Common newspaper reports on festivals highlighting left tents and piles of litter perhaps say more about the wider society than they do about festivals per se. However this recent Evening Standard article demonstrates that there is a strong perception we as an industry could do with shaking off.
“A festival is essentially a small, incredibly wasteful temporary city. Generators burp into the atmosphere, while cables and wires gobble electricity.” (Phoebe Luckhurst 26 March 2015)
Last year, the significant increase in festivals signing up to industry green initiatives including A Greener Festival Award , energy revolution and the Creative IG, suggests that there is an appetite for change afoot.
That is why in conversations with the AIF, AFO, Powerful Thinking and Julie’s Bicycle this year seemed pertinent to undertake industry-wide research and investigate the priorities for an industry wide Green Manifesto. The premise for a Green manifesto would be to share a vision for how we as an industry can address a number of areas from cost-saving, reduced waste, and of course improved reputation both with new audiences and of course the media.
Information from the survey will also help to inform a vision for the industry in the context of the Global COP21 environmental talks in Paris this November, with UK festival industry think-do tank, Powerful Thinking, publishing a state of the industry report based on findings.
FREE RESOURCES
In the meantime, at Kambe Events, we have a wealth of free resources and links on greening your event should you need any inspiration for this season.