Green your festival
1. Measure the environmental impacts of your event
Measure the impacts of your festival on our free IG Tool carbon calculator for festivals. Get more in-depth analysis and tailored recommendations for improving your environmental impact through our Industry Green certification programme.
- Log in to the IG Tools
- Learn more about Industry Green
- See what other festivals have the Industry Green certification
2. Use renewable power
Look into powering your festival by renewable energy. If you are a large-scale event, consider a ‘renewable section’ to your festival which will improve your environmental impact, and also engage audiences with what you’re doing.
- Search our Green Database for renewable temporary power providers
- Read our Communicating with Audiences Practical Guide
- Browse our festival case studies for inspiration
3. Use green suppliers
Try to work with suppliers and contractors who have clear environmental credentials. Ask to see their environmental policy and proof of their environmental commitments. Work with local businesses and source products and materials locally as much as possible.
- Search our Green Database for environmentally aware suppliers and green products
- Read our Sustainable Purchasing Practical Guide
4. Choose greener, ethical merchandise
Choose merchandise products that have strong social and environmental credentials.
- Read more in our Sustainable Merchandise Practical Guide
- Check out our Merchandise Factsheet
- Search our Green Database for sustainable merchandise suppliers
5. Streamline production
Work with the production team to calculate the show power demand and minimize it where possible, and to reduce the use of environmentally damaging materials – for example:
- Identify energy saving / low carbon equipment and technologies
- Choose suppliers offering energy saving solutions and/or good environmental credentials
- Use FSC certified timber for all set and staging construction
- Use non-PVC materials for banners, signage and scrims
- Use fabrics and material that can be re-used, re-purposed or recycled
- Minimise or prevent the use polystyrene in props
- Choose corrugated plastic board over foam-core
- Choose to use products made from recycled or sustainable materials
- Seek opportunities to reduce logistic requirements, for example, using in-house or locally sourced equipment
- Avoid air freighting production
- Plan for where production equipment will be going post the event
- Dispose of materials responsibly - try to find a contractor such as Scenery Salvage that can recycle your waste staging and materials after the concert
6. Greener artist travel
If your artists are travelling from abroad steer clear of private jets and helicopters, and offset any flights.
7. Engage your audiences
Choose a site with good public transport links and/or provide bus services to and from the festival. Incentives for coach and train travel and car sharing schemes are all good ways to bring down your audience travel footprint. Make this information easy to find through the website(s) promoting your festival and any marketing material.
Communicate environmental actions you’d like your audience to make, for example, incentivising the reuse of drinks cups and encouraging people to recycle.
Importantly, encourage audiences to leave minimal waste behind at the end of the festival - taking home tents, deck chairs and other equipment, recycling rubbish, and disposing of waste properly not only assists the clean-up process but sends much less unneccesary waste to landfill.
