sustainable clubbing

“All you have to do is dance to save the world.”

That’s according to Andrew Charalambous, the founder of Surya, the world’s first ecological disco club in London.



It turns out this eco-friendly night club, as an Economist article describes, generates its own electricity through various renewable technologies such as wind turbines and solar panels. Then their power surpluses they provide to the neighborhood for free. Their furnishings are made of recycled materials: the bar and the wooden shelves are made from scrap wood; sofas, tables, and stools are made from used bathtubs and cable drums; and the décor consists of old newspapers, CDs, and other materials creatively designed in shapes and patterns.



Their resource-saving measures include waterless urinals and energy-efficient light bulbs, to say the least. If you’re not impressed by what they’ve done yet, you will be when you find out the centerpiece of their eco-friendly initiative: a piezoelectric dance floor which uses technology almost similar to a quartz watch, and generates power from the motion of the people dancing on the floor.



I would have to agree with the Economist though that his statement sounds like an oversimplification. Responding to the complex issue as global climate change couldn’t possibly be undone by boogieing all night; other things still need to be done.

Nevertheless, he believes you can save the environment even while you’re having fun. That makes sense somehow from a developed country kind of mindset. I mean, there’s no sense keeping away the affluent (or even the bratty and apathetic) from mitigating their carbon emissions when they can be involved to do their part in saving the planet—albeit in their own way. And maybe he has found an appealing green way for people to save the environment and still do the things they enjoy. And that says a lot given the brand that environmentalists have as party poopers.



I guess this approach doesn’t encourage any huge lifestyle changes yet. But maybe it can work and it can contribute something in the greater scheme of things. Maybe the party hardy likes of Tim Yap can now have an opportunity to become socially relevant without him even trying.



I’m not much of the clubbing type but I’m curious if anyone knows if similar initiatives are already happening in the various gimmick places in the country?



Find out more about Charalambous’ sustainable clubbing in Club4Climate.