February 6, 2026 • 34 mins
On this episode of In Service Of, Camille Guitteau, founder of Bye Bye Plastic, joins Sage Bava to discuss building a global movement to reduce plastic in the music industry. Through initiatives like artist-led pledges (over 1500), venue partnerships, and on-the-ground cleanups, Bye Bye Plastic has helped remove plastic from festivals, clubs, and communities while reshaping how the industry approaches sustainability.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm super excited today to be joined by Camille Ghito,
the force behind the By by Plastic Foundation, a globally
recognized organization that's making real change in how the music
industry treats our earth. And I really admire Camille. She's
been doing this for many, many years and all about
walking the walk by Byplastic is making sustainability less of
(00:22):
a buzzword and more of a blueprint. You've been doing
this for many years now. Could you talk about your
journey starting this organization and what it's been like throughout
your time.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Sure, and thank you so much for having me on
the podcast. Yeah, So, really, what inspired it was something
I think a lot of us have already experienced. It's
just that it crystallized into a will power at some point.
(00:56):
But I was already very active in the music industry
and very involved, just constantly going to concerts, events, festivals,
and I just found myself one day getting to one
of these festivals and spending more time having some sort
(01:20):
of like a nervous breakdown, trying to push away the
piles of plastic trash that were preventing my friends and
myself to dance. We were just like creating this great
circle and having some you know, really feeling it, letting
our trying to let ourselves go into the rhythm of
(01:41):
the music, and it was just made impossible by all
this trash that kept going in the way, and it
just felt like it wasn't the way to curate and
to care about our dance floors. So that's when I
realized later on that this is just not the status
the status quo that I want to leave my party
(02:05):
ecosystem into.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
And now you've you've reached some amazing milestones and made
some incredible border crossing and boundary pushing changes. Could you
imagine back then where you're at now and all of
the people that you've met in the amazing community that
you've built with by biplastic.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Sure? Yeah, So I absolutely not did not foresee what
was going to happen and to be built out of this.
I'm very much someone who works out of some sort
of solidified, enlightened intuition type of things, and this might
(02:50):
this might seem quite a little bit too strong minded
or too barely or from the outside, but there's always
some sort of underlying factors, reasons and arguments that have
accumulated over the over time and that even I you know,
(03:12):
I'm still processing, making bringing into my conscious And this
is really what happened with starting by by Plastic. It
was just this desired, this deep desire to do something
about it absolutely and just change things from wherever I could,
(03:32):
however I could. And then you know, time and planetary
alignment made the rest.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
And the amazing community that you've built is so special.
I've gotten to witness that a few different times.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Now.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
I feel like people are really desiring to be a
part of these movements, but it can be really overwhelming
because it seems like the grandeur of the issues are
so much larger than ourselves, so we're not really sure
how to tackle this. By banding all these people together,
it really gives people hope and a way forward to actively,
(04:09):
actively do things. Can you talk about building that community
and how you're seeing people be involved with Bybiplastic from
the ego writer to the events and the day to
day work.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Sure. So, the one thing to know about by by
Classic Foundation, which is not for profit, is that we
activate empower the all different stake all the different stakeholders
of the music ecosystem. For In order to do so,
(04:47):
we activate artists and DJs as the leading figures and
as the base grounds for talking to the other subgroups
of this ecosystem, which are music fans, music audiences. Artists
and DJs have this amazing power to touch upon these
(05:14):
audiences to tell them there, you know, to also transmit
not just emotions but also values discourses through their figure,
through their public figure, and so we empower artists to
make motions, make moves towards this topic that is, you know,
(05:38):
plastic pollution reduction and overall climate resilience. And the other
community within this events and music ecosystem is events organizers,
music brands, venues, you name it, anyone who is here
to make let music be and create those dance floors
(06:02):
wherever they happen. This is where the true impact lies
for us, where we can really guide and accompany those
brands and those groups and these collectives two more circular
and less environmentally harmful practices basically for their events and
(06:26):
for their operations. So there's different programs that we've created
to engage with these different communities and groups. The e
co Writer being the initial movement that we launched back
in twenty nineteen, which just got a refresh actually we
launched the e co Writer two point zero as a
(06:46):
revived chapter back in October. And so the e co
Writer in itself, a writer is a small template document
that artists, well small or not so small actually, that
artists will send to the venue that books them ahead
of the show to tell, well, first the logistics like
(07:09):
I need this and that cable, this and that pieces
of equipment, et cetera, and the hospitality element. You know,
I will need to feed six person with me on
the team. I need you know, this and that bottle
of vodka, et cetera. You know, And so what we've
done is to help them add just a simple one
(07:31):
page or add on that also sets together a list
of environmental requirements basically to really push forward and express
their wish for this store, for this gig to be
as environmentally sound as possible. And what really is this
(07:54):
is about, is, you know, is the writer and there's
implementing the writer as a collector of artists making the
difference with the collective power of action. It's not the
same to be implementing this yourself on your on little corner,
or to know that there's fifteen hundred artists and DJs
(08:14):
who are pushing this together with you behind you, behind this,
so that the venues the promoters are going to see
this not just once, but you know, maybe once a week,
maybe once a month, et cetera. And this is how
you create a movement and a discussion, open the discussion,
and create change on the long run. And so the
(08:36):
two point zero version is really this much more augmented
chapter with that's not only pertaining to plastic use, but
a larger set of environmental requirement and has a lot
of other resources both for managers, for content tour managers
as well content creators, large catalogs of plastic hacks when
(08:57):
you're touring, et cetera, et cetera. We've really try to
augment and listen to the needs of the industry on that.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
This podcast is all about service and how many of
our favorite artists and change makers are deeply influenced by
being in service of something higher than themselves and that's
sometimes where their best and favorite ideas come from. And
I believe you have over fifteen hundred artists now using
the Eco writer. Do you feel like many of them
(09:30):
are motivated by the same sense of service or what
do you see the driving force for many of these
artists are to join the movement and amplify the amazing
work of Bybiplastic.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Yeah, that's a great question, great conversation actually that I
think would really be worth exploring in depth. I think
I don't think I had put it to into the
balance in those terms until now, and I think it's
(10:06):
it's really really uh yeah, it has a lot in it.
