Green events are in, but are they for real? Whether it is a music festival or a sports championship, a biennial fashion show or an annual athletics meet, cultural and sporting events are increasingly being promoted as environmentally friendly. Given their size, many of these events inevitably generate inordinate amounts of greenhouse gases and unthinkable volumes of waste. So any plan to curb the harmful effects is a welcome initiative. But are the promises to protect the environment fulfilled? Are the words followed by actions? Or has the green cause been commandeered as an effective commercial gimmick? Has "help save the planet" become merely a trendy marketing slogan?

Here in France a number of recent events have been placed under a green banner. The 2007 Rugby World Cup, still in progress, and the 2007 Techno Parade, held in Paris on Saturday, were advertised as the first ecological events of their kind in the world. In each case the organizers vowed to take concrete actions to reduce the impact of the given event on the environment. The French Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development, headed by the Minister Jean Louis Borloo, is a chief sponsor and co-organizer, and therefore features prominently in the publicity campaigns for these happenings. There is, however, a growing discrepancy between the organizers’ words and their actions, a seemingly cavernous rift between declaration and implementation.

Technopol, the organizing committee of the Paris Techno Parade, appears to be more consistent. Last year’s parade was dedicated to the fight against hunger. With a deft publicity campaign, the organizers were able to raise awareness about the cause and collect funds for NGOs engaged in the battle to reduce hunger around the world. This year, the parade was pitched as "a celebration of the planet." Technopol announced their commitment to protect the environment and, addressing all clubbers and techno lovers, stated that the success of the event "also depends on you and your cooperation." They put together a guide for the eco-conscious partygoer.

The leaflet entitled "The Clubber’s Guide to Eco-Cool" provides 10 steps the clubber can take to "help save our planet." They are not revolutionary steps, but they are feasible and they are geared toward the clubber. So for example, the first step concerns hygiene: "if you want to smell good out there on the dance floor, before going out take a shower and not a bath. You’ll save water, and time. And don’t forget to turn the tap off while you’re brushing your teeth." To demonstrate the value of these acts the leaflet includes figures: 30 to 80 liters of water consumed during a five-minute shower versus 150 to 200 liters for a full bath. Another step touches on fashion: "did you know that fair-trade organic fashion is hip/trendy? Clothes and accessories made with organic cotton and bamboo are now the staple of every self-respecting clubber’s wardrobe." A third step encourages the clubber who wants to be at the vanguard of cool to consider recycling the old cell phone when purchasing the latest model.

The ten suggested gestures cover the partygoer’s entire night out, from water and energy saving tips before leaving home, advice about how to keep emissions at a minimum when traveling to and from the club, through ideas about reducing waste at the club, to the breakfast of local seasonal fruit back at home in the morning.

After carefully following the instructions in the guide, the eco-cool clubber and green techno lover may legitimately ask what the organizers of the parade have done to fulfill their eco-mission. What about the event itself?

Technopol lists the five actions that were planned to make this years Techno Parade greener than last year’s: the purchase of emission offsets, coordination with a major French NGO, production of environmentally-friendly pamphlets, a reduction in sound pollution and sustainable waste management. In collaboration with a carbon offset company called "Action Carbone," Technopol calculated the CO2 emissions generated by both the parade and the normal running of the organization. To offset those emissions the sum of 1000 euros will be donated to a biogas project in India.

There is no reason to doubt that actions will follow close upon the organizers’ words. Nor is there any cause to believe that the parade program and leaflet were printed on anything other than recycled paper using chemical-free inks. Then again, it is difficult for us – the eco-cool clubber, the environmental onlooker and the green techno lover – to know for sure. On the other hand, we were able to check out the sound control and waste management vaunted by Technopol.

When the first float in the parade rolled slowly by, the techno beat seemed to be at a reasonable eco-friendly volume. But then, the sound blasting from the third and fourth trucks pounded the air, battering the thoracic cages and engulfing the gentle heartbeats of we who were standing at a considerable distance from the floats. If that was the reduced volume, what was the regular volume? Enough to shake the foundations of those noble Parisian abodes and to inflict lasting damage on our eco-sensitive eardrums.

As for the waste management, we could see that the organizers had good intentions. They meant well. There were several recycling stations, placed strategically along the parade route. At each station, a brigade of volunteers dressed in bright yellow T-shirts was present to direct us to the proper bin, depending on the type of waste we were carrying. The system appeared to be so carefully planned. It was bound to be a success.

Unfortunately, there were a few unanticipated glitches that undermined the whole endeavor. One recycling station was at the foot of a monument to the French Republic. A contingent of friendly riot police stood guard to prevent any wayward eco-cool clubber, environmental onlooker or green techno-lover from climbing up onto the monument. Fair enough. The only problem was that the policemen stood in front of the recycling bins. Volunteers were supposed to collect our waste and place the various items into the appropriate containers, separating glass, paper, plastic and food. Somehow it was difficult to attract their attention, and as a result waste ended up everywhere but the recycling bins.

The recycling station in Bastille circle, which was both the starting and finishing point of the parade, was directly accessible. We were able to inspect the bins. Empty. There were enough volunteers milling around. A few of them said things were looking much tidier than last year. Indeed a quick stroll down the first leg of the parade route an hour after the procession had moved through, was enough to confirm that the Parisian sanitation engineers had done an excellent job in cleaning up clean. But what was the final destination of those tons of garbage? Not the recycling plant.

Overall, without being too harsh, we decided that the organizers did not fulfill their promises to reduce sound pollution and manage the waste produced by the parade. Not all was lost however, for the publicity campaign must have raised some awareness about what each of us can do to help save our planet. Let’s hope. The danger is that we, the clubbers, onlookers and techno lovers, or for that matter the rugby fans, rock n roll aficionados and fashion buffs, have faith in event organizers and in the Ministry of Ecology, and that we do not recognize the publicity stunts for what they are: all hype and very little action.

Paris Techno Parade