Africa answers the call!  iAfrika imamele ubizo!
Working with the Live Earth greening team to bend the minds of South African concert and event organizers to create the first zero-waste carbon-neutral event in Africa has been a most amazing experience.  While meeting and working with people from the entertainment industry was an exciting prospect for myself and my passionate colleague Sophie Susman (as we usually keep to the low glamour world of non-profit organizations), we soon realized that this was not immediately reciprocated. We were viewed warily as possible freaks sent to make concert logistics a nightmare and to create financial chaos by questioning the usual suppliers, sponsors and the standard modus operandi of the event managers.

As we worked in minute detail through every product that the concert would consume, discussing waste streams, recycled products, alternative suppliers, renewable energy, locally sourced foods, starch cups, bamboo cutlery, organic t-shirts, non-toxic dyes…..lights began to turn on all around (low energy lights fueled by renewable energy of course). The organizers began to understand the impact that a large event has on the environment, and began to take a few wobbly steps into a world of consequences, responsibility and alternative options. Robbie Bailey, Director of Pantsula Events, is a man of bold steps who took a giant leap into the greening paradigm, embracing the concept wholeheartedly, and I am convinced that his will be the first event company in South Africa to turn over to solely promoting green events.

These changes are what Live Earth is all about, and we are proud to be part of this movement for change in our country, which sadly has one of the dirtiest energy supplies in the world and currently has no ethos of reusing or recycling. Through raising awareness and supporting the small supply chain of environmentally responsible products, Live Earth is seeding this new movement. I look forward to watching it grow and spread through the rest of Africa, creating a green continent that can sustain a magnificent diversity of life for generations to come.
 
Amy S.
CAP - Climate Action Partnership
 
CAP is a partnership of six major South African NGOs who believe that by coming together we can do more to slow climate change and adapt our country to allow all species to survive a changing climate.