Nyon, Switzerland  - Concert organizer Brian Little was in Switzerland on a mission: his forthcoming music festival in South Africa aims to be carbon neutral, with a strong "leave no trace" approach, and he was touring the Alpine scene to get an education.

Sitting backstage at the Paleo Festival near Nyon, just north of Geneva this week, he was impressed. Paleo, which claims to be the second-largest outdoor music festival in Europe, has been voted one of the continent's greenest by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).

"It's great to have been invited out here and be given a chance to see what's going on," he said, noting reverence for the 34-year-old festival.

He quickly adds that his own event, Rocking the Daisies, which takes place near Cape Town in October, though just a few years old and still finding its feet, could also give the Swiss some tips. He has like about his plans to introduce biodegradable utensils for his next gathering.

Paleo's roots as a local folk festival, its organizers say, endowed it with a legacy of respect for nature.

"It is part of the culture of the festival. It runs very deep," said Lionel Israel, who sits on the 15 member environmental committee that acts as an oversight forum for the Nyon phenomenon.

Having evolved over the years into an eclectic event that can host the hard-rocking British electro-rave band The Prodigy one night and the soft-singing Tracy Chapman on another, with a good dose of French chansons thrown in, the festival also switched to a more pro-active approach for the environment.

"Our job is to scrutinize and watch what Paleo is doing, on things like food, water, energy and waste management," said Israel, adding that the committee then issues internal audits to the main organizing body.

Winning the award from the WWF, Israel and his colleague Rosalie Devaud say, enhances the committee's clout.

"It's a good feeling to win the award, but it doesn't mean we can't improve more," Devaud said.

"We are not the best when it comes to food and we are working on this now," Israel offered.

The many dozens of stands serving up dishes from all corners of the world is one of the main attractions at the festival. This year, Indian cuisine featured prominently.

Paleo's public transport system works in cooperation with the Swiss national railway, to reduce the number of vehicles arriving in Nyon and statistics show large drops each year at the car parks of the festival.

Across the large open fields that host over 220,000 visitors over six days - tickets sell out within hours - the committee's touch is everywhere, from the separated garbage bags to the protective sheaths around the bases of trees.

And, of course, the trademark drinking cups strapped around people's necks or sticking out pockets. Paleo did away with throw- away cups, a major source of waste, and introduced reusable ones. The stands charge for the goblets, and the money is returned when they are brought back.

The bottom line is clear: few people throw away the equivalent of two dollars with every beverage purchased and make sure to recycle.

Little's festival in South Africa, which boasts the slogan "Play Hard, Tread Lightly," recently teamed up with social groups to combine clean living with an interest in improving the poorer parts of the country.

Now, Rocking the Daisies plants trees in black townships, to create green spaces in what are otherwise squalid urban settings.

As world leaders get set for the climate-change conference in Copenhagen in December the green music-lovers also think they could offer some suggestions on how to go clean and still have fun. (dpa)