Projects to make parties and festivals greener are today awarded

Three dozen projects related to mass events, such as summer festivals, were included in this year’s edition of the ‘Sê-lo Verde’ initiative of 600 thousand euros, with 72 measures being financed from these proposals.

The prizes are presented today in Porto, in a ceremony with the Minister of Environment and Energy Transition, João Pedro Matos Fernandes.

According to information from the Environment Fund, which funds the initiative, 22 of the 72 approved measures concern the energy sector, with a further 20 proposals on education, 16 on emissions and 14 on resources.

Of the total measures approved 38 relate to events with five to 25 thousand spectators and the remaining 34 to events with more than 25 thousand spectators.

The ‘Sê-lo Verde’ initiative aims to encourage good environmental practices that contribute to reducing impacts on the environment and promote the efficient use of material and energy resources.

The support of the Environmental Fund for the “Green It” happens at a time when more and more happen in the country, bringing together thousands of people, whether organized by cultural associations, or by municipalities or large event companies.

The Environmental Fund intends, with ‘Sê-lo Verde’, to encourage promoters to include the efficient use of resources and to safeguard the environment. This can happen in relation to the materials consumed in the preparation, in the course and in the disassembling of a festival, in relation to the energy consumption, in relation to emissions (for air, soil or aquatic environment), and in relation to environmental education actions.

The objective is to ensure that these initiatives adopt criteria that contribute to a reduction of environmental impacts and promote the efficient use of materials and energy, as well as to encourage new approaches (such as the integration of renewables) and to sensitize participants to good environmental practices.

It exemplifies the environmental fund that can be rewarded measures that lead to the use of recycled material, the option for renewable energies, the minimization of noise and waste and the cleaning of the enclosures.

Measures were awarded this year in all these areas, proposed by entities that go from the Câmara de Loulé, with renewable energy in the MED Festival, to promoters of festivals such as Tides Live, Boom or Rock in Rio, or to the Synergia Youth Association.

The eco-friendly bathrooms at the Rodellus or Santa Cruz Ocean Spirit festivals, the solar illumination of the Madalena festivities, or the recovery of the waste from the cod festival in Ílhavo are award-winning examples.