AGF ProVIDE NEW INSIGHT INTO FESTIVAL CARBON FOOTPRINTS
AGF have undertaken detailed analysis of festival carbon footprints which shed new light on festival emission sources. When accounting for more complete emissions sources the breakdown is more nuanced, with many emissions generated as a result of production and planning decisions, rather than through audience travel choices alone.
Key findings revealed include:
Audience travel closer to 41% carbon footprint (compared to commonly quoted 80%)
Wider travel inc. production, traders, artists closer to 58%
Food and drink responsible for an average 34%
AGF CEO Claire O’Neill commented:
“We love festivals, their contribution to culture, and their potential to show alternative ways of living. It’s important to have a fuller picture to understand their carbon footprints. Focus for event sustainability is often on waste, cups, and audience travel. Whilst clearly important, this is a narrow view missing broader impacts. This can delay important decisions at the planning and design stage, such as moving away from animal and other high impact food and drinks.”
Authors note that broad carbon footprint averages, whilst popular, should be treated with caution as disparity between the variety of festivals is significant. For instance, audience travel emissions ranged from around 20% to 75% of a festival’s footprint, depending on scale, location, and nature of the event. As more events collect this type of information, it will become more accurate and will help identify further improvements.
The report also highlights that carbon footprints do not provide insight into other impacts such as light or noise pollution, direct habitat disturbance, or pollution on site, which require biodiversity and environmental impact assessments. It also shows potential for time spent at a festival to create fewer emissions than time spent at home, with a comparison of emissions per person at festivals against average national emissions per resident, which is an area for further research.
For the next phase of this study AGF invites interested industry groups, festivals and sustainability organisations to collaborate with shared information, for a clearer picture for the festival and events sector as a whole.
The full report “AGF Carbon Footprint Report 2022/23” can be downloaded here: