12 July 2024

The hit of the summer: sustainable festivals?

Summer is the perfect time to enjoy music festivals. There are more and more of them, and more and more are announcing their commitments to sustainability. But what is a truly sustainable festival?

By Nuria Díaz Díaz

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At this time of year, so full of music festivals across the country, and at a moment when it is increasingly common to hear promoters and organisers claim that their event is a sustainable festival, it is important to pause and reflect on a few questions: what is really a sustainable festival? If it is one, what characteristics should it have? Considering these premises, can we truly speak of sustainable festivals today? And, above all, where should we be heading so that the live music industry moves firmly and safely towards a more sustainable future?

With these questions on the table, let us delve into the subject. A sustainable event—and therefore a sustainable festival—is one that, based on the definition of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), “has been designed, organised and delivered in such a way that potential negative environmental impacts are minimised, and that it leaves a beneficial legacy for the host community and for everyone involved”. Put this way, it may seem quite easy to achieve by implementing two or three measures aimed at preventing or reducing environmental impacts, to a greater or lesser extent.

However, as a professional in the sector with several decades of experience, I strongly disagree with this interpretation. In order to speak meaningfully about sustainability in festivals—or in any other type of event—it is necessary to carry out a much more global and cross-cutting assessment. To do so, we should:

Broaden the scope of our goals and objectives,
Address in a far more ambitious way the balance between the three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, social and economic,
Integrate, therefore, into festival strategies and action plans, all or nearly all aspects that directly or indirectly affect these three dimensions.

For this reason, I believe that a perspective is needed that understands sustainability as a journey rather than a mere act of intent. Not all festivals can be considered sustainable. Only those that truly make an effort to integrate a sustainability management system into their planning and operations, supported by a sufficiently sized, trained, skilled and professional team responsible for implementing the most appropriate, efficient and effective measures for each case and type of festival. From connection to the electricity grid; to promoting public and shared transport; implementing reusable, returnable and washable cup systems to extend their lifespan over future editions; consuming drinks from kegs and returnable containers; reducing meat-based and fast-food offerings at food stalls; and integrating measures that ensure universal accessibility and gender equality and diversity, among many other examples.

Autobús sostenible de El jardín de las Delicias.

It is true that, unlike just three or four years ago, today there are quite a few festivals that, in addition to presenting their headliners or artistic line-up, also showcase their social and/or environmental measures. This is a real step forward and undeniably positive, as the importance of considering these issues is gradually taking hold across the sector. There is now an awareness that something must be given back for what is taken, whether in the form of benefits for the planet’s health, a positive return for the host community or social inclusion, to name just a few examples. And this, I repeat, is unquestionably positive, especially when compared to just a few years ago, when hardly anyone—or very, very few—considered integrating such actions or measures into their festivals. Back then, the focus was solely on the cost, without assessing anything beyond that.

Therefore, I believe we are at a crucial moment where different paths converge and, depending on which direction we take, we will be better able to judge whether the sector is truly moving forward along the right path or, on the contrary, heading in the wrong direction. To avoid choosing the wrong course, I think it is essential to rethink, to some extent, the festival model we want—not only as promoters, but also as attendees and public institutions which so often contribute public funds to sustain what is unsustainable. Likewise, it is essential to involve trained and qualified professionals, not only capable of applying the most appropriate measures in each case according to the characteristics and idiosyncrasies of each event, but also able to recognise mistakes and weaknesses in order to ensure continuous improvement in festivals’ sustainability management plans.

And, of course, I also believe it is necessary for the public authorities, as well as sponsors, artists and attendees, to begin demanding—and why not, also verifying—the good intentions that everyone communicates and claims to pursue. This can be done through the provision of sustainability reports and statements based on evidence and proper justification, and which are at the same time endorsed by professionals or external auditors, so that the depth of strategies and action plans will allow us, in the not-too-distant future, to speak rigorously and credibly about more sustainable festivals.

Hopefully, all the progress made along the right path will serve as a solid foundation on which to build and move forward positively—learning even from mistakes, why not—to create a truly diverse musical and cultural ecosystem, with values, responsible, supportive, inclusive and, therefore, more sustainable from a social, economic and environmental perspective.