Climate Action - Festivals

Climate Action for festivals

Ireland has committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Driving Climate Action is a strategic priority for Fáilte Ireland, and we aim to help tourism businesses play their part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

This guide is for anybody involved in the organisation of festivals. Festivals are a rich and important part of Ireland’s tourism offering. Festivals bring people together for a collective experience, resulting in large-scale gatherings of hundreds and even thousands of people. This involves organisers in the provision of shelter, accommodation, food, routes, transport, power, lighting, water, sanitation, waste disposal safety, security and of course entertainment!

All of these factors make festivals an interesting space for Climate Action. Festival organisers can trial new engagement opportunities with audiences, work with innovative suppliers and contractors and apply influence and inspiration all the way along the value chain.

Let’s get started!

This useful Carbon Calculator can help you establish the carbon footprint of your business. Find out about the Climate Toolkit 4 Business here.

Step-by-step approach to Climate Action planning

Step-by-step approach to Climate Action planning for festivals

Integrating Climate Action into overall festival planning can take a systematic approach. For some more guidance in this area, check out our general Climate Action Roadmap here.

1 Demonstrate commitment of festival organisers and owners

2 Identify stakeholders and the role they play

3 Raise staff and stakeholder awareness and engagement

4 Identify and prioritise improvement targets and actions for your festival

5 Prepare and implement an Improvement Action Plan

6 Review performance and make recommendations for future festivals

ENGAGING FESTIVAL STAKEHOLDERS

Tailor your messaging to the interests and responsibilities of the relevant stakeholder

Ensure each stakeholder is aware of your overall Climate Action goals for the festival

Take care to ensure each stakeholder receives a consistent message – this will allow you to achieve a consistent climateaction culture throughout the festival

FOCUS ON MULTI-STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATION

For a festival to take effective Climate Action, all stakeholders must be involved. Great communication is required! The table below gives an overview of the wide range of stakeholders in the festival ecosystem:

Be transparent and honest, avoid greenwashing and encourage all stakeholders to do the same

Share details of successes and learning points –this will inspire others to take action

Share mistakes or disappointments as well – this will help others to avoid them

Internal stakeholders External stakeholders

Event Director

Sponsors

Event Manager Media

Event Controllers Regulatory authorities

Programming Manager

Production Manager

Site Manager

Marshalls, Stewards, Security

Residents and local community

Venue owner

Traders

Contractors and suppliers

Artist Liaison Interest groups and organisations

Traffic Managers

Artists

Safety, medical, welfare Speakers

Guest and VIP Manager

Sound and Lighting Crew

Volunteers

Performers

The Audience

USE

TOOLS TO INSPIRE ACTION

5 key Climate Action areas for festivals

This guide focuses on five key areas where festival organisers can take impactful Climate Action:

1 POWER SUPPLY

STEP-BY-STEP APPROACH TO POWER REDUCTION FOR FESTIVAL ORGANISERS

All events require power, and the amount and type of power will determine the economic and environmental success of your festival. In fact, power can account for up to 70% of a festival's core (scope 1) carbon emissions according to the Green Festival Alliance.

A large festival like Glastonbury, for example, uses an estimated 30,000 MW power of the four days – roughly the same as a small city.

Greenfield sites cannot connect to the mains power supply. There may not even be enough power available to connect to the grid for urban events, such as markets. Many festivals and events have to source their own power supply.

This guide provides a practical and systematic approach to reducing fuel requirements for power (and therefore carbon emissions) at your festival. The journey is in five steps:

Key Resource

5 STEPS TO POWER REDUCTION

STEP 01 Estimate the power requirements of your festival.

STEP 02 Agree a fuel-reduction target.

STEP 03 Review, evaluate and prioritise potential actions to reach that target.

STEP 04 Measure and monitor on-site.

STEP 05 Review and set new targets.

STEP

01

If you have previously run the festival, your power supply bill from then will tell you how many litres of fuel you paid for.

This is a great starting point for estimating your requirements now.

If this is your first time to run

LITRES OF FUEL

This provides you with a useful benchmark to compare your performance year-on-year, even if audience size changes. It may also allow you to compare performance against other festivals.

