Sustainability and the saviour complex
Saving the planet, one event at a time
There’s a reason why event sustainability experts are evangelical about their work. We have to believe that we’re saving the planet to propel ourselves through a process that is often mind-numbingly dull.
It is noble to want to be greener, but many baulk at the details. Who knows how much diesel they used on last year’s event, average power in KWh or the tonnage of waste processed for re-cycling? If you need to prove that you’re improving, then baseline measurements are required. If you want to be certified by UK specialists, A Greener Festival, or abide by the standards of Julie’s Bicycle, it’s the tip of an iceberg of data that will be needed.
In the UK, promoters and organisers often stick to the visible impacts like banning single-use plastics, providing water for refills, and encouraging use of public transport whilst offsetting as much responsibility as possible onto suppliers. Any steps are admirable, of course, particularly considering that they were not much of a consideration until recently – and that there’s often a cost involved that only they will absorb.
It is often said that public transport is the hardest to manage as it involves interacting with numerous third parties who are not minded to interrupt their existing schedule, even when it can be enormously profitable for them to do so. Given that the transportation of large numbers of attendees is generally understood to be the biggest source of carbon emissions for events, this becomes an issue and one that is too vital to be ignored. Sadly, we often see – as in the case of this year’s FA Cup semi-final between two teams from the north-west played in London on a date when parts of the rail network were closed – that it is too frequently overlooked.
When it comes to sites, organisers tend to work outwards from the space and location to logistics and facilities. Very few festivals are located at the centre of convenient transport hubs, although arenas and outdoor shows have made strides to be closer to city centres of late. There are many competing factors for both the timing and location of shows, most of which revolve around viability and availability, everything else is a work-around.
As we’re based in Coventry, it is appropriate to take the upcoming weekend of May 28/29 as an example. On Saturday 28th the city welcomes over 50,000 gig-goers due to a re-scheduled Killers gig at CBS Arena (stadium) and Radio 1 Big Weekend in a major park. Local media has made much of people’s inability to get home (by train) from Big Weekend whilst not mentioning sustainability issues and the more serious problems facing those at the Killers gig which is a far greater distance from the train station.
It transpires that there’s little panic or outrage to be had here since trains from Coventry to most destinations are pretty good. The greater indignation could have been reserved for the paucity of travel information communicated by the host websites. For Killers you might note that car parking is the most vital issue and find out very little else other than planning ahead is vital (who knew?). Big Weekend does a bit better with help from Visit Coventry but falls down on failing to link to national rail or the train services that serve Coventry, nor does it recommend public transport as the preferred option, which is absolutely essential.
Of course, both events may be doing a better job of communicating directly with ticket holders via email or social media. On the face of it though you’d struggle to know that your impacts as an attendee can be modified and managed better. It seems to be a peripheral issue when we all know much better. People are still not sustainably minded: witness the abandoned tents and other ecological impacts of festival goers generally. As event organisers we have a lot more to achieve and much of it will be in comms.
Bizarrely, there is one easy step that would make public transport more accessible to all those attending big events, unfortunately it is one that artists might consider would ‘compromise’ the show. If shows finished earlier and made a point of publicising event timings (subject to changes), the choices available to the public would be greatly improved. The simple solutions can often be the hardest to achieve, but we can all do much better.
We can help with your communications and advise on sustainability issues.
