Sustainability

At BCDO, we take our environmental responsibilities seriously. It’s really tough for an event like ours to minimize its environmental impact, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be trying. Here are some examples of the successes we’ve had:

  • A new mains water supply in 2011 meant we didn’t need to bring in tanker loads of water, which meant we saved bucketfuls of emission gases
  • We increased the proportion of event waste that was recycled and we trialed composting, with encouraging results
  • The Big Shuttle Bus opened up rail travel to several hundred BCDO Guests, reducing the number of car journeys to and from Wiston

This year, we’ve joined the 10:10 Festival Scheme. Our aim is to reduce BCDO’s carbon emissions by 10% in 2012. We think that if everybody mucks in, we can get there.

What sorts of things are we doing to hit the 10% carbon emissions reduction target?

Getting to and from BCDO:

  • Increased service from the Big Shuttle Bus, meaning more opportunities for more people to come by public transport
  • More involvement from Magical Bus Tours; they’ll be running special services to and from BCDO for you and your church group
  • More promotion from us on the public transport and coach charter options (you can book a coach for your church group with Magical)
  • The return of our Liftshare scheme, where people with spare seats can hook up online with those needing a lift to/from BCDO

Eating, drinking and shopping at BCDO:

  • We encourage all our caterers to use Fair Trade, healthy and local products
  • Biodegradable utensils, napkins and food containers must be used
  • We work as far as possible with local caterers to keep travel emissions down

BCDO’s waste management:

Our contractors, Network Recycling, are specialists in the recycling of glass, cardboard, cans and plastics. They also provide biodegradable and composting services for us…and you

  • Our traders bring biodegradable and reusable packaging and containers
  • All of the CAP Coffee Bar cups we collected were recycled rather than sent to landfill

BCDO Power:

  • Expand the use of energy saving light bulbs (last year we saved about 50kW of power on site in this way)
  • Introduce photocell sensors to public lighting areas, so they don’t come on until they’re needed – a potential saving of 180kW
  • Improve our already very good power planning model, to ensure we don’t have more generator power on site than we need

BCDO’s landlords – The Wiston Estate

  • Wiston House is heated by a biomass boiler.  The boiler is fed from the Estate’s sustainable woodland supply
  • The site’s grass is kept short by a flock of non-intensively farmed Romsey sheep, who in turn provide healthy, more sustainable meat for the local market
  • A significant proportion of the vegetables consumed in the House come from its own garden

What you can do to reduce your own carbon emissions

You can make a difference at BCDO, but also in every aspect of your life! We’d encourage you to consider the following measures:

Sign up for 10:10

Individuals can sign up to reduce their own emissions by 10% in a year. You get lots of help and advice and it’s not as hard as you think. Click here for more.

Travel to and from BCDO by public transport

  • A busload of people produces a fraction of the carbon emissions that would occur if those same people came by car
  • Take the train and use the Big Shuttle Bus – still better than a car

Put your waste in the right bin

We do get mistakes, with people putting the wrong waste in the wrong bin. This may sometimes mean that whole bin load can’t be recycled.

Careful camping

  • Remove as much packaging from your camping gear and food as you can, recycling it through your home waste system
  • Bag your BCDO camp site waste in the right kind of sack – they’re available at waste recycling points at Big Camp
  • Only use the loos provided on site
  • Double-check your camp pitch to make sure you don’t leave any small pieces of litter – animals graze here in the summer!
  • Make sure you take everything home with you, including any damaged or broken camping gear