For immediate release ENERGY REVOLUTION TO TURN 1.7 MILLION TRAVEL MILES INTO RENEWABLE ENERGY IN FIRST YEAR While global leaders meet at COP21 in Paris, eleven pioneering UK festivals and their festivalgoers are taking action of their own. They’re part of groundbreaking festival initiative Energy Revolution, which will turn almost 1.7 million festival travel miles into clean energy1 in its first year. By crowdsourcing donations with ticket sales and investing in renewable energy projects, the initiative turns fossil-­‐fuel travel miles from festival-­‐goers into a world-­‐changing investment. In the project’s first year it has raised more than £8,500 in crowd-­‐sourced donations, which will be invested in two wind turbines in Tamil Nadu. Because of India’s coal-­‐based fuel mix and the complementary activities of our investment charity Converging World, investing in renewables has approximately twice the impact on carbon emissions compared with investing it here in the UK. Energy Revolution is currently working with eleven UK festivals to turn their travel miles into clean energy. Festivals that are currently members of the initiative include Bestival, Camp Bestival, Standon Calling, Boomtown, Kendal Calling, Secret Garden Party, Starry Skies, Shambala Festival, Love Saves The Day, Bristol Pride and Just So Festival. Cassandra Frey-­‐Mills, Co-­‐Director of Energy Revolution said “On average, a staggering 70% of a festival’s carbon footprint comes from audience travel. Some have no choice but to travel by car, but why not change those fossil fuel travel miles into something world-­‐changing?” Participating festivals are also tackling their carbon footprint by using renewables where possible, tackling waste and working with audiences on travel choices. Energy Revolution is now open for more festivals to join the movement. For more information or to join Energy Revolution, visit: energy-­‐revolution.org.uk Notes to editors: Energy Revolution is a not-­‐for-­‐profit initiative founded by the festival think-­‐do tank Powerful Thinking, whose steering members include Bestival, Festival Republic, Shambala Festival, the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), Julies Bicycle, The Association of Festival Organisers (AFO), A Greener Festival, the Production Services Association (PSA), and Firefly Clean Energy. Energy Revolution raised £8,520 in its first year, 100% of which will be invested via renewable energy investment charity Converging World. This will turn the equivalent carbon emissions of 1,674,711 car travel miles into renewable energy, based on average car emissions of 0.4kg carbon per mile. For further information about Converging World, please visit: www.theconvergingworld.org For any further information about Energy Revolution, please contact: sophie@energy-­‐revolution.org.uk 1. Calculations are based on current Converging World figures of 1,820 tCO2 avoided per MWh specific to the project we are investing in.