Greening

Greening Jam Cruise Program Components

• Recycling

• Waste Reduction

• Sustainable Product Sourcing

• Carbon Offsetting

• Environmental Education

• Passenger Participation

• Greening Auction

• Collaborative Relationships

• Leaving a Positive Legacy

The Journey of Greening Jam Cruise

Greening Jam Cruise had its beginnings as a grassroots, fan-driven effort on the maiden voyage in 2004. Jam Cruise has continued to develop a commitment to environmental and social responsibility. As the journey continues, the green team seeks to learn and take action on the opportunities and challenges inherent in greening this magical musical adventure. The beauty of the greening program is that it not only engages fans during the event; Greening Jam Cruise extends out into the world far beyond the ship - before, during and after the event. The program is life-changing, and embraces our interconnectedness to one another by touching the lives of those who live in the places that we visit on Jam Cruise, and by inspiring the passengers on the ship to get involved - which is, after all, the same way the program began!

For the second year in a row, Cloud 9 is working in partnership with ZeroHero Events and a dedicated in-house greening team to make Jam Cruise 7 better, cleaner and more fun for the conscientious passengers and artists who join us on this journey. The Jam Cruise sustainability plan is packaged into 5 key messages, which returns the focus to each passenger’s participation. More details to come on how you – the passenger – can support the Greening Jam Cruise initiatives

”Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.”
-Vance Havner

JC7 - Leaving a Positive Legacy
In Belize City, Belize & Costa Maya, Mexico

Jam Cruise – the floating festival where everyone on board has a "back stage pass" – made yet another epic voyage this January, sailing for five days from Florida to Belize City, Belize and Costa Maya, Mexico on the elegant MSC Orchestra. While Jam Cruise is a celebration of music, it’s also a celebration of community and an opportunity to do something positive for the areas visited during the cruise. The Leaving a Positive Legacy program offers passengers a hands-on opportunity to help communities outside their own.

Jam Cruise worked with 7 different schools and an orphanage in Belize and Costa Maya to create a communal wish list of necessities and invited passengers to donate items. All told, individual passenger donations filled an entire room on the ship with school supplies, clothing, shoes, sports equipment and musical instruments – the equivalent of 4 pallets of donations was collected in all. Nine laptop computers were also donated by Jam Cruise passengers and were refurbished, updated with wireless network cards, and provided to the schools. In addition to the passenger donations, Cloud 9 Adventures donated 10 solar ovens and Conscious Alliance donated a pallet of organic fruit leather.

Jam Cruise 7 also worked with Padres de Familia kinder in Km 55, a school in Costa Maya devastated by Hurricane Dean, to make much needed repairs on the facility. Following the hurricane, all that remained was a simple cinderblock structure with incomplete plywood walls and a tar paper roof, offering students little to no protection from wind and rain. Cloud 9 Adventures sent $1420 to the kinder one month before visiting Costa Maya, allowing them to purchase construction materials for the needed repairs. While on the ship, passengers who became aware of the repair project matched that donation with an additional $1440 to help the kinder continue renovations.

To reduce Jam Cruise’s impact on the environment, its greening program has consistently achieved "carbon neutral" status for the past 4 years. This year, through a partnership with the Ashden Award-winning non-profit organization Trees, Water & People, Cloud 9 Adventures offset 100% of the carbon dioxide emissions from the five day voyage. In addition, approximately 15% of passengers opted in to purchase offsets for their personal travel.

According to Allison Shaw, Assistant International Director of Trees, Water & People, Jam Cruise is their single biggest carbon offset donor. "The support we’ve received from Jam Cruise and passengers will allow us to plant almost 8,700 trees and build 38 fuel-efficient woodstoves in Central America, offsetting a total of 1,155 metric tons of carbon dioxide! This amazing feat shows that being environmentally responsible and having fun are not at all mutually exclusive. I hope that other festivals will follow Jam Cruise’s environmental leadership."

Jam Cruise Goes Solar!