Key Climate Action areas for festivals

FOCUS ON: GENERATORS

Diesel generators are the go-to option for outdoor festivals and events. They are popular, convenient, mostly reliable, and can be efficient. However, generators are often bigger than they need to be, meaning that for most of the time they're running at just 10

20% of their engine capability. This wastes both fuel and money, and causes unnecessary emissions.

To address this problem, gather accurate information on the power needs of your event in advance of choosing a generator.

A generator is at its happiest when running at between 50%-70%. This means that if the right size generator is used, it will use less fuel and cause less emissions.

STEP 02 AGREE A FUEL-REDUCTION TARGET

It is important to decide what you want to achieve. Set a target that is specific, measurable, achievable and realistic. For example, if you know last year’s fuel pppd, aim to reduce that figure by 10% this year.

If this is the first year of the event, discuss requirements with your power supplier and agree on a specific target fuel pppd figure e.g. 0.3 litres of diesel pppd.

Share the target with your power supplier and all key stakeholders and communicate that each stakeholder has a role to play in achieving it.

CHRISTMAS MARKET, DUBLIN CASTLE

STEP 03 REVIEW, EVALUATE AND PRIORITISE POTENTIAL ACTIONS TO REACH THAT TARGET

To achieve fuel savings, you must reduce the demand for power throughout the festival.

For this reason, it is important to engage all stakeholders in reviewing the potential actions that could be taken to achieve the fuel target.

Use the energy hierarchy to guide brainstorming with the festival team and with external stakeholders. This approach involves asking a set of questions in a specific order of priority. This brainstorming process will lead to a set of potential actions that will reduce power demand.

Prioritise those actions that lead to the greatest fuel saving and therefore the greatest cost and emissions saving. Write them into a Festival Climate Action Plan, ensuring commitment to specific actions and agreeing responsibilities and deadlines for each one.

Key Climate Action areas for festivals

STEP 04 MEASURE AND MONITOR ON-SITE

Work with your suppliers and production crew to measure power use by all generators, tower lights and other fuel consumers while the festival takes place.

Top Tip

At the planning stage, ask the supplier to commit to providing a detailed post-event report with recommendations for further reductions.

This will provide the greatest insight into power demand at the event. If possible, monitor different phases separately e.g. ‘Build’, ‘Event’ and ‘Load Out’ – as each phase is managed by a different

team and may require different communications strategies. Designate a team member to observe contractor and audience behaviour – this will yield rich insights for future festival planning.

STEP 05 REVIEW AND SET NEW TARGETS

Post-event, analyse the data and supplier post-event reports in order to establish your performance against targets. Read the data to build a clear picture

of realistic energy needs for the future. Communicate performance with all stakeholders and identify opportunities to work with them towards improvements.

SMART POWER

BODY & SOUL FESTIVAL 2018

In 2018, the Body & Soul Festival in Westmeath implemented a smart power plan and worked closely with their power suppliers to optimise the site’s power design. Generators were downsized by 15% from the previous year, some synchronised generators were switched off overnight and monitoring was introduced. The impact was a saving of 6,657L of diesel, the equivalent of a 21.8% energy consumption reduction, against the previous year.

For more detailed guidance on managing energy efficiently, check out our Energy Guide

2015 BODY AND SOUL FESTIVAL, BALLINLOUGH CASTLE, CO WESTMEAXTH

2 WASTE

Waste is visually detrimental, managing waste incurs significant costs and the production and processing of waste creates carbon emissions Waste management is therefore a true pain point for festival organisers.

STEP-BY-STEP WASTE MANAGEMENT FOR FESTIVAL ORGANISERS

This section provides you with a practical and systematic approach to reducing and managing waste at your festival.

Check out the graphic below to understand the general order of priority of successful waste management.

REFUSE AND REDUCE WASTE COMING INTO YOUR BUSINESS REDUCE WASTE ARISING FROM YOUR BUSINESS

1 2 3 5 4 6

REUSE AND REPURPOSE COMPOST

WASTE HIERARCHY

Using the waste hierarchy as the guiding principle, create a comprehensive waste management policy. 1

REFUSE: consider how to prevent waste arriving at the festival venue in the first place. Consider a single-use plastics ban, for example. 2

REDUCE: engage with stakeholders prior to the event waste hauliers, litter-pickers, production teams, staff, traders, and the audience. Ask everyone

to consider how they can reduce what they are bringing to the event.

