Now more than ever, environmental sustainability has become a necessity rather than an option – however, when it comes to outdoor events like festivals, community fairs and markets it can still be an unattainable goal. These events, while often celebrated for their cultural significance and creativity, also present significant environmental challenges. From managing waste and reducing carbon emissions to ensuring materials are ethically sourced and balancing economic viability, festival organisers are faced with a complex set of hurdles.
We delve into the key challenges festivals and markets encounter on their journey to becoming more sustainable with Native’s Sustainability Coordinator, Áine May Hughes – sharing her professional insights, exploring the innovative solutions being implemented, as well as the limitations and concerns they continue to grapple with.
What do you find is the most common challenge facing festival / event organisers when it comes to sustainability?
For camping festivals, the most common challenge is reducing ‘stuff’ or ‘materials’ or ‘waste’. Not just from tents and camping equipment but also branding, decor, and building materials, all the way down to single-use plastics and compostable cups, serveware and packaging. There is a change needed in how festivals operate based on the convenience of our throwaway culture, we need reuse, we need a circular economy. Some of the larger energy and transport challenges can be further from the direct control of an event and festival organiser but the demand for alternatives is growing and the infrastructure will follow.
How do you work with a festival to ensure they’re doing the best they can when it comes to sustainability practices?
To help a festival move towards more environmentally responsible practices, I look at the 6 key impact areas – energy, materials, transport, food and beverage, water and nature. To start with, I seek to identify the pain points and the easy wins, building out a roadmap that allows the festival to have a few key focused objectives for each festival edition across a 3-5 year plan. It’s key not to bite off more than you can chew, and see where you can have a positive impact immediately.
How important is transparency when it comes to Festivals and their sustainability efforts?
Hugely. We are all on the same journey. All the things that make up a festival are the same things that make up our world – the three spheres: sociosphere, technosphere and biosphere. By being transparent with event and festival goers, you show them that you are taking action in a conscious way, encouraging them to buy-in and join your efforts. This is particularly important for the success of any sustainability initiatives you put in place because organisers, performers, artist, crew, staff and attendees all have a part to play, just like in the face of the wider climate crisis. Everyone has a responsibility and can make a difference.
What advice would you give to smaller festivals and those event organisers on tighter budgets who want to be as climate conscious and carbon efficient as possible?
Collaborate, collaborate! Smaller festivals tend to be very good at this anyway, leading with a community ethos, creating symbiotic relationships and putting their values at the forefront of what they’re trying to achieve. When it comes to sustainability initiatives, think no different. Who can support you, and how can you support them? What are the easy wins? Oftentimes it’s putting a system in place, communicating it, and asking your attendees or collaborators to join in. Think about working with the venue to ensure you’re protecting and enhancing nature, working with your audience on a recycling or deposit return initiative, look at setting up a carpool whatsapp group link. It doesn’t have to be complicated!
At Native we provide as many sustainable solutions as possible when building these unique outdoor, cultural events, ensuring capacity, budget and timelines are respected. From production options, smart waste management to solar generators, crewing and reusable cup implementation, we strive to cater to the many varying needs of event organisers when setting up their events in the most environmentally-responsible ways possible.
For more information contact us via email info@nativeevents.ie or Call us directly +353 (0)83 020 4525