I think if I had to guess, most artists and
their communities, our community of team, I mean team are
initially more driven by concerns, like deep concerns, and I
(10:30):
will power to change things to at least, you know,
play as their little piece, their little part in the
larger gearings of change. So it's about you know, making
that small actionable step and you know, being able to
(10:53):
have this implemented, have this as a base ground, so
to say, for their career going forward. But I think
the notion of being in service is actually like really invaluable,
and it's probably it would probably be very powerful to
(11:17):
rewire it and supercharge this approach towards artists because this
is really like here lies what their true unique power is.
They can be in service of their community to create
by opening the debate. By opening aspirations, new inspirations, new
(11:40):
values towards climate resilience, they can really be in service
of the planet of the community. This is where where
the size. So yeah, it definitely touched upon a something here.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
It's amazing how people really desire to be a part
of these things, but it's so overwhelming to know where
to start. So you're really creating a blueprint for how
we can change the inner workings and make it possible
for people to put their energies to good uses. I mean,
(12:20):
it's so many of my friends that are in the
environmental sector are very frustrated because so much of their
energy and time is you know, not wasted. But it's
very difficult to see change because of all of the pushback.
What's been some of the biggest challenges that has shown
(12:41):
up for you both in your long, many year process
of creating Bibiplastic and now where you're at.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Well, Well, the lists, let's yeah, what's the shortest short
list that I can give. Definitely not an easy path,
but that is the that is the core of what
creating change is about. Really, I came to realize, I
(13:12):
came to learn I think it's it's really important to
still state one thing, which is that I mean it
really it keeps blowing my mind every time I have
to think about this. That but like we're in this,
we're in the state of like actual you know, relative
(13:34):
emergency when it comes to like pushing out climate innovations.
And at the moment, there's only three percent of environment
of philanthropy that is directed towards environmental action, which I
think is is yeah, I mean, it's it's telling. And
at the same time, what this means is like, this
(13:57):
is the margin of opportunity now we have to play with.
This is what we have to to activate.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
And.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
So the growth margin is enormous. And being a grassroots
non profit like we are, we have also been quite
uncompromising on the you know, associations and funding sources that
we've looked into, so as well as the partnerships that
(14:28):
we have entered into, the narratives we've pushed. So that
also that does mean you're gonna go you know, you
might go a little bit slower, but you're gonna fully
go a little bit longer. You know. That means we're
creating something we want to create something that's really not
(14:49):
just tangible but also really rock solid, and that people
can keep getting guided by as a sort of like
Northern Star at all times, rather than having conflicting thoughts
about basically.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
So, speaking of Northern Stars, you've created several initiatives, and
I know one that you're currently doing is the Zero
Plastic Club. Can you talk about what that is and
how people can get involved?
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Yeah? Sure, So. The Zero Plastic Club is a program
that we have successfully implemented a first chapter of in
France over the past two years, where we got twenty
five nightclubs to get together and pledge to eliminate single
use water bottles from their operations within the framework of
(15:45):
two years. And what's happened is really was really amazing
to see. We saw clubs actually get motivated to eliminate
way more than the bottles, really deeply understanding what was
the problem with those fossil plastic items with a single
(16:08):
use culture, et cetera, and really getting motivated to just
do as much as possible and challenge as much as
possible these these operations. And over the course of those
two years we managed to eliminate the equivalent of over
ten tons of plastic yearly from the scene, so we
(16:31):
realized we really had a recipe here for success. Once again,
this collective power of the commitment be done being made together,
the timeline being set for action, as well as the
constant and unbeatable guidance of bibiplastic being available for the
(16:52):
collective and being available on an individual basis as well
for each and every club. This has been a really
long winded but deeply rewarding program and so we now
want to set this recipe to new territories and get
(17:13):
opening up new new chapter chapters. Sorry, so this is
where we saw each other during Climate Week as we
have launched a call to action to set up the
Zero Plastic Club in New York City next as we
have calculated that the impact could be exponential and reach
(17:34):
up to forty two tons of plastics that could be
avoided yearly from the scene. So we are really calling
on to all New Yorkers or all nightlife advocates and
a fiction ados to join this campaign, join this pledge
(17:55):
and push for the Zero Plastic Club to be the
next chapter to have its next chapter in New York City.