In our quest for sustainability, Jam Cruise 7’s Pool Stage 2 will be powered by the energy of the Caribbean sun! Tree Power & Sound will be bringing its most portable section of its system known as the "solar pod." This includes solar panels, batteries to store the sun’s energy, and an inverter that allows that energy to supplement any electricity needs with clean green power. TP&S is a PA rental company that provides professional sound engineers and power for events. Established by Tree Leaf Music and Tree Sound Studios, the difference between TP&S and other PA rental companies is the expertise that comes along with their background and the fact that their power is completely off-grid and much easier on the environment. On land their system operates on wind power, solar power, and a backup generator that uses locally produced biodiesel. For more info about TP&S, please visit their website at: http://www.treeleafmusic.com/treepower.html

Waste Management

Jam Cruise takes a two-pronged approach to waste management – waste reduction and recycling. Reducing the amount of waste that is generated on our cruise is an important first step. Jam Cruise Brews at Sea program offers keg beer in biodegradable PLA cups, reducing the amount of glass and plastic waste generated during the event. MSC serves all other food and beverage in reusable materials, further reducing waste generated during the event.

Using biodegradable and recyclable materials and training every Jam Cruise passenger to use designated waste stations (manned by volunteer waste educators throughout the ship) was very effective last year and will be in place again this year. This visible and interactive approach to recycling encourages passengers to be active participants in waste management, not just during the event, also in their daily life.

MSC Cruises has made an important step with energy efficiency with the installation of the “Passenger cabins energy saving system” on the Orchestra. The PCESS works with each passenger’s key card and a micro switch on the balcony door which allows an automatic override to an energy saving mode when passengers are not in their cabins or have the balcony door open.

Jam Cruise passengers are encouraged to participate in MSC’s towel-linen reuse program in order to reduce the amount of gray water that is produced from excessive laundry. It’s important for passengers follow the procedure posted in the bathrooms and to talk to their cabin stewards to let them know they want to reuse their towels and linens. MSC’s housekeeping staff will bend over backwards to please their passengers and good communication will help to achieve a successful reduction in waste water.

Jam Cruise will reduce the amount of paper waste generated onboard by using digital images on flat screen monitors for information like Music Schedules, Activities, and Greening Tips.

Carbon Offsetting

Jam Cruise 7 will be 100% carbon neutral! Cloud 9 Adventures is committed to providing a conscious cruise experience and has arranged to offset 100% of the CO2 emissions from our 5-day voyage. Our next step toward sustainability is to encourage the Jam Cruise passengers to offset the carbon from their personal travel to and from Fort Lauderdale.

Offsets purchased prior to and on board Jam Cruise 7 will support carbon reduction and sustainable development projects in Central America. Jam Cruise is partnering with the Ashden Award-winning non-profit organization, Trees, Water & People. Any contribution you make will be 100% tax-deductible.

TWP has been tackling the challenge of global warming for years by reducing carbon emissions and improving indoor air quality with their Justa stoves program. Their fuel-saving stoves program, tree planting nurseries and solar energy projects all reduce the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

You can choose from the following 4 options:
$10 – Offsets 1 ton of CO2, equivalent to the emissions for each passenger on JC7 (or driving 1,250 miles)
$25 – Offsets 2.5 tons of CO2, equivalent to one round-trip, cross-country airline flight
$50 – Offsets 5 tons of CO2, equivalent to a year’s worth of driving (12,500 miles)
$100 – Offsets 10 tons of CO2, equivalent to 6 months of the average American lifestyle

For your convenience, there are three easy ways to offset your personal carbon footprint:
1) You can purchase your offsets right now by clicking here. Be sure to choose “Jam Cruise Carbon Offsets” from the Program Area drop down window and choose the amount of your donation.
2) While waiting to board the cruise ship in Port Everglades on January 4th.
3) Onboard Jam Cruise 7 in Greening Headquarters on deck 6.

Passengers who offset their personal travel to/from Fort Lauderdale will be given a free ticket to the Greening Celebration onboard Jam Cruise during the last day at sea. Entertainment will be provided by special Jam Cruise artists to be announced. For more immediate information on TWP’s offsetting programs click here.

Passenger Participation

There are lots of ways passengers can participate in greening. Take the “5 key messages” below to heart and help us make Jam Cruise 7 the best that it can be. In addition, ZeroHero is looking for more stellar volunteers for JC7! Those who participated last year know that volunteering for Jam Cruise Greening is a fun and fulfilling experience. Our greening program wouldn't be possible without the participation of all of you.

Volunteers will help with waste station monitoring, autograph signing sessions, and Leaving a Positive Legacy activities. Please stay tuned for more information regarding how to sign up and volunteer incentives.

5 Key Messages

Put waste in its Place

Waste is a resource misplaced. The green team is working with MSC Cruises to recover as many recyclables as possible - and we need your help. Please take the time to place your waste in the ZeroHero waste recovery stations so it may see another life down the line. And please put ALL cigarette butts in designated receptacles.

Reuse and Reduce

We will be using a variety of sustainable products on board that use less energy and resources. Reduce graywater discharge by letting your cabin steward know that you want to reuse your towels and linens. Reduce the amount of food waste that ends up in the ocean by filling your plate with only what you can eat. Go back for seconds if you want more. Use your reusable Jam Cruise gift bag when you are shopping in port and at home. Reduce plastic waste by bringing your own reusable water bottles.

Balance Your Carbon Footprint

The first step towards combating global warming is to reduce your consumption of non-sustainable forest products and fossil fuels in everyday life. The second step is to reduce your "carbon footprint" by offsetting remaining CO2 emissions and supporting projects that reduce CO2 emissions or capture CO2. More information coming soon on Jam Cruise carbon offset programs and balance out the carbon from your personal travel to and from Jam Cruise 7.

Leave Behind a Positive Legacy

There will be a variety of ways Jam Cruise passengers can help us leave behind a positive legacy. Keep an eye on the LaPL section above for updates on specific activities you can get involved with.

Live like a ZeroHero Everyday

The last key message is a call to action! We need to take these lessons and apply them to our daily lives. It is heroic to live with low-impact on this planet and to see yourself as part of a connected global community. Remember Gandhi's words: "We must be the change we wish to see."

Alternative Energy

For the past two years, Greening Jam Cruise has explored the use of biodiesel to reduce the event’s carbon footprint and to lessen the overall environmental impact. The 5-day journey on Jam Cruise requires a large amount of diesel fuel, which on Jam Cruise 6 was responsible for releasing 1,550 metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. By using 100% biodiesel instead of regular diesel, Jam Cruise would experience a 78% reduction in CO2 emissions, plus even more significant reductions in other emission categories, such as carcinogens, mutagens, and sulfur dioxide, the primary component of acid rain. Unfortunately, there are significant challenges that prevent Jam Cruise from using 100% biodiesel or any blend of this cleaner-burning, renewable fuel, which can be made from any plant oil or animal fat. Instead, Jam Cruise has elected to purchase carbon credits from reputable organizations that are planting trees and building fuel-efficient stoves in Central America to “offset” this carbon footprint www.treeswaterpeople.org. While this is a great start, we can do more and we are not giving up! To read the complete energy update click here.

Be a part of the solution

In order to make the Jam Cruise greening program the best it can be we need your support and participation. There are lots of ways to get involved, and here are just a few suggestions:

1. Put waste/recycling in its proper place.
2. Offset your carbon.
3. Let your cabin steward know that you want to reuse your towels/linens.
4. Take short showers.
5. Bring a reusable water bottle.
6. Avoid wasting food by overfilling your plate.
7. Don’t throw cigarette butts overboard.
8. Get involved with Leaving a Positive Legacy activities.
9. Volunteer a few hours of your time for greening onboard.
10. Be aware of your impact and make your consumption choices consciously.
11. Be a catalyst for change.
12. Take care of yourself, each other and the planet we live on.

We look forward to seeing you on Jam Cruise 7!