for the Warped Eco Initiative in 2009 by visiting www.warpedtour.com to see when the tour will be in your local city. Then, email warpedeco@gmail.com

videos: