Sustainability
Being sustainable has always been important to Color Obstacle Rush, since day one back in 2014.
Environment
Taking care of the environment is naturally important to everyone. We were one of the first to switch the colour of powder bags from plastic to paper. The powder is corn starch, so there is no harm to the environment. All water cups provided at the event are also made from paper and we’ve been working for years, together with our suppliers, to cut down packing materials and save space in various stages of product transportation.
Our event does include merchandise such as sunglasses, bandanas and other similar gear. We aim to design and manufacture our merchandise in a way that they can be used outside the event as well, not just for one-time use. We also listen to your feedback with our merchandise and have for example left finisher medals out based on customer feedback. Since then we’ve provided electronic Finisher Certificates as an alternative way to commemorate the day.
During the event, we use petrol blowers for inflatables which is the only possible way to inflate the obstacles in a 5k long course. Using electric blowers (which we’ve tried as well) would require us to ship large generators to every event which makes it less appealing. We also aim to recycle all possible waste at the event, most of it being cardboard and paper.
As a touring event organizer, much of our environmental footprint comes from transportation, both material and people. As an example, we ourselves used to arrange the same events with two full-size lorries and two people carriers whereas today we tour with one full-size lorry and one people carrier, whilst still having more obstacles and activities for you our customers. This alone has cut our carbon footprint significantly. Some Europe-wide touring bands for example transport some 50+ trucks of equipment from one show to another and whilst that is of course not the same as our event, we feel this is something where we go above and beyond and have really succeeded.
Another benefit of our tour-based business model is the fact that we have perfected all of the set-up and tear-down procedures related to our events. This means we can do everything with a small group of professionals. Seven event specialists put together the event the day before and tear everything down right after the event. This translates to fewer flights and fewer people moving from one event to another. For the duration of the event, we always employ workers and volunteers locally. During a season we employ some 2000 event support professionals as well as our own group of 20 event specialists. We also employ the services of local entrepreneurs at our events, ranging from food trucks to portable toiler suppliers. It’s important for us to support and work together with the local communities at our events.
Participants and charity
You the participants are the reason we do this. Seeing the smiles, hearing the laughs and seeing all the colourful faces is what keeps us going through the cold winter. During the years, You, amazing participants have also donated more than £300.000 to various charities. We could not be more proud of each and all of you! At the event, we ask everyone to be respectful and look after their fellow participants. Should you ever see anything disrespectful, please do let our employees know and we will deal with the matter immediately. We have zero tolerance for any disruptive behaviour at the event. Color Obstacle Rush is a place for fun for everyone!
Accessibility and safety
Accessibility and safety of our participants and workers are always of utmost importance to us. Obstacles are designed by us and the safety of our participants is the number one factor when creating obstacles. As a workplace, we aim to be an open and welcoming, discrimination-free environment where everyone is accepted for who they are.