REUSE: actively encourage re-use in all elements of the show, especially water bottles, coffee cups and serveware.

RECYCLE: capture good recycling rates by encouraging source separation. Through comprehensive advance planning, ensure there are an appropriate number of bins located strategically. Provide

clear signage and consistent colourways and symbols for different types of bins. 5

COMPOST: work with traders to implement effective food waste management systems and carry out spot checks. 6

DISPOSE: stay on top of waste management on-site. Carry out spot checks and engage with all users of your bin systems (crew, litterpickers, the audience) so they are choosing disposal only as the last resort.

Key Climate Action areas for festivals

FOCUS ON: SINGLE USE PLASTICS

There is heightened awareness of the detrimental effects of singleuse plastics on our environment. Traditionally, plastics have been heavily used at events, for example:

water and drink bottles

cups, plates, cutlery, food containers

straws and stirrers

Conduct a plastics audit and brainstorm how to reduce or eliminate plastics from the festival entirely.

Key Resource

For more detailed guidance on managing waste efficiently, check out our Waste Management

3 WATER

There are three important aspects of Water Management to consider:

WATER MANAGEMENT REVIEW

1 Water Conservation

There is a huge amount of embodied energy in the clean water supplied to an event – it has been harvested, filtered, processed and transported, all of which uses energy and creates carbon emissions. It is important to conserve as much clean water as possible.

2 Waste Water Management

3 Pollution Prevention

Waste water derives from cleaning, food and drink service, and use of toilets, showers and hot tubs.

Onsite pollution sources include cleaning products, personal shower products, paint and urine. Pollutants can contaminate local waterways and harm aquatic biodiversity and habitats.

Key Resource

For more detailed guidance on managing water efficiently, check out our Water Management Climate Action Guide

TOP WATER MANAGEMENT TIPS FOR FESTIVAL ORGANISERS

Create a water conservation plan

Use shut off valves on taps

Restrict shower times keep showers short and only operate the showers at certain times of day

Work with your supplier on site-wide plumbing checks, to catch leaks

Ensure waste water capture and holding tanks are situated well away from ditches, wells and waterways

Empty waste water holding tanks regularly

Develop a pollution response plan

Consider the use of waterless toilets and urinals

BRIDGES OF ROSS, ROSS BAY, CO. CLARE

Key Climate Action areas for festivals

4 FOOD

Considerations around food are an integral part of a Festival Climate Action Plan.

Spotlight on food waste

Currently, one third of all food produced globally is wasted. Some 8 10% of global carbon emissions are linked to unconsumed produce. The UN Sustainable Development Goals aim to halve food waste by 2030.

TOP FOOD TIPS FOR FESTIVAL ORGANISERS

 Choose local and seasonal produce and food and require your food and beverage suppliers to do the same.

 Choose food and beverage providers that are organic and fair trade.

 Choose responsible kitchenware and food packaging that’s either reusable, compostable, biodegradable or, at the very least, recyclable.

 Work with traders to ensure effective food waste management systems.

 Engage positively with food traders – consider handbooks, guides, trader-specific briefings, and even running a competition to reward the most climate-friendly trader.

 Provide reliable information about the event to food traders in a timely manner such as opening hours, expected attendees and daily schedule. This will help them plan food preparation and avoid making excess food.

 Partner with local food distribution charities such as Food Cloud.

5 TRANSPORT

Travel and transport of equipment, infrastructure, staff, goods, audiences, artists, crew, suppliers and post-event waste makes up at least 80% of a festival’s total carbon

footprint (Scopes 1, 2 and 3).

In fact, an estimated 50% is attributable to audience travel alone according to The Show

Must Go On Report 2020. While

festival organisers cannot directly control transport choice, they can plan the event with transport efficiency in mind. Here are some planning tips to help with that:

FESTIVAL TRANSPORT PLANNING TIPS

AUDIENCE TRAVEL

 In pre-festival communications, ensure your audience knows your climate ambitions and are encouraged to get involved.

 Survey audiences at point of ticket purchase to understand departure points and distances to travel.

 Provide good information on public transport options well in advance.

 Where public transport is limited, investigate other options such as shuttle buses and coaches to connect with local transport routes.

 Incentivise public transport use through offering special discounts or bonuses, applying a car parking fee or limiting car parking availability.

