There can be no doubt that festival season is well and truly upon us, but as many of us head off to see our favourite performers, are organisers making sure that such events are not having a harmful impact on the environment?
According to a recent study of more than 40 festivals across Europe by the non-profit A Greener Future, there have been some significant areas of improvement around sustainability.
The study found festival bans on single use plastic foodware rose from 54% in 2022 to 75% in 2023, and almost two thirds (60%) had a reusable cup system last year.
It also highlighted the significant impact of travel and transport, and that food and drink are often the second largest source of emissions after audience transport.
In an interview, the chief executive and co-founder of A Greener Future, Claire O’Neill said the sustainability challenges faced by most live events are the broad issues being faced by society as whole, including food, transport and energy.
She added the move towards sustainability has escalated in recent years, as regulations, funding applications and the various corporations place more emphasis on the environment.
“One factor which is really helping a lot is the how vocal artists are becoming about sustainability,” O’Neill told me.
“If a headline artist puts a requirement into a festival that they need to have a certain standard of sustainability, it can really have a large impact.”
She said many music festivals started as relatively small events, promoting previously alternative ideas, like environmental protection.
“If you’re organising a festival, you are creating a gathering of people coming together which can be a catalyst for change,” she added.
“In this really important moment in time, there are so many things to change and sort out, but festivals can show positive and forward-looking alternatives for how life can be.”
One of the more unusual sustainability ideas out there is the concept of getting festival goers to generate the electricity needed to power the event by dancing on kinetic smart floor technology.
Laurence Kemball-Cook is the founder and chief executive of the U.K. firm Pavegen, which provides smart flooring technology which can turns foot and dance steps into kinetic energy to help power entertainment events or installations.
Pavegen recently supplied a 39 square meter system for an UEFA Champions League event at Trafalgar Square (pictured) in London, which was headlined by the British drum and bass band Rudimental.
In an interview, Kemball-Cook said the installation attracted 6,000 plus people who danced at the event, helping to power Rudimental’s microphone and DJ booth.
“Our participation in the UEFA Champions Festival has been a phenomenal success, it’s so simple, you just need to dance to generate power on our technology,” he told me.
“Feeling the energy and enthusiasm from the crowd and seeing Pavegen in action, helping power such an iconic event, was truly inspiring,” he added.
“We’re proud to partner with UEFA and Rockstar Energy to demonstrate how innovative solutions can drive sustainability and community engagement.”
Kinetic smart floor technology has also appeared at a wide range of events, including Coldplay concerts and the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
“There’s no doubt that governments, municipalities and the public are very much aware of the environmental impact from major events,” Kemball-Cook told me.
“And we believe with this massive agenda for decarbonisation, it’s only a matter of time until every single event in the world becomes climate positive.”
Of course, not every festival has the benefit kinetic platforms to keep the power going. In many cases, live events rely on power generators, many of which rely on fossil fuel.
Andreas Sedlmayr, the co-founder and co-chief executive of German-founded mobile power company Instagrid, said in an interview using traditional diesel or petrol-powered generators for an hour can create the equivalent exhaust emissions as driving 250 miles in a regular car with an internal combustion engine.
Sedlmayr said traditionally generators have been positioned far away at events, because they can be noisy and generate harmful fumes, but this means more infrastructure has to be put in place.
But he added portable battery-based power supplies can be used closer to stages and where they are needed at live events, which means fewer cables and less health-and-safety hazards for festival goers to trip over.
Sedlmayr said battery-based power supplies are also much quieter and popular with consumers, who want to see more environmentally friendly festivals.
“There are still lots of myths about batteries, but they are safe,” said Sedlmayr.
“People just need to see there is a better way of working and generating electricity,” he added.
“Tesla has shown the world that you can go electric without compromise and that’s basically what we want to repeat with smaller, portable batteries that are perfect for live events and entertainment sector.”
