At The Canvas Co, we know how important protecting our environment is. Although there’s still a way to go, we have all kinds of initiatives running behind the scenes that help protect our environmental footprint, and therefore yours!
We’d like to share with you the steps we have in place that demonstrate our ever-growing commitment to saving our precious planet and making the fun we have on it stay around for years to come. Let’s face it, the more we can do to help create a minimal environmental impact, the better chance we have of ensuring festivals stay long-term, successful and viable events in our calendars.
Our main ethos is the reduce, reuse and recycle. Let’s explore what this means at The Canvas Co.
Firstly, and most obviously, is the fact we re-use all our accommodation. Camping is one of the most sustainable types of holidays, and we take it one step further by removing the need to buy a single use tent and then leave it for someone else to work out what to do with it.
Most tents that people bring with them to festivals are plastic, and according to climate reporter Tim Schauenberg, on average, an estimated 250,000 tents are left on UK festival sites each year which is scary as one 3.5kg tent is the equivalent of 8750 straws or 250 pint cups.
But that’s not all! Everything used in our accommodation is reused at every festival. We provide metal framed beds with mattresses, duvets, sheets, pillows and bedding. All of this is cleaned in-between each festival using local launderettes so it’s ready for the next gig.
All our fairy lights are powered by rechargeable batteries.
In fact, everything that requires a battery at Canvas Co. uses the re-chargeable version! Re-chargeable batteries are better than disposable batteries for quite a few reasons.
Because they may be reused hundreds of times and recharged, they generate less waste. Reusing batteries means fewer batteries are disposed of, which means less of them can leak into the earth and harm wildlife and even us if we consume food from tainted soil or water.
It is also more energy-efficient to recharge batteries using a battery charger as opposed to making new batteries. And you may not know this, but re-chargeable batteries typically last longer than disposable ones!
Reducing the travel chaos
We aim to get our team onsite using public transport as much as is feasible too, plus we encourage car sharing – which is also great for their wellbeing and personal growth.
On-site environmental care
Once our team is on-site; they stay in their own accommodation and are fed by our own on-site caterer. Batch cooking for our team is way better for the environment as it means they don’t all have to travel to get food. Our caterers ensure the campsite kitchen is clean and all our kitchenware is washed and reused – we only dispose of food packaging and food waste.
Our main ethos it to recycle as much as possible, repair what we can and re-use as much as we can.
Naturally, we do create rubbish, as there is a need to buy new materials and equipment throughout the season, however we are thoughtful as to what we are buying and how we dispose of what we can no longer use.
Our teams actively engage in the Leave No Trace campaign
We take everything away with us and use appropriate bins on site when dealing with our waste. They even take it one step further and if there’s time, they help by taking other people’s rubbish away too. It’s incredible to see what people leave behind, and many camping items can end up being an asset to our hard-working team members and it stops them from ending up in landfill.
The ethos of The Canvas Co is all about being as respectful to the environment as possible.
From our logistics to the equipment we use on-site, we take our environmental impact very seriously and we will support all environmental campaigns for the festivals we attend.
Get on board and spread the word by using #TakeYourTentHome #SayNoToSingleUse and follow @AIF_UK
