Best Sustainability Initiative
Dave Matthews Zero-Waste Concert
Enmarket Arena
Artists in many ways are leading the charge for sustainable events and tours but they can’t do it without venues being built with greening measures in mind — and venue personnel being up to the task.
To kick off their fall tour leg, Dave Matthews Band made an environmental splash with a zero-waste concert effort at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia, a 9,500-seat arena that opened in February 2022.
For the endeavor, OVG Hospitality partnered with its GOAL sustainability venue network, coordinating efforts and devising a plan that included switching all materials to compostable or recyclable, ramping up plant-based food options, offsetting carbon emissions from fan travel and engaging the community for a three-day effort surrounding the concert.
“The response was great,” said the venue’s Yasmeen Badich, the arena’s vice president of marketing. She said the project was led by Oak View Group sustainability director Kristen Fulmer, who has a relationship with the environmentally conscious Dave Matthews Band. “Everybody was really behind us and trying to support us in any way they could. The band themselves was also very supportive, and are part of the reason why we did this and wanted to see if it was something that actually could be pulled off.”
She notes the extra effort involved in zero-waste efforts touching back of house, catering and even extending to crew and load-in. “The band and tour and crew along with them were all very supportive of it and ready to jump on board and do what they had to do to help make this initiative come to life.”
Their efforts, which included elbow grease in the form of rigorous sorting waste, led to approximately 1,700 pounds of waste being diverted from landfill. New permanent initiatives were adopted by the venue, including plant-based food items becoming permanent parts of the menu and the full removal of fan-facing plastic in use.
Volunteers took part in the cleanup of more than 300 pounds of waste from the local watershed, in partnership with the local nonprofit Ogeechee Riverkeeper.
To encourage alternative transportation, 3,000 free shuttle rides were provided for fans attending the show, and energy credits were preserved to power all show-related electricity consultation, which equated to 250 tree seedlings growing for 10 years. There was even a food drive, which led to 500 pounds of food donated to America’s Second Harvest Bank.
These efforts were all for behind one show – which sold out 96% of its allotted tickets for the Nov. 7 concert, as submitted to Pollstar.
The concert has led to wider sustainability discussions and other new standards at Enmarket Arena, including all flatware and beverage cups being recyclable or compostable, green housekeeping products, low-flow toilets and other water conservation measures.
“We’re actually working on the LEED-silver certification,” said Badich. The venue has already achieved LEED v4 status. “We obviously want to do better every day and continue to be as sustainable as possible. I don’t know if we’ll ever be fully sustainable like some of our other properties in OVG, like UBS Arena and Climate Pledge, but we’re definitely working towards it as best we can.”
