Sustainable Look & Overlay Workshop Report from The Ocean Race
On 26th May, AGF participated in the The Ocean Race InnovationWorkshop with 80 event leaders from the sports andevents industries who are committed to a sustainablefuture.
The events and sports sector globally uses an immeasurable volume of single-use, mostly plastic, materials to dress their live event sites, and there is very little in the way of stewardship of those materials on their journey from manufacturing to ‘disposal’.
Whether it be predominantly outdoor events such as music festivals and sports events, or indoor events such as exhibitions and conferences, there is a requirement to build immersive but temporary settings that are physically dressed to bring an event site to life and to carry the event and sponsor’s messages.The inherent creativity in the global events industry constantly demands everything from new designs for assets at existing events, to innovative physical solutions for ‘hero-piece’ ideas for new events.This could be covering all of the fence lines and exterior walls of the venue, elaborative sets inside the venue, the way- nding, and scenic installations.Much of the material used for the branding, dressing, overlay and signage is not made from recycled content, not recyclable, or simply not handled correctly
and recycled. Land ll or incineration is the end-of-life.We must together nd solutions to dress and message our sites and venues, in a way that reduces volume of single-use, ensures full stewardship of materials to circular systems, and ignites innovation in sustainable materials, production methods, alternatives to business as usual.This report shows the current state of affairs in the value chain of the event look, overlay and signage industries, highlighting the principal materials used and for what purpose, and the sustainable solutions that are already available on the market. It also details the challenges that the industry faces, along with the opportunities it has to find circularity. The outcomes of the Innovation Workshop held with 80 industry leaders is included in throughout this report.