For this, we had launched a an awareness video. If
you go on YouTube and look up what you see
is not all there is. And this is the name
of the video we crafted to really make the invisible
(18:19):
visible about daily plastic consumption and bring home the message
about what also, what are the feasibilities? What is the
visible horizon of solutions? This was an important it is
always an important point for us to make.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Yes, I really appreciate how you are championing education as
you do this work, because it's a very confusing problem
that we have. I mean, we all see that it's
a problem, but the depth of it and the understanding
of what to do is very confusing. And I'm curious,
(18:58):
as you've taken this so many different countries around the world,
do you find that the most common misconceptions are pretty
universal or you see a lot of differences in what
people think about this issue depending upon where you are
from France to New York, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
I would say it's relatively the same sets of mixed
conceptions or confusions, which are very you know, very understandable
and very legitimate. There is an extremely wealthy industry that
is pushing, you know, that is at work to push
a certain narrative and hass you know, different goals that
(19:39):
are sets so that that's for sure. For example, I'll
just go very quick about this. But the narrative around recycling,
which we've really in our in bibiplastic light, in biboplastics lifetime.
Have seen the shift in this there and its effect
(20:02):
on individuals over the globe, and I've seen it permit
first in the US and now equally reached out permitated
to Europe where it's about associating recycling with the individual action.
So every individual now is going to tell you I'm recycling. However,
(20:27):
no one is recycling on their own. What they're doing
is they're preparing, they're sorting for recycling. It's then being
managed by waste managers who are taking it to recycling facilities,
and the recycling facilities are potentially recycling once it's you know, sorted,
once you know the broken and the rates that are
(20:51):
commingled with other things and dirty are you know, taken away,
et cetera, et cetera. So individual we're not recycling, but
it's very convenient for certain corporations to make you think
that you are the ones recycling. So you're either the
hero or you're the faulty person. Basically bringing the accountability
(21:14):
down to the individual level. So this shift is very
very perceivable by now, and it's yeah, something that that
is really important to to treat, to debate about, and
to address basically as as a community, because we should
(21:37):
not feel guilty for these actions or inactions or incapacity
for action. We never were supposed to be the ones
recycling in the third place in the first place, So
that's an interesting one. And overall otherwise, I will definitely
say that really, you know, the shifts and the differences
(21:58):
in misconceptions are can be found as close as from
one country to another. In Europe as well, there's still
such a which is the interesting part and which is
what we are also very positively challenged to observe those differences,
those cultural differences for example, and be like, okay, well
(22:19):
we've got an opportunity to like actually leapfrog a new
territory or in your region to the better alternatives, the
better practices. Basically this is really what's super motivating.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
Yes, And speaking of motivation, how can people get involved
from artists to festivals to venues. And I'm super motivated
by the artists that I see in your community that
are really pushing this work forward. So I'd love to
hear how people can get involved and also maybe some
(22:53):
of your favorite stories about the artists and festivals that
are involved and some of the amazing touch points that
has kept you motivated for this.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Work right, so well, lots of different questions in here,
I'll try to get onto them one by one. But
if very simply, if you're an artist, if you're a manager,
your step is to onboard the corridor two point zero.
If you're a manager, you can onboard your entire artist roaster.
(23:25):
You re can really like share the word and share
those values and be the gearing point basically because as
a manager, whether you're a booker or an artist manager,
you really have the artists and their partners, potential partners,
(23:47):
potential promoters at your fingertips. And this is when when
the conversation is happening, when the deal is not signed,
this is where the leverage can happen. This is when
awareness can be brought up and values as well as
value alignment can be discovered. Basically, so really go to
(24:09):
our websites and check for the your cororider. You can
onboard very quickly in a few steps. It takes about
two and three minutes and that's about it. You can
also find it on our channels socials very easy, and
if you're a venue, an events brand, a collective, any
of that, you can also head to our website and
(24:31):
take our sustainability quick scan to guide you through our
transition program saying this is also something you can find
on our channels, or you can reach out directly on
our socials anyway that's the easiest for you. We're really
here to help you create this long term impact. And
(24:54):
then for everyone and everyone else who's in this in
or around this industry or just in please go on
and watch what you see is not all there is
on YouTube and sign the position.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Yes, sign the petition and watch that video. I will
definitely link it in this podcast. Could you talk a
bit about some of your favorite moments from this whole journey.
You have some super amazing, inspiring artists involved, and it's
been motivating for me to watch their journey and see
how they're implementing this work tangibly into their music and
(25:31):
also into just how they do their work.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
Sure, I mean, the best moments are always when you
realize the impact you have had on people's perception, people's motivation,
people's understanding of things, and these, you know, these really
(25:56):
are the glimmers, and this is what we live for.
So you know, the slightest, like the biggest ones, are
always always rewarding to me. I'll just cite an example
from from this past week. I was at a at
the International Nightlife Congress and I was motivating moderating a
(26:19):
panel and the last question was about a certain cup
that was re usable or recyclable, and the person seems
very confused about those terms. And it's so that's something
that I I can now spot how people are sometimes
(26:42):
like miss in misplacing out of not Yeah, the confusion again.
So I took the time to explain very simply and
clearly the differences between those before really tackling the question.
And after the panels came up to me and we
had a chat, and then the first thing she told
(27:04):
me was like, thank you so much. I finally understand
the difference between reasonable and recyclable now and I will
never forget. And yeah, this is really the type of
glimmers that are so important, because you know, she's the
only person I talked to about this within the audience,
but the audience was much larger, So how much of
(27:25):
that impact really happened during this like click moment, happened
within that very audience. This is really why we do
this work and why every conversation and speech is important.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
Yes, definitely. I mean, I'm sure there are so many
misconceptions that you find in people, including what the next
couple of years look like. We're faced with this kind
of doomsday climate issue that can be very hard to
be hopeful about. And one of my heroes, Jane Goodall,
(28:06):
I just think about her so much these days when
it comes to hope and keeping that spirit alive for
you when you're looking ahead. I know you're working on
so many different things, but what are some of the
things that you're excited about and are bringing you hope
in this sometimes daunting task at hand? Though?
Speaker 2 (28:30):
I think what's giving me there's two things that are
giving me the most hope. First, turning back to nature
with a curious eye, because nature, turns out has all
the answers about how do we leave on Earth? Who knew?
(28:53):
So it's just incredible. Really, I challenge anyone to actually
get into the topics like of like biomemicry and just
material innovation and not find it absolutely amazing how versatile
(29:15):
and how inventive and resilient nature is, whether the plants,
whether the animals, whatever you like best, even rocks are adapting,
even like this is these processes and these changes and
like survival, how to change different material depending on whether's
(29:38):
et cetera. It's just insane. So nature really has all
the answer. That's one thing I will not say enough,
I think, And so that brings hope because when it
comes to topics like fossil based plastic, which is this
(29:59):
extreme only vast array of challenges at the moment, there
are so many material innovations that can solve the problem
and that are coming up to solve the problem. We're
just at the tip of the iceberg of these innovations.
So now it's about you know, pushing this, pushing the demand,
(30:22):
pushing the investments into this so that this can flow
and you know, we can continue to do this regenerative
work to set these new practices for the long term. Basically,
the other thing that brings me hope is to think
about to zoom out and look into humanity Earth and
(30:44):
humanity is a timeline and then within that timeline of
humanity's life on Earth, look at the timeline at which
we've actually used fossil fuel, which is already close to nothing,
and then if you zoom in, you would have to
look at the timeline in which we've actually tried to
started to work on material alternatives that work like focil
(31:11):
field plastic but are not plastic, that are nature based,
and you get to a maybe an ants footprint in
that timeline of humanity. That's where we are. So we
can all this to say we can never truly know
what tomorrow we'll will be made out of. All we
can do is to push to those sound directions and
(31:37):
put all our you know, mind efforts being whatever we
have available to make sure that this continues growing the
future that we want.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
You inspire me so much. I love all that. Is
there anything that you wish people would talk more about
or ask you about out in the context of all
of this amazingness that you just said.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
Talk about or ask me more about. I think I
think one. I'll I guess one thing that is maybe
under tapped. So that is definitely under tapped. So maybe
also under discussed is how powerful the creative forces behind
(32:34):
the music and events industry are. Like there are creatives
who whose brains work at amazing speed and rates. They're
able to create entire words out of the blue. And
(32:57):
I think I believe truly solidly that if we were
to put even just twenty five percent of that creative energy,
that creative flow that's currently funeling into marketing, into staging,
into decoration, if we're to put twenty five percent of
that creative energy into the energy, the creative energy to
(33:21):
rethink production models, to rethink financial p and ls in
a more sustainable and environmentally sound way, sustainable being the
three s of sustainability, this could move mountains.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Truly, that's such a remarkable point. Yes, I think there's
you know, so many artists and change makers are in
service of these large problems and amazing honorable parts of
humanity in the world, and that's often not reflected within
the industries themselves, which just seems like so counter intuitive.
