The 15th edition of Gem & Jam Festival is almost here! We can’t wait to meet up with our rave fams and get lost in some desert magic. The three day festival is dripping with talent, with artists like LSDream, The String Cheese Incident, Snakes & Stars as well as our top 10 picks set to take over the decks. Outside of the artists and performers, Gem & Jam has partnered with the Eco-Conscious Nonprofit Green Disco to improve the festivals’ environmental footprint and give the attendees the chance to experience a more eco-friendly vibe. We had a chance to speak with Green Disco about this new partnership, how they began, sets they are looking forward to catch, and more. Read our interview down below!
RR: What inspired you both to start Green Disco, besides being stuck inside during the pandemic?
GD: When the pandemic hit it was clear that events weren’t going to happen for some time, but there was an opportunity to make them better when they returned. We started Green Disco with that mission and aim to provide organizers with the knowledge and initiatives to improve festivals across the states. As music-lovers and environmentalists, we also wondered why we only had negative impacts on the environment when going to different events. We started Green Disco to help give attendees the opportunity to be eco-friendly and to have a more impactful experience.
RR: Was Deep Tropics the first event that you were able to collaborate with or were there others?
GD: Deep Tropics 2021 was the first festival we worked with to prove the concept!
RR: What was your biggest accomplishment at Deep Tropics and what did you learn to help make partnerships more successful in the future?
GD: We have been able to completely offset the entire carbon footprint produced by Deep Tropics in 2021 and in 2022. We also helped improve the waste-diversion rate to over 93% in year two. Through our eco-band initiative, we were able to engage with over 20% of the audience for two years straight.
RR: When attendees choose to buy the eco-band, trees are planted in Kenya with the help of Trees for the Future. Do you think you may start to look at collaborating with other eco-focused nonprofits in the future?
GD: We actually have relationships with multiple different environmental nonprofits and organizations that can facilitate different environmental outcomes. We work directly with event organizers to choose outcomes that suit their event and build a process to vet and ensure each organization we work with is effective and measurable. Some other outcomes that we could help support in addition:
- Plant 100 Trees
- Remove 1000 LBS of Carbon
- Remove 11 LBS of Plastic from Rivers
- Restore 1FT of Coral Reef
As important as supporting global efforts, we also like to support local community-driven efforts through the Eco-Bands. This has led us to collaborating with Root Nashville, Urban Green Labs, and the Tennessee Environmental Council for our work with Deep Tropics.
RR: What has been the overall reaction when people scan their QR codes to learn more about their carbon footprint?
GD: When attendees have scanned the QR code, they have been ecstatic to learn about their individual footprint, and ways to combat it. One of the biggest struggles from an attendees point of view is education around sustainability, and we believe simple tools, such as QR codes, can make a big impact.
RR: Greenwashing has become an issue with companies that create marketing that makes it seem like they are taking a green initiative but really they aren’t being totally transparent. For event organizers, do you have any advice on what they can do to avoid this and what beginner steps they can take to becoming more sustainable?
GD: Transparency is key! The main priority is collecting data so you can understand the pain points and hot spots. Reporting everything both good and bad is essential as well so every stakeholder knows what is going on. We always “tell it how it is” and believe that’s the most critical component to combatting greenwashing.
RR: How did your relationship with Gem & Jam begin?
GD: We reached out to one of the partners of the festival after we did Deep Tropics in 2021. He had actually seen some of our work in publications and was familiar with our work at the event. The organizers were very interested in starting to understand their environmental impact and work to improve it. It was a great alignment of values and we look forward to supporting their festival and mission.
RR: If you are attending the festival yourselves, are there any sets you are hoping to catch?
GD: We are both super excited to catch The String Cheese Incident. We are also big fans of Justin Martin, but are very excited to explore all the artists less familiar with.
RR: If you could design a stage that focuses on your initiative and celebrating Mother Earth, what would it look like?
GD: Biome with wind turbines and solar panels on top. The stage would be 100% powered by renewable energy and show attendees unique ways we can integrate renewables.
We want to thank Green Disco for taking the time to chat with us and we hope you stop by and check out their eco-band! Tickets are still available for Gem & Jam, including single day passes, VIP upgrades, Glamping, and more. Check out your options here.
Connect with Green Disco:
https://www.greendisco.earth
https://www.facebook.com/greendiscogroup
https://soundcloud.com/green-disco-group
https://www.instagram.com/greendiscogroup
Connect with Gem & Jam:
https://www.facebook.com/gemandjam
https://twitter.com/GemandJamFest
https://www.instagram.com/gemandjamfestival
https://gemandjamfestival.com
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