The SON Estrella Galicia Posidonia festival, which celebrated its fifth edition in Formentera this autumn, certifies its carbon neutrality. A milestone reached after years reducing and improving its environmental footprint, backing positive impact as a hallmark since its birth in 2017.
Within its commitment to the protection of ecosystems and the fight against the climate emergency, the SON Estrella Galicia Posidonia festival has managed to certify the carbon neutrality of its fifth edition, held from October 15 to 17 in Formentera. It is a pioneering measure within the festivals of our country that is part of the positive impact strategy of Hijos de Rivera and takes a new step in its commitment to continue to contribute to improving the health of the planet and progressively reduce its carbon footprint. Sustainability and responsible tourism merged for three days with music, gastronomy, and beer culture to offer an experience faithful to the nonconformist spirit with which SON Estrella Galicia Posidonia was born.
The organization, following the criteria established by the PAS 2060 standard, has carried out a meticulous accounting of the emissions generated in each of the aspects related to the festival, from the travel arrangements of artists, staff and attendees to the materials used during the development of the event, through the consumption of water, fuels and electricity, catering or waste generation and transport. In total, the equivalent of about 141 tons of CO2 was generated, which will be compensated through the Pacajai Redd+ project, an initiative carried out in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest that will stop deforestation in 135,105 hectares, with an annual emission reduction of more than 264 thousand tons of CO2. This project, which restores and promotes the responsible use of terrestrial ecosystems to manage forests sustainably and halt biodiversity loss, will also provide new employment opportunities in the rural environment of the area.
The carbon neutrality certification is the result of years of intense work to reduce the carbon footprint in each of the editions of the event, which was created with the generation of positive impact as a hallmark. Thus, since its inception, the organization has promoted the practices of tourism respectful of the local economy and the natural environment of Formentera, planning the event to minimize internal journeys, or backing the culture and gastronomy of the island. Environmental awareness is, in fact, one of the fundamental pillars of the event that, in addition to using returnable packaging to promote the circular economy in all its spaces, also programmes activities to discover the local fauna and flora in order to underline the need to protect them.
“This achievement consolidates our commitment to organizing a festival that backs sustainability and care for the environment and people in all aspects which, through culture, generates a positive impact on the local community and protects the environment – the raison d’etre of SON Estrella Galicia Posidonia. It is a source of pride and a reward for the work carried out over years that, simultaneously, stimulates us to offer new experiences that indivisibly combine culture and the protection of ecosystems: we are non-conformist in nature and we are already working on how to improve in the next edition”, explains Víctor Mantiñán, head of musical sponsorships of Estrella Galicia.
The festival, curated by Sinsal, adds this achievement as the culmination to its fifth edition, La Reunion (The Reunion), an event marked by the difficulties of the sanitary restrictions caused by the pandemic. However, these did not prevent the enjoyment of the three hundred attendees, who helped hang the “sold out” sign in just a couple of hours and who could enjoy a secret line up headed by Jorge Drexler and Maria Arnal i Marcel Bagés, among others, and the haute cuisine of chef Pepe Solla paired with the products of the Galician brewery over 3 days.
This first carbon-neutral edition of the SON Estrella Galicia Posidonia festival is also a new achievement within the positive impact strategy of Hijos de Rivera, an ambitious plan that brings together the care of the planet and people, the protection of their origin and the joint work with their allies. With it, the company underlines its commitment to continuing to look for new solutions that allow us to fight against the climate emergency and protect biodiversity through this fusion of music, gastronomy and beer culture with the care of the environment and responsible tourism, hallmarks of the event itself.
