AGF September Green News Roundup
Welcome to this month’s Green News Roundup, where we bring you the latest inspiring initiatives and sustainable achievements from around the globe.
AGF’s Claire O’Neill Hails ‘New Dawn’ For Sustainable Events In IQ Magazine
AGF CEO Claire O’Neill was interviewed by IQ Magazine to discuss the success of the Massive Attack’s groundbreaking climate-action concert.
“A new line has been drawn in the sand for what we expect of events of all sizes, and what can be done when you really put your mind to it, and your money where your mouth is. I think that we’re going to see fewer and fewer diesel generators being used in the coming years, finally.”
AGF was responsible for advanced planning, on-site sustainability management and coordination, post-event analysis and reporting for the 35,000-capacity concert.
Read the full interview here
Shaping a unified vision for climate action in the UK festival and outdoor events industry
Vision: 2025 has established a cross-industry working group, chaired by LIVE CEO Jon Collins which brings experts together to review data and information, establish benchmarks, consider trends and opportunities, engage widely with the industry, and shape a workable vision and roadmap that is free for everyone in the sector; with an important element of the work being develop strong and evidenced requests to the Government for policy change and sector funding.
The campaign has a £50,000 target for industry fundraising to match funds already raised from Arts Council England, EarthPercent, Dixon Foundation and Festival Republic. There are options for every scale of event and industry organisations to contribute. To get involved and support this work: https://bit.ly/SMGO-3
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AIF Campaign to lower VAT on ticket sales from 20% to 5%
Without doubt, many more festivals will be forced to make 2024 their last stop if there isn't intervention now from the UK Govt.
Some temporary support - lowering VAT down from 20% to 5% on ticket sales for the next three years - is all that's needed to give them the space they need to recover and rebuild.
Find out more about the campaign and how you can support here
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Denmark’s NorthSide reveals tree planting scheme
Denmark’s NorthSide is to build upon its pioneering sustainability work by creating the NorthSide Forest – the largest afforestation project in the region. The scheme aims to strengthen biodiversity around the festival’s native city of Aarhus, as well as binding carbon equivalent to the event’s emissions for five years.
In collaboration with Aarhus Municipality and the Danish Climate Forest Fund, the Down the Drain-promoted event is funding the planting of at least 8.7 hectares of diverse conservation forest.
“At NorthSide, we are constantly pushing the boundaries of what a festival can and should be,” says Northside sustainability manager Maritn Thim. “We have taken substantial leaps regarding sustainability and continually experiment to see where we can make even more of an impact.”
Read more about the scheme here
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Forwards Festival And A Greener Future For Events
Pauline Bourdon, sustainability & social cohesion manager, at Team Love outlines what the team at Bristol’s Forwards Festival is doing to mitigate its environmental impact.
“At Forwards, the idea of festivals as living labs for creation and imagination is essential to the way we see our event. Our ambition is to create a space where people, nature and music can cohabit by partnering with like-minded businesses and organisations, programming thought provoking talks, showcasing new ways of being in communities alongside environmental innovations.”
Read the full article here