(34:01):
And if we had that within, how much more resonant
would those things that artists are channeling become. So Thank
you so much for doing this work. It's so inspiring.
I'm super excited today to be joined by Camille Ghito,
the force behind the By by Plastic Foundation, a globally
recognized organization that's making real change in how the music
industry treats our earth. And I really admire Camille. She's
been doing this for many, many years and all about
walking the walk by Byplastic is making sustainability less of
(00:22):
a buzzword and more of a blueprint. You've been doing
this for many years now. Could you talk about your
journey starting this organization and what it's been like throughout
your time.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Sure, and thank you so much for having me on
the podcast. Yeah, So, really, what inspired it was something
I think a lot of us have already experienced. It's
just that it crystallized into a will power at some point.
(00:56):
But I was already very active in the music industry
and very involved, just constantly going to concerts, events, festivals,
and I just found myself one day getting to one
of these festivals and spending more time having some sort
(01:20):
of like a nervous breakdown, trying to push away the
piles of plastic trash that were preventing my friends and
myself to dance. We were just like creating this great
circle and having some you know, really feeling it, letting
our trying to let ourselves go into the rhythm of
(01:41):
the music, and it was just made impossible by all
this trash that kept going in the way, and it
just felt like it wasn't the way to curate and
to care about our dance floors. So that's when I
realized later on that this is just not the status
the status quo that I want to leave my party
(02:05):
ecosystem into.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
And now you've you've reached some amazing milestones and made
some incredible border crossing and boundary pushing changes. Could you
imagine back then where you're at now and all of
the people that you've met in the amazing community that
you've built with by biplastic.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Sure? Yeah, So I absolutely not did not foresee what
was going to happen and to be built out of this.
I'm very much someone who works out of some sort
of solidified, enlightened intuition type of things, and this might
(02:50):
this might seem quite a little bit too strong minded
or too barely or from the outside, but there's always
some sort of underlying factors, reasons and arguments that have
accumulated over the over time and that even I you know,
(03:12):
I'm still processing, making bringing into my conscious And this
is really what happened with starting by by Plastic. It
was just this desired, this deep desire to do something
about it absolutely and just change things from wherever I could,
(03:32):
however I could. And then you know, time and planetary
alignment made the rest.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
And the amazing community that you've built is so special.
I've gotten to witness that a few different times.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Now.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
I feel like people are really desiring to be a
part of these movements, but it can be really overwhelming
because it seems like the grandeur of the issues are
so much larger than ourselves, so we're not really sure
how to tackle this. By banding all these people together,
it really gives people hope and a way forward to actively,
(04:09):
actively do things. Can you talk about building that community
and how you're seeing people be involved with Bybiplastic from
the ego writer to the events and the day to
day work.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Sure. So, the one thing to know about by by
Classic Foundation, which is not for profit, is that we
activate empower the all different stake all the different stakeholders
of the music ecosystem. For In order to do so,
(04:47):
we activate artists and DJs as the leading figures and
as the base grounds for talking to the other subgroups
of this ecosystem, which are music fans, music audiences. Artists
and DJs have this amazing power to touch upon these
(05:14):
audiences to tell them there, you know, to also transmit
not just emotions but also values discourses through their figure,
through their public figure, and so we empower artists to
make motions, make moves towards this topic that is, you know,
(05:38):
plastic pollution reduction and overall climate resilience. And the other
community within this events and music ecosystem is events organizers,
music brands, venues, you name it, anyone who is here
to make let music be and create those dance floors
(06:02):
wherever they happen. This is where the true impact lies
for us, where we can really guide and accompany those
brands and those groups and these collectives two more circular
and less environmentally harmful practices basically for their events and
(06:26):
for their operations. So there's different programs that we've created
to engage with these different communities and groups. The e
co Writer being the initial movement that we launched back
in twenty nineteen, which just got a refresh actually we
launched the e co Writer two point zero as a
(06:46):
revived chapter back in October. And so the e co
Writer in itself, a writer is a small template document
that artists, well small or not so small actually, that
artists will send to the venue that books them ahead
of the show to tell, well, first the logistics like
(07:09):
I need this and that cable, this and that pieces
of equipment, et cetera, and the hospitality element. You know,
I will need to feed six person with me on
the team. I need you know, this and that bottle
of vodka, et cetera. You know, And so what we've
done is to help them add just a simple one
(07:31):
page or add on that also sets together a list
of environmental requirements basically to really push forward and express
their wish for this store, for this gig to be
as environmentally sound as possible. And what really is this
(07:54):
is about, is, you know, is the writer and there's
implementing the writer as a collector of artists making the
difference with the collective power of action. It's not the
same to be implementing this yourself on your on little corner,
or to know that there's fifteen hundred artists and DJs
(08:14):
who are pushing this together with you behind you, behind this,
so that the venues the promoters are going to see
this not just once, but you know, maybe once a week,
maybe once a month, et cetera. And this is how
you create a movement and a discussion, open the discussion,
and create change on the long run. And so the
(08:36):
two point zero version is really this much more augmented
chapter with that's not only pertaining to plastic use, but
a larger set of environmental requirement and has a lot
of other resources both for managers, for content tour managers
as well content creators, large catalogs of plastic hacks when
(08:57):
you're touring, et cetera, et cetera. We've really try to
augment and listen to the needs of the industry on that.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
This podcast is all about service and how many of
our favorite artists and change makers are deeply influenced by
being in service of something higher than themselves and that's
sometimes where their best and favorite ideas come from. And
I believe you have over fifteen hundred artists now using
the Eco writer. Do you feel like many of them
(09:30):
are motivated by the same sense of service or what
do you see the driving force for many of these
artists are to join the movement and amplify the amazing
work of Bybiplastic.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Yeah, that's a great question, great conversation actually that I
think would really be worth exploring in depth. I think
I don't think I had put it to into the
balance in those terms until now, and I think it's
(10:06):
it's really really uh yeah, it has a lot in it.
I think if I had to guess, most artists and
their communities, our community of team, I mean team are
initially more driven by concerns, like deep concerns, and I
(10:30):
will power to change things to at least, you know,
play as their little piece, their little part in the
larger gearings of change. So it's about you know, making
that small actionable step and you know, being able to
(10:53):
have this implemented, have this as a base ground, so
to say, for their career going forward. But I think
the notion of being in service is actually like really invaluable,
and it's probably it would probably be very powerful to
(11:17):
rewire it and supercharge this approach towards artists because this
is really like here lies what their true unique power is.
They can be in service of their community to create
by opening the debate. By opening aspirations, new inspirations, new
(11:40):
values towards climate resilience, they can really be in service
of the planet of the community. This is where where
the size. So yeah, it definitely touched upon a something here.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
It's amazing how people really desire to be a part
of these things, but it's so overwhelming to know where
to start. So you're really creating a blueprint for how
we can change the inner workings and make it possible
for people to put their energies to good uses. I mean,
(12:20):
it's so many of my friends that are in the
environmental sector are very frustrated because so much of their
energy and time is you know, not wasted. But it's
very difficult to see change because of all of the pushback.
What's been some of the biggest challenges that has shown
(12:41):
up for you both in your long, many year process
of creating Bibiplastic and now where you're at.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Well, Well, the lists, let's yeah, what's the shortest short
list that I can give. Definitely not an easy path,
but that is the that is the core of what
creating change is about. Really, I came to realize, I
(13:12):
came to learn I think it's it's really important to
still state one thing, which is that I mean it
really it keeps blowing my mind every time I have
to think about this. That but like we're in this,
we're in the state of like actual you know, relative
(13:34):
emergency when it comes to like pushing out climate innovations.
And at the moment, there's only three percent of environment
of philanthropy that is directed towards environmental action, which I
think is is yeah, I mean, it's it's telling. And
at the same time, what this means is like, this
(13:57):
is the margin of opportunity now we have to play with.
This is what we have to to activate.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
And.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
So the growth margin is enormous. And being a grassroots
non profit like we are, we have also been quite
uncompromising on the you know, associations and funding sources that
we've looked into, so as well as the partnerships that
(14:28):
we have entered into, the narratives we've pushed. So that
also that does mean you're gonna go you know, you
might go a little bit slower, but you're gonna fully
go a little bit longer. You know. That means we're
creating something we want to create something that's really not
(14:49):
just tangible but also really rock solid, and that people
can keep getting guided by as a sort of like
Northern Star at all times, rather than having conflicting thoughts
about basically.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
So, speaking of Northern Stars, you've created several initiatives, and
I know one that you're currently doing is the Zero
Plastic Club. Can you talk about what that is and
how people can get involved?
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Yeah? Sure, So. The Zero Plastic Club is a program
that we have successfully implemented a first chapter of in
France over the past two years, where we got twenty
five nightclubs to get together and pledge to eliminate single
use water bottles from their operations within the framework of
(15:45):
two years. And what's happened is really was really amazing
to see. We saw clubs actually get motivated to eliminate
way more than the bottles, really deeply understanding what was
the problem with those fossil plastic items with a single
(16:08):
use culture, et cetera, and really getting motivated to just
do as much as possible and challenge as much as
possible these these operations. And over the course of those
two years we managed to eliminate the equivalent of over
ten tons of plastic yearly from the scene, so we
(16:31):
realized we really had a recipe here for success. Once again,
this collective power of the commitment be done being made together,
the timeline being set for action, as well as the
constant and unbeatable guidance of bibiplastic being available for the
(16:52):
collective and being available on an individual basis as well
for each and every club. This has been a really
long winded but deeply rewarding program and so we now
want to set this recipe to new territories and get
(17:13):
opening up new new chapter chapters. Sorry, so this is
where we saw each other during Climate Week as we
have launched a call to action to set up the
Zero Plastic Club in New York City next as we
have calculated that the impact could be exponential and reach
(17:34):
up to forty two tons of plastics that could be
avoided yearly from the scene. So we are really calling
on to all New Yorkers or all nightlife advocates and
a fiction ados to join this campaign, join this pledge
(17:55):
and push for the Zero Plastic Club to be the
next chapter to have its next chapter in New York City.
