Not for profit group A Greener Festival (AGF) awarded 35 festivals and outdoor events from 14 countries accolades celebrating initiatives to reduce their environmental impacts at a ceremony held at Eurosonic Noorderslag on 18 January. Awards were presented in 11 areas including transport, waste, power, water, and local area impacts. Applicants undergo a rigorous assessment, site visit and post-event analysis of their events’ sustainability actions.
AGF directors Ben Challis, Claire O’Neill and Teresa Moore presented awards to a host of worthy recipients that included Das Fest (Germany), DGTL (Netherlands), Pohoda Festival, Slovakia, and Ireland’s Body and Soul.
UK event Boomtown Fair applied for the award assessment and feedback for the first time in 2018. Sustainability manager Emily Ford said: “We are delighted that we obtained the Commended Award from AGF. This highlights the positive action we are taking. It’s a great start to our mission to ensure that we significantly reduce the environmental impact of the event, as well as raise awareness of just how vital it is that we all pull together to protect the planet for future generations.”
Claire O’Neill commented: “This year has seen unprecedented action and an awareness of the urgency to make our industries and our lives more harmonious with nature. The festivals and events that we have had the honour to assess and award are helping to shape this transition, which has positive repercussions not only within the events’ operations but also through the message and example they put out into the world.”
The awards themselves are made entirely of reused materials that include salvaged tents by I Dress Myself and reclaimed wood turned by Steve O’Neill.
The next batch of winners, which will include events in the southern hemisphere along with winter events that take place in the northern hemisphere, will be announced at the annual Green Events and Innovations Conference, London, on 5 March as part of the International Live Music Conference (ILMC).
Congratulations to UK festivals who achieved awards in the following categories:
- Outstanding – Cambridge Folk Festival, Green Gathering and Wood Festival
- Highly Commended – Greenbelt Festival
- Commended – Boomtown Fair, Fire In The Mountain and Kew the Music
- Improvers – BST Hyde Park, ILMC and Manchester Pride.
For those events wishing to participate, applications are now open for the Greener Festival Awards 2019. Contact hello@agreenerfestival.com to learn more.
