A Greener Festival
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| A Greener Festival | |
|---|---|
| Name | A Greener Festival |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Founder | Festival organisers |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Area served | International |
| Focus | Environmental sustainability for events |
A Greener Festival is an international festival sustainability advisory and certification body that provides environmental auditing, guidance, and awards for live events and festivals. It works with music festivals, cultural events, and outdoor gatherings to reduce ecological footprints through waste management, energy efficiency, transport planning, and stakeholder engagement. The organisation collaborates with event promoters, venues, suppliers, and artists to mainstream sustainability practices across the live events sector.
Overview
A Greener Festival operates within the live events ecosystem alongside Glastonbury Festival, Coachella, Roskilde Festival, Sziget Festival, Tomorrowland, Burning Man, Latitude Festival, Iceland Airwaves, SXSW, Isle of Wight Festival, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Primavera Sound, Montreux Jazz Festival, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Summerfest, Roskilde stakeholders, European Festival Awards, Live Nation Entertainment, AEG Presents, DICE, Resident Advisor, Mixmag, NME, Billboard (magazine), BBC Radio 1, BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, Co-op Group, Oxfam, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Carbon Trust, United Nations Environment Programme, UNFCCC, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, Science Based Targets initiative, ISO 20121, B Corp, Greenpeace UK, Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 13, SDG 11, European Commission, UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Arts Council England.
History and Origin
A Greener Festival emerged amid rising sustainability discourse following high-profile events such as Live Aid, Woodstock, Glastonbury Festival 1971, Isle of Wight Festival 1969, Monterey Pop Festival, Reading Festival 1971, and activist movements linked to Greenpeace protests, Friends of the Earth campaigns, and policy shifts after Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement. Early collaborations drew on expertise from organisations such as Carbon Trust, DEFRA, WRAP (organisation), Environment Agency (England) and Wales, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Sustainable Event Alliance, Julie's Bicycle, Festival Republic, A Greener Future (2010), Campaign for Better Transport, Transport for London, and local authorities like Brighton and Hove City Council and Manchester City Council.
Environmental Initiatives
Initiatives promoted include onsite energy provision using suppliers linked to Tesla, Inc., Siemens, Schneider Electric, E.ON UK, National Grid (Great Britain), Octopus Energy, battery storage partnerships inspired by Tesla Powerwall, and renewable procurement akin to IRENA recommendations. Waste strategies reference practices used by Zero Waste Scotland, Feedback Global, Too Good To Go, Recycling Technologies, and Veolia. Water conservation mirrors approaches by United Utilities, Thames Water, and Scottish Water. Transport demand management aligns with casework on Network Rail, Transport for London, Stagecoach Group, National Express (UK) and cycling campaigns from Sustrans. Engagement and education strategies draw on methodologies from UNESCO, International Council of Museums, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, WWF, The Wildlife Trusts, and RSPB.
Green Certification and Awards
A Greener Festival's audit and award framework parallels accreditation models such as ISO 20121, BREEAM, LEED, Green Key Global, EarthCheck, Green Globe, Green Key International, and sector-specific awards including UK Festival Awards, European Festival Awards, Pollstar Awards, and the A Greener Festival Awards ceremony. The organisation benchmarks festivals using indicators also used by Julie’s Bicycle Creative Green, Sustainable Event Alliance, AFO (Association of Festival Organisers), Live DMA and governmental reporting like Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs guidance.
Impact and Outcomes
Reported outcomes include reductions in single-use plastic similar to campaigns by Surfers Against Sewage, diversion rates following practices from Circular Economy Club, and energy savings comparable to projects supported by Carbon Trust. Collaborations have influenced programming at events like Glastonbury Festival, Bestival, Shambala Festival, Secret Garden Party, The Big Feastival, Green Man Festival, Latitude Festival, and Reading Festival. The organisation's guidance has been cited in stakeholder communications from Live Nation, AEG Presents, Festival Republic, Superstruct Entertainment, IMS Business and academic research in journals such as Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Environmental Research Letters, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, and institutions like University of Manchester, University of Leeds, University of Sheffield, Goldsmiths, University of London.
Case Studies
Prominent case studies include technical and advisory work at Glastonbury Festival (waste hubs, renewable power trials), Roskilde Festival (circular waste pilots), Primavera Sound (transport modal shift), Coachella (water stewardship dialogues), Bonnaroo (solar deployment), Blue Dot Festival (sustainable procurement), Shambala (community engagement), and regional events supported by Arts Council England and Creative Scotland. Partnerships extended to suppliers such as Festicket, AIF (Association of Independent Festivals), Showsec, Gallowglass, Clear Channel Outdoor, Theatres Trust, Eventbrite, Ticketmaster.
Criticism and Challenges
Critiques mirror debates within environmental policy and cultural sectors involving organisations like Extinction Rebellion, Fridays for Future, Greenpeace UK, Friends of the Earth, and academic critics from Oxford University, Cambridge University, London School of Economics, and University College London. Challenges include reliance on offsetting instruments debated after COP26, measurement consistency compared with ISO standards, supply chain constraints linked to multinational suppliers like Siemens and Veolia, and tensions with commercial promoters such as Live Nation and AEG Presents over cost and logistical feasibility. Ongoing debates reference policy instruments such as the Climate Change Act 2008 and international frameworks like the Paris Agreement.