Detroit Jazz Festival and DTE Energy Foundation Show it is Easy Being Green

Enhanced recycling program reduces carbon footprint to new levels

DETROIT, Aug. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With hundreds of thousands of attendees and a footprint of 2 million square feet, the Detroit Jazz Festival, supported by the DTE Energy Foundation, is expanding its greening effort that started in 2009.

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The festival will further reduce the event's carbon footprint by introducing a new on-site recycling program with recycling stations that allow for separation of different kinds of recyclables. The new program is part of the festival's continued recycling focus to help educate thousands of fans about the importance of recycling.

Easily identifiable recycle stations will be placed throughout the site. The containers will organize the recyclables into four separate categories, including waste, deposits, non-deposits and cardboard, which will allow for faster and more efficient recycling. In addition, a behind-the-scenes sorting depot will be located at the festival site, organizing the materials and preparing them for immediate processing.

"The DTE Energy Foundation is pleased to again sponsor the Detroit Jazz Festival, but more importantly, to provide a way for festival-goers to help keep downtown Detroit clean and recycle much of the trash generated at the event," said Fred Shell, DTE Energy vice president, Corporate & Government Affairs, and Foundation president. "The Greening program gets better each year and we hope that people think about recycling at their homes and businesses, as well as at the jazz festival."

In addition to the new recycling initiatives, all of the festival's beverage stations will utilize plastic cups that can be recycled. Food vendors also are being encouraged to participate in the Greening Program.

Other efforts to reduce the Detroit Jazz Festival's carbon footprint include:

• Utilizing Sonicbids electronic application process to reduce hundreds of paper press kits for the process of soliciting, reviewing and selecting regional musicians
• Creation and usage of text messaging, email notifications and Quick Response (QR) codes for surveys, stage schedules and other event details
• Recycling vendors' cardboard and glass
• Utilizing fuel-efficient vehicles to transport artists and using more electric golf carts and bicycles for festival staff and crew
• Providing paperless alternatives such an iPhone app and mobile web pages which allows fans to view the festival lineup, stage schedules and artist bios, navigate the festival footprint and optimize their Jazz Festival experience

"For the past three years DTE has helped Detroit Jazz Festival set a 'green' standard for other festivals. In addition to being meaningful for the city, events such as ours use a great deal of energy and produce a lot of waste. It's important that we take on this responsibility to the environment and reduce our carbon footprint," says festival director Terri Pontremoli

The DTE Energy Foundation also will have two "Keep It Free" kiosks at the festival, where donations are accepted and the official Jazz Festival program, printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified recycled paper, is sold to help keep the world's largest free jazz festival "free" of admissions for years to come. Additionally, fans will be able to support the festival's new mobile giving campaign and donate $5 to the Detroit Jazz Festival by texting the keyword KIF5 to 20222 from their mobile phones. "A one-time donation of $5 will be added to their mobile phone bill or deducted from their prepaid balance – messaging and data rates may apply.

Another partnership to reduce the festival carbon footprint is with the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. Located in the center of the action, it is a great place for festival guests to park their cars, stay the night and walk to and from the festival.

By booking a VIP Detroit Jazz Festival package by August 25 for just $269 per night, guests receive overnight accommodations and two Detroit Jazz Festival VIP passes for the night of reservation, which includes dinner at the VIP Tent, two drink tickets and special reserved seating at three stages. For reservations visit DetroitMarriott.com or call 800-352-0831 and request Promotional Code XY0.

The festival is in its 32nd year and is held every Labor Day weekend. For more information regarding the "DTE Energy Foundation Greening of the Jazz Fest", contact Eileen Dixon at (313) 235-9154.

About the Detroit Jazz Festival
The Detroit Jazz Festival is an independent, non-profit organization that presents jazz and educational workshops throughout the year. Recently voted one of the top three jazz festivals in North America in a Jazz Times Critics' Poll, the Detroit Jazz Festival is the largest free jazz festival in the world and a major tourist attraction for the City of Detroit, with 23 percent of its audience coming from out of state. The festival receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Erb Family Foundation, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Kresge Foundation. Major corporate partners include Carhartt, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Fiat, and Mack Avenue Records. Additional partners include Absopure Water Company, Ambassador Magazine, AmTech International, Budweiser, Charter One, CJAM 99.1, Comcast Corp., Compuware Corp., Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, Delta SkyMiles, Dickinson Wright PLLC, Dirty Dog Jazz Café, Downbeat Magazine, Fathead®, Fox 2, Great Lakes Fireworks, Greektown Casino, Hour Detroit Magazine, JazzTimes Magazine, Jazziz Magazine, McDonald's, Metro Times, MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino Hotel, Pepsi, Plante & Moran, PNC Foundation, Quicken Loans Inc., Sabra Hummus, St. John Providence Health System, Telemus Capital Partners, WDET 101.9, WEMU 89.1, WRCJ 90.9 and Yelp. The festival is entering Phase III of its Greening Program made possible by a generous grant from the DTE Energy Foundation. In addition, there is a growing base of individual support. Fans are encouraged to become Rhythm Section members by making donations of any size online in support of the festival's "KEEP IT FREE" campaign. For more information visit www.detroitjazzfest.com.

About the DTE Energy Foundation

The DTE Energy Foundation is the philanthropic arm of DTE Energy, continuing the legacy of community support and involvement of its principal operating subsidiaries, Detroit Edison and MichCon. http://www.dteenergy.com/foundation.

SOURCE Detroit Jazz Festival