To mark Earth Day, 2016 on April 22, we look at how music festivals around the world are working towards innovative green initiatives that are both cost effective and reduces emissions.
As highlighted by A Greener Future (AGF), not-for-profit company aimed at making the live event sector sustainable, music festivals are breaking down the misconception that live events cannot be sustainable or environment friendly by implementing strategies across energy, food, infrastructure and travel.
Claire O’Neill, festival sustainability expert and co-founder of AGF says, “Festivals are a great place to experience and explore new (and old) ways of doing things. From water to energy to biodiversity restoration, when done well, they showcase more sustainable alternatives.”
With Earth Day being a time for reflection and action, here are music festivals around the globe helping the events industry make a much-needed transition to sustainable practices.
Primavera Sound Barcelona, Spain
Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Spain has focused on improving its energy efficiency by using power sources with the lowest impact on the environment.
By reinforcing electrification, optimising battery use and fuel consumption in generator sets and limiting power towards outlets, the festival works to ensure that their energy efficieny is aligns with their actual consumption needs
Paradise City, Belgium
In their session Beyond The Burger Van: How Festivals Like Paradise City are Serving Sustainable Futures at the recent Green Events & Innovations Conference,Paradise City Group explored how food culture in festivals can be shifted towards lower-impact choices.
A third of global emissions comes from food and agriculture, meaning that what we eat and drink is significant when it comes to sustainability. This is where food-based menus at festivals can help, according to Paradise City’s food curator Petra Daniëls.
Daniëls highlighted that introducing a requirement for at least one vegetarian or vegan option on the menu and this making this option cheaper than the meat dish is one option to popularise plant-based menus.
Another suggestion included offering chicken and pork which have much smaller impact on the carbon footprint compared to beef and lamb. She also suggested more creative description of the dishes to normalise and entice people to pick it.
By implementing such strategies Paradise City festival has established that plant-based menus can be a popular and well-accepted option at festivals, contrary to expectations.
Ultra Music Festival has proven to be a pioneer with their blend of high-energy production and environmental responsibility
DGTL, The Netherlands
Netherlands music festival DGTL has put travel and mobility at the heart of their planning. The transportation of audiences, production crew, artists, and the production itself is often one of the most carbon-heavy parts of any live events.
DGTL’s detailed planning, clear KPIs and strategic location enables most attendees to access and arrive at the festival via public transport, by bike or foot.
The festival has also booked more local artists, contributed to Sustainable Aviation Fuel and shifted to electric on-site vehicles and renewable fuels, thus proving that well-planned mobility and transport strategies makes live events enjoyable and responsible all at once.
Ultra Festival, USA
Ultra Music Festival, USA made history by becoming the first major electronic music festivals in the US to power large-scale stages with zero-emission battery.
With its award-winning sustainability programme, Mission: Home teamed up with REVERB’s Music Decarbonization Project, Showpower, and CES Power, the festival made use of a SmartGrid battery system on the RESISTANCE Cove Stage. Showpower’s SmartGrid™ Battery System is charged using existing grid infrastructure, thus creating no on-site emissions.
With electronic music become a core of global live events/festival culture, Ultra Music Festival has proven to be a pioneer in the genre with their blend of high-energy production and environmental responsibility.
Ultra Music continues to lead the movement in emission-free stages, following on from last year’s achievement of being the first US-based event of its scale in more than a decade to earn A Greener Future’s prestigious Greener Festival certification.
Rooted in practical, creative, and community-driven sustainable living, the festival uses permaculture as a framework to design low-impact systems that work with nature
All Points East, UK
All Points East in the UK has been dedicated to improving waste management through an on-site waste sorting facility. Constructed using repurposed materials found onsite, the facility aims to understand and improve how waste is managed at events.
By efficiently sorting waste collected from across the festival, the facility is organised to sort through mixed waste, recycling, and vapes as well as separating of glass and food waste from the traders strictly using 100% compostable serveware.
The festival is also powered their stage with Grid Faeries x Ecotricity 3 MWh battery system, which harness grid energy from the wind and the sun.
Green Gathering, UK
Green Gathering has been championing green events and sustainability practices for years by embedding permaculture into festival life.
Rooted in practical, creative, and community-driven sustainable living, the festival uses permaculture as a framework to design low-impact systems that work with nature, supporting how we produce food, use energy, and build shared spaces. At Green Gathering, this is translated into real, hands-on experience for its audience.
Through its long-running Field Families area, the festival has shaped knowledge and skills through workshops spanning preservation of food low-impact living, and more, the programme demonstrates how sustainable ideas can be applied in everyday life.
The event now features three permaculture workshop spaces: Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Shares as the famous Free Shop where clothes, bedding, and many other random items are offered for free.
Green Gathering is a reminder of how festivals can go beyond reducing impact and steadily influence how people can live and experience life in a sustainable manner in wider society as well.
AGF is committed to helping events, festivals, and venues around the world towards sustainability. Find out more at www.agreenerfuture.com
(Info and featured image via press release from Global Publicity)
Did you know about these green initiatives at music festivals around the world? Visit Lyrical Muse for more music news, deep dives and features.
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