 Reward car-pooling and use websites and apps to make it easier for festival-goers to connect.

 Install bike-locking facilities.

PRODUCTION TRAVEL

 Understand your supplier logistics. Brainstorm how transport efficiencies can be achieved.

 Manage crew transport and facilitate carpooling.

 Use the most sustainable transport options available for on-site work.

 Programme local acts, source food and supplies locally and use local contractors. Consider the origins of goods, materials and food purchased and choose the most local.

 If available, choose a local transport supplier or taxi company that uses hybrid or electric vehicles.

Given the high carbon impact of transport, consider investing in carbon offsetting or climate change mitigation projects.

Key Climate Action areas for festivals

FOCUS ON: GREEN RIDERS

Riders are a list of requirements an artist will send to a host venue or festival from describing how they’d like their dressing room set up, to their favourite foods, to a list of their stage equipment, for example.

Festival Programme Managers and the Artist Liaison or Hospitality Team can have influence on receiving venues through seeking to implement Green Riders. Some ideas to consider include:  request a vegetarian, locallyproduced, in-season offering, served in reusable serveware  ask venues if their energy is on a green tariff

 ask how waste is managed and request well-located segregated bins with clear signage

 express preference for a local transport supplier or taxi company that uses hybrid or electric vehicles

 request the most energy efficient Public Address and lighting specs for technical set-up

Key Resource

REMEMBER TO SHARE YOUR STORY!

Your team, suppliers, audience and communities are increasingly attuned to climate change and its impacts. Sharing your efforts to integrate Climate Action into your

festival through social media, local press and your own website - is a great way to engage with stakeholders.

For more ideas to engage your team and sustain momentum, check out the How To Tell Your Climate Action Story Guide.

PÚCA FESTIVAL

Savvy supports and useful resources

Check out these supports and resources to help you on your Climate Action journey

01

FÁILTE IRELAND BUSINESS SUPPORTS HUB

Check out a comprehensive range of Climate Action and business supports and resources for the Irish tourism industry. Find out more

02 RECREATE

A national social enterprise protecting the environment by salvaging clean, reusable materials from businesses and distributing them to members for free and in unlimited quantities for creative reuse in all kinds of inventive ways.

Read More

03

UN SUSTAINABILITY DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The UN Sustainable Development Goals aim to halve food waste by 2030.

Read More

04

REDISCOVERY CENTRE

The National Centre for the Circular Economy in Ireland - a creative movement connecting people, ideas and resources to support greener low-carbon living.

Learn More

05

EVERY CAN COUNTS

A partnership between drink can manufacturers, the recycling industry, and drink brands to promote the infinite recyclability of drink cans.

Read More

06

FOOD CLOUD

Food Cloud is a not-forprofit social enterprise working to tackle the twin issues of food waste and food security. It does this by matching businesses with surplus food to local charities and community groups.

Read More

07

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

Conceived as a festival industry response to the Paris climate change talks, this report is based on 279 UK festivals.

Read More

INSPIRING CASE STUDIES

Learn from Irish and international businesses about their climate action journey. Get inspiration and top tips.

Read Case Study

Climate Action guides

Climate Action Guides

Explore our series of guides as part of Fáilte Ireland’s Driving Action on Climate Change in tourism businesses. You can find links to all the others in the series to help you on your Climate Action journey here.

CLIMATE ACTION ROADMAP

Explore our key tool designed to help you drive and navigate along the Climate Action journey of cost and carbon reduction.

ERRIGAL MOUNTAIN, CO. DONEGAL

ENERGY MANAGEMENT

Learn how minimising energy consumption using renewable energy alternatives will save costs and reduce carbon emissions.

WATER MANAGEMENT

Explore our guide for suggestions on how your business can reduce water consumption, resulting in a lower water bill.

WASTE MANAGEMENT

Find out how waste management can reduce your carbon footprint which can directly lead to cost-savings.

CLIMATE ACTION STORY

Learn how to promote your Climate Action initiatives to the consumer.

CARBON OFFSETTING

Read our advice for tourism businesses who wish to complement their reduction strategies by offsetting emissions.

BIODIVERSITY

Learn how enhancing biodiversity in your business or location is a great place to start actioning climate change.

MEETINGS AND EVENTS

Learn how to run a climate-friendly meeting or event that incorporates environmental considerations.