TASTE OF ST. LOUIS – 2012 • SEPT. 28 – 30
SOLDIERS' MEMORIAL • FREE ADMISSION
Our Green Program
“Responsible stewardship of our environment is a major focus of my administration, and I am very pleased to see the Taste of St. Louis taking a leadership role on this issue. Our city is host to many great events, and I encourage them to also get creative with this issue, and reduce their environmental impact.”
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay
EGS Introduces Green Bars
Thanks to a custom made "Green Bar" designed by our EGS team, the 2011 Taste of St. Louis had an even smaller carbon footprint. We completely eliminated plastic bottles and aluminum cans from our back-of-bar service by serving everything from custom-built bars equipped with re-purposed fountain equipment (much of which came from Busch Stadium).
Photo by Katie Redell, River City Images
THE TASTE OF ST. LOUIS THINKS GREEN IS DELICIOUS!
In 2011, the Taste of St. Louis cracked open another batch of EGS, an effort to dramatically reduce the environmental effects of the Taste. EGS, Event Greening Systems, is both powerful and simple — take the five areas of event design and operation that have the greatest environmental impact, and meaningfully address each of them. In its pioneering year (2010), EGS enabled the Taste of St. Louis to reduce its overall carbon footprint by more than half.
The biggest change at the 2011 Taste was the elimination of all plastic, aluminum and glass from the Taste beverage stations throughout the event. Although in 2010, the Taste provided only 100% compostable service items (cups, plates, utensils, napkins) to the public, the event still used plastic bottles and aluminum cans to pour from behind its beverage counters.
While these items were recycled, organizers worked hard this year to take it to the next level by eliminating them altogether through the creation of mobile, fountain-style beverage stations to dispense soft-drinks. These “Green Bars”, designed and built by the Taste, completely eliminate the need for bottled product. This is a major step in the world of event-greening.
Taste organizers said that the use of EGS responds to growing public expectations about environmental stewardship of public events, even though it creates a burden on the event's production budget, which, like many others, is already constrained by the lagging economy.
“Responsible stewardship of the environment is a major focus of my administration, and I am very pleased to see the Taste of St. Louis looking holistically at this issue with EGS,” said St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. “Our city is host to many great events, and I encourage all of them to get creative, and reduce their environmental impact.”
The five major areas of EGS carbon reduction are 1) Event Marketing and Signage; 2) Transportation; 3) Power Generation; 4) Event Operations; and 5) Waste.
Event Marketing and Signage:
In 2011, the Taste of St. Louis focused heavily on internet marketing and social media for promotions, contests and information sharing. New partnerships were formed with online entities such as Do314.com, Yelp, iwatch radio.com, Urban Review, and others. A strong effort was made to build upon existing facebook and twitter followers in order to communicate with a greater audience in a more eco-conscious manner. Marketing materials were printed on recycled paper, with soy inks whenever possible.
Transportation:
This is perhaps one of the greatest challenges for any event. How to influence the transportation choices visitors make? In 2011, the Taste built on an aggressive marketing campaign with Metro to encourage use of MetroLink—especially convenient since the Civic Center Metro stop is just one block south of the Taste. More than that, the Taste is encouraging visitors to bike to the event by offering designated bike parking at Tucker and Chestnut.
Power Generation:
This is a major component of the EGS approach. The Taste once again used Biodiesel and propane power in 2011, greatly reducing CO2 emissions that would be a result from conventional diesel generators. Biodiesel can reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 85% according to a 2008 study by the UK Department for Transport.
Event Operations:
Consumer service items are a major source of trash at any festival. Every service item at the Taste is made from 100% compostable materials. Every consumer item—cups, plates, utensils, and napkins—from every one of our 45 restaurants is compostable. The Taste is the first, and so far the only, regional event to take this significant step.
Additionally, the new “Green Bars” have eliminated all plastic and aluminum bottles from the event. All beverages for consumers are served in plant-based cups--again, fully compostable.
Waste:
Efforts to use compostable materials only work properly if these items are disposed of properly. That is why organizers created compostable waste stations, with the help of St. Louis Composting and St. Louis Earth Day. These stations were manned with the help of St. Patrick Center, so that all items were disposed of properly.
“It’s more than just a ‘system’ – it’s a big step toward educating our patrons and creating a more conscious St. Louis. We hope that it catches on in everyday life and also at other festivals,” says organizer, K. Sonderegger.
Overall, EGS has been a major undertaking by the Taste, both in effort and financial commitment. But we hope that the Taste has a lot of company in this area soon. Visitors to public festivals should feel comfortable knowing that the organizers are doing everything possible to care for our city and our environment. EGS makes that possible.
