ABSTRACT
The chapter documents the literature on green events and argues that very limited progress has been made. Most events have made minimal progress to sustainability and are best described as token efforts. it investigates exemplar cases of green events. Special emphasis is on the Burlington Ribfest, Burlington, Ontario, Canada, which is portrayed as Canada's largest Ribfest, but more importantly it is the greenest Ribfest. Green events can have many positive outcomes. All stakeholders stand to gain. In the case of Burlington Ribfest, the benefits include funds for charities, a stronger city economy, a richer lifestyle for the community, tourist development and most importantly, a more environmentally friendly footprint. The quantitative measures of environmental outcomes are particularly significant in the exemplar case study. A green economy requires rebooting an economy to one based on sustainability principles. Tourism and its related components such as events, can make a major contribution to the green economy.
