Put being green to the top of the priority list

Back in March I began these blogs with ’10 steps to create a green event’ and planned to write a blog about each of the steps with links to service providers I know and recommend. Then the lockdown happened and I focused on installing off grid systems rather than events as they all got cancelled.

Number 1 of the 10 steps was ‘Most importantly put being green to the top of the priority list, so this is today's blog.

We get a lot of inquiries from events wanting to ‘go green’ but when they realise they cant get their mate Dave with the mega sound system or their favourite caterers who electric fry chips and have 10 urns running all day and night, suddenly its not a top priority.

Once in a while we get a new event who do everything they possibly can to actually eliminate diesel generators and its such a pleasure for us. Such an event is Camp Quirky, we teamed up with Buzz from Solar Decker to run this festival completely from solar power. Everything was run by us before being booked and if it wasn’t feasible on solar, it wasn’t booked.

Its simple really but so many fall down on this basic step, it can be applied to pretty much anything we spend our money on. For example, potatoes, to get the local, organic potatoes they cost more than the supermarket ones but this is the REAL cost for REAL people to grow, harvest and supply these potatoes to you, the local customer. The supermarkets will often sell produce at a lower price than they pay for it because they know that once you are in the shop you will buy more (because of the low prices) and they will inevitably make their money on all the other crap you buy when all you actually needed was potatoes.

So Diesel has been heavily subsidised by the government for years and generators have been manufactured for several decades which reduces the price. Hiring out a diesel generator even with a technician and fuel for the weekend will always beat the price of a solar rig kW for kW. Also as diesel generators are so large these days its nigh on impossible to match the power generation with solar.

So not only are we asking you to pay more for solar but we are also asking you to use less power, its hard I know, and everyone is just trying to make a living. BUT, this is where the future is in our hands, if we just pay that bit extra for those local organic potatoes not only will we increase the nutritional value of what we eat but we will also put money straight back into our local economy and save money by not being enticed by the reduced section of the supermarket (and driving there). Furthermore our potatoes don’t come in single use plastic that we throw into landfill or travel miles to get to our plates.

We need to think of the extra we pay as a down payment on there actually being a habitable planet for our children to grow up on. So when you are planning your green event please don’t stop at recycling and decide that’s doing your bit, go the whole hog and get efficient PA’s, self powered caterers and traders and of course hire us and all our solar power provider friends and create a truly green event.

For those that can, we need to pay the REAL cost of things to balance out the massive inequality made by monopolies and economies of scale. Decentralise potato and power distribution..and everything else! Don't fall for the bargain because what pennies you save the future generation will have to pay, with interest.

Click here to learn about solar power at your event.