Festival and Event Industry Tackle Sustainability, Social Division & Censorship

With just 2 weeks to go until A Greener Festival and the ILMC’s eagerly awaited Green Events & Innovations Conference (GEI9), London’s Royal Garden Hotel, 7th March, the full line up of top speakers and sessions has been released.The live event and festival industry are coming together to tackle issues of sustainability and the role that the global live events industry must take in the face of perceived political and social divisions, and artistic censorship.GEI9 will debate issues from site design and infrastructure, sustainable set and stage design, the impact of fireworks and special effects on the environment, what Brexit and the current political environment means for events, and how censorship and oppression of musicians is reported to have doubled between 2015 and 2016.This is set to be a pivotal event of lively, challenging and meaningful exchanges.The UK’s Sustainability Conference for Festivals and Events is back on Tuesday 7th March 2017GEI9 is A Greener Festival’s annual flagship event delivered in partnership with the International Live Music Conference (ILMC). Each year welcoming diverse and inspiring speakers and projects from around the world to gather and challenge the way we deliver events towards a better impact for our environment and society.The theme for GEI9 is “Sustainable Design”. The art of creating every aspect of great events involves both creativity and impeccable production techniques. By instilling ecological, economic and social principles in to all aspects of event design in conception, communication, implementation and review, necessary changes can be achieved.GEI 9 will explore how sustainable design is being applied to operations, artwork, infrastructure and management, to align events with our natural and technological environment in the 21st century.This is in addition to the usual program of the most current innovations and developments at festivals and events from around the world, including those assessed by A Greener Festival.Keynote: Designing Sustainability into the DNA of EventsLucy Legan, Co-founder, Ecocentro IPEC (BR)Ecocentro IPEC in Brazil is the largest reference centre of sustainability in Latin America, and demonstrates scalable models of social technologies. Keynote speaker, Lucy Legan MSc, has played an integral role in environmental education in Brazil and is a best-selling author of educational books on sustainability literacy.Since 2006, Lucy has collaborated with Boom Festival, Portugal, as it transitions to a model of sustainability by implementing permaculture edible gardens for festival-goers, natural construction, composting during the festival on a large-scale (with 90 tons composted on-site during the last edition), and by co-ordinating a highly efficient waste-management team.Many festivals and events are taking on the challenge of innovation in sustainability. A new paradigm of sustainable and responsible events takes into account the dynamic elements potentially acting as a laboratory for change. The future of green events is in the hands of event producers and event attendees.Permaculture design offers a framework for thinking and designing sustainable festivals and events, where new economies, ecological landscapes, scaled technological solutions, transition strategies and social redesign can be tried out in a temporary autonomous zone.Panel: Get Lithe Leccy! Smart Design of Event EnergyPaul Schurink (ZAP Concepts, NL) | Steve Muggeridge (Green Gathering, UK) | Tim Benson (Hybrid Energy Consultant, UK)Which festival stakeholders need to be involved in changing an event’s energy sources and how should we go about persuading traditional energy suppliers used to providing diesel generators, to completely rethink their business model?Paul Schurink is an expert in the field of temporary energy supply, sustainability and innovations and has been involved with a variety of large-scale events including the Olympic Games and UEFA EURO 2012. He will present a case study of Zap’s work with DGTL BCN festival in Spain.Joining Paul will be environmentally conscious event organiser and sustainable event veteran, Steve Muggeridge, of iconic Green Gathering fame, who will reveal how the event’s team go about designing the site layout, their use of power hubs, and even the programming of the entertainment, in order that the entire festival is run on renewable energy.      Launch: The Smart Energy for Outdoor Festivals GuideChris Johnson, Powerful Thinking, Shambala Festival (UK)Five years on from the launch of The Power Behind Festivals Guide, Powerful Thinking has released a comprehensive update to their indispensable industry energy guide – Smart Energy for Outdoor Festivals. And what’s more, this eagerly awaited guide will be exclusively launched by Chris Johnson, during GEI9. Presentation: Latest Actions & Challenges for Greener FestivalsClaire O’Neill, Co-Founder, A Greener Festival (UK) Following the assessment of 25 festivals across 11 countries in 2016, A Greener Festival will provide insight into the latest developments and key challenges that events are experiencing in the pursuit of sustainability, and will also be launching the Greener Festival Assessment Report. Presentation: What Next? Environmental Policy Post-BrexitAmy Mount, Head of Greener UK Unit & Senior Energy Policy Advisor, Green Alliance (UK)Greener UK is a group