For this, we had launched a an awareness video. If
you go on YouTube and look up what you see
is not all there is. And this is the name
of the video we crafted to really make the invisible
(18:19):
visible about daily plastic consumption and bring home the message
about what also, what are the feasibilities? What is the
visible horizon of solutions? This was an important it is
always an important point for us to make.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Yes, I really appreciate how you are championing education as
you do this work, because it's a very confusing problem
that we have. I mean, we all see that it's
a problem, but the depth of it and the understanding
of what to do is very confusing. And I'm curious,
(18:58):
as you've taken this so many different countries around the world,
do you find that the most common misconceptions are pretty
universal or you see a lot of differences in what
people think about this issue depending upon where you are
from France to New York, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
I would say it's relatively the same sets of mixed
conceptions or confusions, which are very you know, very understandable
and very legitimate. There is an extremely wealthy industry that
is pushing, you know, that is at work to push
a certain narrative and hass you know, different goals that
(19:39):
are sets so that that's for sure. For example, I'll
just go very quick about this. But the narrative around recycling,
which we've really in our in bibiplastic light, in biboplastics lifetime.
Have seen the shift in this there and its effect
(20:02):
on individuals over the globe, and I've seen it permit
first in the US and now equally reached out permitated
to Europe where it's about associating recycling with the individual action.
So every individual now is going to tell you I'm recycling. However,
(20:27):
no one is recycling on their own. What they're doing
is they're preparing, they're sorting for recycling. It's then being
managed by waste managers who are taking it to recycling facilities,
and the recycling facilities are potentially recycling once it's you know, sorted,
once you know the broken and the rates that are
(20:51):
commingled with other things and dirty are you know, taken away,
et cetera, et cetera. So individual we're not recycling, but
it's very convenient for certain corporations to make you think
that you are the ones recycling. So you're either the
hero or you're the faulty person. Basically bringing the accountability
(21:14):
down to the individual level. So this shift is very
very perceivable by now, and it's yeah, something that that
is really important to to treat, to debate about, and
to address basically as as a community, because we should
(21:37):
not feel guilty for these actions or inactions or incapacity
for action. We never were supposed to be the ones
recycling in the third place in the first place, So
that's an interesting one. And overall otherwise, I will definitely
say that really, you know, the shifts and the differences
(21:58):
in misconceptions are can be found as close as from
one country to another. In Europe as well, there's still
such a which is the interesting part and which is
what we are also very positively challenged to observe those differences,
those cultural differences for example, and be like, okay, well
(22:19):
we've got an opportunity to like actually leapfrog a new
territory or in your region to the better alternatives, the
better practices. Basically this is really what's super motivating.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
Yes, And speaking of motivation, how can people get involved
from artists to festivals to venues. And I'm super motivated
by the artists that I see in your community that
are really pushing this work forward. So I'd love to
hear how people can get involved and also maybe some
(22:53):
of your favorite stories about the artists and festivals that
are involved and some of the amazing touch points that
has kept you motivated for this.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Work right, so well, lots of different questions in here,
I'll try to get onto them one by one. But
if very simply, if you're an artist, if you're a manager,
your step is to onboard the corridor two point zero.
If you're a manager, you can onboard your entire artist roaster.
(23:25):
You re can really like share the word and share
those values and be the gearing point basically because as
a manager, whether you're a booker or an artist manager,
you really have the artists and their partners, potential partners,
(23:47):
potential promoters at your fingertips. And this is when when
the conversation is happening, when the deal is not signed,
this is where the leverage can happen. This is when
awareness can be brought up and values as well as
value alignment can be discovered. Basically, so really go to
(24:09):
our websites and check for the your cororider. You can
onboard very quickly in a few steps. It takes about
two and three minutes and that's about it. You can
also find it on our channels socials very easy, and
if you're a venue, an events brand, a collective, any
of that, you can also head to our website and
(24:31):
take our sustainability quick scan to guide you through our
transition program saying this is also something you can find
on our channels, or you can reach out directly on
our socials anyway that's the easiest for you. We're really
here to help you create this long term impact. And
(24:54):
then for everyone and everyone else who's in this in
or around this industry or just in please go on
and watch what you see is not all there is
on YouTube and sign the position.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Yes, sign the petition and watch that video. I will
definitely link it in this podcast. Could you talk a
bit about some of your favorite moments from this whole journey.
You have some super amazing, inspiring artists involved, and it's
been motivating for me to watch their journey and see
how they're implementing this work tangibly into their music and
(25:31):
also into just how they do their work.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
Sure, I mean, the best moments are always when you
realize the impact you have had on people's perception, people's motivation,
people's understanding of things, and these, you know, these really
(25:56):
are the glimmers, and this is what we live for.
So you know, the slightest, like the biggest ones, are
always always rewarding to me. I'll just cite an example
from from this past week. I was at a at
the International Nightlife Congress and I was motivating moderating a
(26:19):
panel and the last question was about a certain cup
that was re usable or recyclable, and the person seems
very confused about those terms. And it's so that's something
that I I can now spot how people are sometimes
(26:42):
like miss in misplacing out of not Yeah, the confusion again.
So I took the time to explain very simply and
clearly the differences between those before really tackling the question.
And after the panels came up to me and we
had a chat, and then the first thing she told
(27:04):
me was like, thank you so much. I finally understand
the difference between reasonable and recyclable now and I will
never forget. And yeah, this is really the type of
glimmers that are so important, because you know, she's the
only person I talked to about this within the audience,
but the audience was much larger, So how much of
(27:25):
that impact really happened during this like click moment, happened
within that very audience. This is really why we do
this work and why every conversation and speech is important.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
Yes, definitely. I mean, I'm sure there are so many
misconceptions that you find in people, including what the next
couple of years look like. We're faced with this kind
of doomsday climate issue that can be very hard to
be hopeful about. And one of my heroes, Jane Goodall,
(28:06):
I just think about her so much these days when
it comes to hope and keeping that spirit alive for
you when you're looking ahead. I know you're working on
so many different things, but what are some of the
things that you're excited about and are bringing you hope
in this sometimes daunting task at hand? Though?
Speaker 2 (28:30):
I think what's giving me there's two things that are
giving me the most hope. First, turning back to nature
with a curious eye, because nature, turns out has all
the answers about how do we leave on Earth? Who knew?
(28:53):
So it's just incredible. Really, I challenge anyone to actually
get into the topics like of like biomemicry and just
material innovation and not find it absolutely amazing how versatile
(29:15):
and how inventive and resilient nature is, whether the plants,
whether the animals, whatever you like best, even rocks are adapting,
even like this is these processes and these changes and
like survival, how to change different material depending on whether's
(29:38):
et cetera. It's just insane. So nature really has all
the answer. That's one thing I will not say enough,
I think, And so that brings hope because when it
comes to topics like fossil based plastic, which is this
(29:59):
extreme only vast array of challenges at the moment, there
are so many material innovations that can solve the problem
and that are coming up to solve the problem. We're
just at the tip of the iceberg of these innovations.
So now it's about you know, pushing this, pushing the demand,
(30:22):
pushing the investments into this so that this can flow
and you know, we can continue to do this regenerative
work to set these new practices for the long term. Basically,
the other thing that brings me hope is to think
about to zoom out and look into humanity Earth and
(30:44):
humanity is a timeline and then within that timeline of
humanity's life on Earth, look at the timeline at which
we've actually used fossil fuel, which is already close to nothing,
and then if you zoom in, you would have to
look at the timeline in which we've actually tried to
started to work on material alternatives that work like focil
(31:11):
field plastic but are not plastic, that are nature based,
and you get to a maybe an ants footprint in
that timeline of humanity. That's where we are. So we
can all this to say we can never truly know
what tomorrow we'll will be made out of. All we
can do is to push to those sound directions and
(31:37):
put all our you know, mind efforts being whatever we
have available to make sure that this continues growing the
future that we want.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
You inspire me so much. I love all that. Is
there anything that you wish people would talk more about
or ask you about out in the context of all
of this amazingness that you just said.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
Talk about or ask me more about. I think I
think one. I'll I guess one thing that is maybe
under tapped. So that is definitely under tapped. So maybe
also under discussed is how powerful the creative forces behind
(32:34):
the music and events industry are. Like there are creatives
who whose brains work at amazing speed and rates. They're
able to create entire words out of the blue. And
(32:57):
I think I believe truly solidly that if we were
to put even just twenty five percent of that creative energy,
that creative flow that's currently funeling into marketing, into staging,
into decoration, if we're to put twenty five percent of
that creative energy into the energy, the creative energy to
(33:21):
rethink production models, to rethink financial p and ls in
a more sustainable and environmentally sound way, sustainable being the
three s of sustainability, this could move mountains.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Truly, that's such a remarkable point. Yes, I think there's
you know, so many artists and change makers are in
service of these large problems and amazing honorable parts of
humanity in the world, and that's often not reflected within
the industries themselves, which just seems like so counter intuitive.
(34:01):
And if we had that within, how much more resonant
would those things that artists are channeling become. So Thank
you so much for doing this work. It's so inspiring.
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