Open Air Business November/December 2016

EVENTS
Sustainable Events
What can we do to make outdoor events more sustainable? asks NCASS director Mark Laurie
WITH WORLD POWERS committing
to endeavour to limit global
warming to below the agreed two
degree point of no return, the
Paris Climate Talks could prove
a watershed moment in finally
dealing with the causes and effects
of climate change.
If they don’t, we could all be
in trouble! The clock is ticking to
change the way we operate and
limit the significant risks of climate
change, before it’s too late.
Are festivals part of the problem?
The UK festival industry has
always led the way in innovative
experience creation. For many
years this has included promoting
environmental understanding.
Festivals and alternative lifestyles
have, it seems, always gone hand in
hand. So it’s no surprise that many
of those involved in putting on the
shows and events that we all enjoy
every summer would be leading the
way in sustainable business.
Music festivals often offer
alternative realities; safe spaces
to explore, enjoy and learn about
yourself. They create opportunities
for punters to get away from the
stresses and strains of modern life
and have fun in a field with their
mates.
But temporary events that take
place in the countryside can have a
significant environmental impact.
Festivals may talk the talk when it
comes to environmental issues, but
what with waste, power usage and
traffic, are they actually part of the
problem? And if so, what are they
doing about it and what can the
wider outdoor event industry learn
from them?
Cutting GHG emissions in half by
2025
In the lead-up to the Paris Climate
Talks, Powerful Thinking – a notfor-profit
industry working group
made up of event organisers,
infrastructure providers and event
suppliers – developed a report
called The Show Must Go On. Its
aim was:
› To outline the environmental
impact of the UK festival industry
in an accessible format
› To provide a robust basis for
an industry-wide approach to
reducing environmental impact
› To promote action.
The report called on festival
organisers and industry
stakeholders to commit to taking
physical action in the shape of
signing up to the Festival Vision
2025. It’s a pledge to achieve a
50% reduction in annual festivalrelated
greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions by 2025. You can find out
more about it or sign up yourself
at www.powerful-thinking.org.uk/
vision2025
With over 40 major events
already signed up to the pledge,
along with numerous stakeholders
and suppliers, it’s safe to say
that the report is clearly already
having an impact. Now it is our
responsibility as an industry to
widen participation, make good on
those pledges and deliver a more
sustainable outdoor event industry
in the UK.
Not everyone is the same
Every outdoor event is different.
Clearly there will be different
issues and challenges for different
events and, as such, a ‘one size
fits all’ approach is unlikely to be
the answer. That’s why the 2016
season has been designated for
the collation of information and
the sharing of ideas in a nonjudgmental
manner. We don’t
want to beat people over the
head! We want to bring them
with us. Creating a space for open
discussion and information sharing
is vital.
With events at many different
stages of sustainability, it’s
important to share and promote
best practice. One festival that
is arguably ahead of the curve is
Shambala (see last issue – Time
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