of 13 major environmental organisations with a combined public membership of 7.9 million, united in the belief that the UK leaving the EU will provide us with a pivotal moment to restore and enhance the UK’s environment.Amy Mount will offer insights into the risks and opportunities that Brexit poses to UK environmental policy, and the work of Greener UK, which includes NGOs such as WWF, Greenpeace, National Trust and the Woodland Trust. Panel: Wider Environment – Nationalism & Climate Change Denial Fruzsina Szép, Yourope (DE) | Holger Jan Schmidt, Co-founder, GO Group (DE) | Stephen Budd, Stephen Budd Music (UK) | Ivan Milivojev, Exit Festival (RS) | Amy Mount, Green Alliance (UK) Green events are about more than just lowering our environmental impact. In this session, we will look at the social and cultural effects of recent global political developments, and what role events might play.Fruzsina Szép will share the actions of European festival association, Yourope, and their recent Take a Stand initiative, aimed at encouraging festival promoters to foster values of “social togetherness, understanding and tolerance for all cultures, genders, races, religions, sexual orientations, colours and origins.”Fruzsina will be joined by renowned artist manager, Stephen Budd, who will be sharing his recent experiences of artist censorship and oppression with us; along with Exit Festival’s Ivan Milivoje, GO Group’s Holger Jan Schmidt and Amy Mount from Green Alliance.According to research from the FreeMuse annual report Art Under Threat, such cases have more than doubled since 2015. What action must we take, therefore, to protect our freedom to present an alternative, inclusive vision for society? Panel: Sustainable Set & Stage DesignChris Tofu, Continental Drifts (UK) | Bertie Cole, Arcadia Spectacular (UK) | Tim Leigh, Stage One (UK)With the competition to create sets and stages that are more impressive, more elaborate, and more expensive to build, maintain and shift, this session will ask how innovative approaches to extravagant stage and set design can be delivered without a jarring waste of the world’s resources. Hear from the leading set and stage designers and builders about what techniques are being adopted to reduce the waste without loosing the artistic impact. Panel: The Environmental Impact of FireworksAymeric Lecomte, A Greener Festival/Bournemouth University (UK)They might be visually impressive but what is the environmental impact of firework displays at events? Is there a legitimate cause for concern or does the bang really outweigh the bother?Aymeric Lecomte presents the latest research on this controversial subject, and opens the debate for the future of special effects in the live entertainment industry.Tom will present an industry and consultant's view on the environmental issues surrounding the use of fireworks and pyrotechnics - and to try and dispel some of the myths that surround their use at events big or small.Drawing on his experience as a chemist and having worked in the industry since his teenage years and latterly as a consultant to major events such as London NYE and the Olympics, Tom has a unique perspective on what the issues really are. Panel: The Future World of Special Effects Patrick O’Mahoney, Newsubstance (UK) | Aymeric Lecomte, AGF (UK) | Dr Thomas Smith, Pyrotechnics Association (UK) | Dr Thomas Smith, British Pyrotechnics Association (UK) | Stuart Warren-Hill, HoloGauze (UK)Having turned the spotlight on the environmental impact of fireworks and special FX, Dr Thomas Smith, Patrick and Aymeric will take a subsequent look at alternative methods of providing the wow factor at events without literally costing the earth.From drones, lasers and holograms to mind boggling chemical compounds – what are the safe alternatives in the explosive world of special effects? Panel: Designing Inputs for Greener Outputs Chris Cooke, CMU (UK) | Sid Sharma, Shambala Festival (UK) | Lucy Legan, Boom Festival (PT) | Mikkel Sander, Roskilde Festival (DK)Smart events choose smart design. In this panel we will look at how infrastructure can be planned and delivered in a way that it will help events significantly lower their wastage of fuel, water, food, materials and resources.Where | WhenGEI9 will take place at the Royal Garden Hotel in London from 10:00 until 18:00 on Tuesday 7 March 2017. Immediately after the event, all GEI delegates are invited to attend a closing drinks event that will take place in the York Suite of the hotel for a chance to network, discuss the day's events and enjoy a tipple or six.Rooms 3 & 4, Lower Ground Floor, Royal Garden Hotel2-24 Kensington High St, Kensington, London W8 4PT, UK10:00 - 18:00, Tuesday 7 March 2017Hosts: A Greener Festival | ILMCRegistration | RatesA delegate pass for GEI costs £99 plus booking fee, with a discounted rate of £65 available to ILMC delegates, students, and members of AGF, AIF and Yourope. The ticket price includes a five-star lunch, refreshments, and a closing drinks party.Please note that all our early-bird tickets are now sold-out.ILMC delegates should tick the relevant box when registering for ILMC.Members of AGF, AIF and Yourope are limited to two representatives per festival, and should contact hello@agreenerfestival.com.Non-ILMC delegates should click here to register for GEI9.To see footage and presentations from previous editions of GEI, click here.For more information and tickets, click here.