SCOTLAND’S biggest city is to crowdsource ways to make festivals and gigs more eco-friendly.
More than three million people attended concerts, football matches and conferences in Glasgow last year alone.
The city has been marketing itself worldwide as an events site for both leisure and corporate audiences as leaders work to grow the economy.
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Last year saw the TRNSMT festival staged for the first time. It returns this year, while an appearance by Beyonce and Jay-Z at Hampden is among the other high-profile events so far announced for 2018. Lego “celebration” BrickLive will also be back, for a four-day run in July.
However, there are now concerns about the level of waste generated through such activity, from the single-use cups and food containers discarded by attendees to leftover decoration and construction materials, much of which ends up in landfill.
Today, fresh efforts have begun to find new ways to limit this rubbish and ease the environmental impact, with the public asked to suggest solutions.
Glasgow is the first city in the world to launch such a challenge on Circle Lab, a specialist platform that challenges citizens to help improve sustainability. It is hoped that any new strategies implemented locally could become templates for use around the world.
Also open to companies, the Circular Glasgow initiative is led by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce. Senior director Alison McRae said: “There is great potential for the circular economy to create a future-proof and resilient Glasgow through innovative ideas that will provide economic and social benefits to our city.
“Glasgow regularly hosts major events, from the 2014 Commonwealth Games to Celtic Connections and this year’s European Championships, and has recently achieved a hat-trick of events-industry award successes, reinforcing the city’s reputation.
“While these events undoubtedly already benefit the city, there is still a significant financial opportunity for businesses to embrace and to prolong the impact made by these events.
“We look forward to seeing ideas from across Glasgow and the world coming together on Circle Lab to generate new methods that will change the way we host events and the way we collaborate.”
Circle Lab is supported by eBay Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the online marketplace. It awards grants and loans to community and entrepreneurial schemes.
Harald Friedl, chief executive officer of Circle Economy, which runs Circle Lab, said the platform “captures ideas and encourages collab-oration” and also “ensures that those ideas are actually implemented”.
He stated: “If you are a problem solver, circular enthusiast, policy maker or finance specialist, Circle Lab is the place to make a real impact.”
Zero Waste Scotland and the Glasgow Convention Bureau are also part of the new drive, as is the Scottish Events Campus, which takes in multi-purpose venues including the SSE Hydro, the Armadillo and the SEC Centre.
The Scottish Government has earmarked millions to clean up the country’s economy, creating a specialist fund to invest in sustainable enterprises that help to reduce and eliminate waste.
Councillor David McDonald, depute leader of Glasgow City and chairm,an of the city’s arts and culture arm’s-length external organis-ation Glasgow Life, welcomed the launch of the new project. He said “Glasgow is recognised as having the UK’s best convention bureau, is a global top-five city for sporting events and, in the SSE Hydro, has the third busiest entertainment arena in the world.
“As such, the Circle Lab challenge provides a fantastic opportunity to generate innovative ideas which will help Glasgow achieve its ambition to become one of Europe’s most sustainable cities by 2020.
“Improving the economic, environmental and social legacy of major city events and conferences is one way in which we can ensure Glasgow maintains and enhances its reputation as a world-class city in which to live, work, study, invest, meet and visit.”
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