Festival organisers need to optimise travel options - both for attendees and artists

'Only the cultural sector is capable of having such an impact on people's imaginations,' says David Irle, independent eco-advisor and co-author of the book 'Decarbonizing Culture'. Photo: AFP

Often called out for having a heavy environmental impact, the festival industry is in the midst of a green self-reckoning. It is increasingly looking to reduce its carbon footprint by implementing concrete steps at festivals - large-scale events that typically consume a lot of CO2. A task more complicated than it seems.

A new report from Greener Future, a not-for-profit association that helps various players in the world of live music become more sustainable, gives festival organisers some ideas on areas for improvement. It reveals that audience travel is responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions at European and British festivals.

But contrary to what some other studies suggest, it finds that festivalgoers' mobility does not account for 80% of the carbon footprint of these events, but rather 41.4% on average.

However this proportion can vary considerably from one event to another (from 18% to 76%), depending on various factors, including the size, location and nature of the festival. On average, the travel undertaken by the audience accounts for 50% of greenhouse gas emissions at British festivals. Generally speaking, a festival's carbon footprint amounts to 11 kilos of CO2 equivalent per day.

That's why it's vital that the organisers of these musical events try to optimise all travel arrangements as much as possible - both for attendees and for artists. Such events often involve bringing musicians and their equipment from afar, by car or worse, by plane. Add to this the transport of technical crews, producers and merchants, and on average 58% of a festival's total emissions are directly due to transport.

Next come on-site food and drink (accounting for an average of 34.5% of emissions), waste management and merchandising, not to mention water, plastics and energy resources.

In other words, festivals need to completely rethink the way they operate in order to become more climate-friendly. Some are already doing so, such as France's We Love Green, which has now decided to give priority to local ingredients and no longer serve animal proteins in its catering offer.

These types of initiatives demonstrate that festivals, and the music industry as a whole, have a role to play in the fight against global warming.

"Only the cultural sector is capable of having such an impact on people's imaginations," David Irle, independent eco-advisor and co-author of the book Decarboner la Culture (Decarbonizing Culture) (PUG/UGA, 2021), told ETX Studio.

He added: "Music festivals are a perfect example. For several days, music fans will mill about in a micro-society where they will, for example, be made aware of the virtues of a more environmentally-friendly diet without even realizing it. It's a powerful engine for sparking action." - AFP