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This month, Sustainable Carbon became the Carbon Neutralization Partner of Rock in Rio - the largest music and entertainment event in the world - by helping to balance the carbon emissions of the 2011 edition of the highly-awaited festival.
Since 2006, Rock in Rio has aimed to implement numerous initiatives supporting sustainable and socially-responsible action, already making efforts to compensate the carbon emissions of the Madrid and Lisboa editions of the event. This year, however – returning to Rio de Janeiro, the birth place of the festival – the organizers have decided to partner up with Sustainable Carbon and invest in our Rio de Janeiro emission reduction projects, creating sustainable impact a little closer to home.
Read this exclusive interview with Tereza Cortes, the Coordinator of FOR A BETTER WORLD Social Project, and discover how Rock in Rio plans to make the world a better place through sustainable action:
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Sustainable Carbon - How does it feel to know that Rock in Rio has become the largest entertainment and music festival in the world, and now one of the most socially responsible ones?
Tereza Cortes - Rock in Rio was born with the purpose of contributing to society – the first edition of the festival was created by a man who was in love with his city and hence decided to use music as a tool for promoting the city of Rio de Janeiro as an international destination for tourists. Above all, a fundamental principal was born: the well-being of the public was to be of maximum priority.
26 six years later, Rock in Rio, the largest music and entertainment event in the world, continues to dedicate itself to giving back in the greatest way possible to the cities and people that are home to the festival.
For me, it is an honor and a great responsibility to be able to participate in the creation and realization of an event like this, an event that became a brand and a company, present in three countries and that has a goal to become a primary representation of world music.
This dimension increases our responsibility and also our capacity to contribute effectively to a better world. This means 10 years of concrete socio-environmental initiatives, with over € 5million invested, 3200 youths educated, 40 million trees planted, 760 solar panels installed in public schools, a health center in Maranhão, a school in Tanzania, 14 sensory rooms for children with visual and mental handicaps, 10 rooms for musical education in municipal schools amd more than 1200 musical instruments already collected which will be given to NGOs ( non-governmental organizations) in all of Brazil who work with music as an instrument of education and social inclusion, plus many more.
SC - Where did the need originally come from to implement a sustainability plan?
TC - In 2006 we were largely impacted by the message and importance of compensating the CO2 emissions of the event; it was also the first year that the World Cup adopted this commitment. After conducting an inquiry into 100% of the emissions realized by the production and output of the event, we understood that the major challenge was how to reduce these emissions in the maximum way possible, and hence, compensate just the unavoidable ones.
This detailed look on the environmental impact of every decision inside the company, summing up 10 years of social commitment and 26 years of economic commitment that the event has had with the cities and societies hosting it, which naturally pushed us to align ourselves with the concept of sustainability that has become very public today.
Sustainability for us = For a Better World, which has been part of the Rock in Rio brand since 2001. The sustainability plan is a tool that helps us orient and assist our team, partners, patrons and the public to build with us a Rock in Rio that is better for everyone. |
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SC - Is this the first year that Rock in Rio has decided to offset the event`s complete carbon emissions? Why have the organizers decided to implement this initiative?
TC - No. Rock in Rio already compensated all emissions of CO2 resulting from all the editions of the festival since 2006. We understood this as a responsibility of a brand that aims to be the most recognized for featuring music of the world and that is already seen as an opinion former for millions of people in three countries.
SC - Why did you choose to work with Sustainable Carbon on offsetting the event's emissions?
TC - Because we wanted to compensate the emissions coming from Rio de Janiero, the state where the event is being held. Also, Sustainable Carbon has credibility and in addition to the environmental benefits, their projects also have concrete actions towards social benefits.
SC - How do you plan to inform the public, festival participants, and partners about this initiative?
TC - A press conference was already organized to publicize the actions that are part of the event's sustainability plan, in addition to many interviews and journalistic materials about the subject and also the publication of the initiative on the Rock in Rio website (www.rockinrio.com.br). A certificate, as is the custom, will also be provided to all artists that participate at this year`s event, communicating that the emissions relating to the artist's transportation and concert were compensated, amplifying the communication to the international market.
SC - What has the response been like so far from the public and stakeholders about choosing to offset your emissions with projects that bring additional benefits directly to the state and regions where the festival will be held?
TC - The State Government much like the City Hall has demonstrated great interest in compensating the emissions of the State of Rio de Janeiro. We are certain that for the public and all patrons of the festival, the socially-responsible actions of the event will bring an important additional value to the brand.
SC - What benefits do you think/hope this initiative will bring to the festival, our environment, the artists, and the local communities?
TC - Change in attitude, awareness, mobilization – a society that is happier, more harmonized and balanced.
SC - Do you have any other comments?
TC - I hope that we can succeed to increase the number of projects generating carbon credits in the state of Rio de Janeiro, and in this way to multiply the benefits of climate mitigation action  |
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