ABSTRACT

This chapter identifies common festival environmental issues and impacts such as site/venue environmental management, resource consumption, sanitation, water use, waste, transport, catering, energy supply and greenhouse gases (GHGs). It explores opportunities for festivals to contribute positively to environmental sustainability – through legacy programmes or through leveraging festival operations and logistics to engage attendees in environmental initiatives. The chapter explains what can be an enormously inspiring and valuable journey of environmental discovery. Luckily, those festival professionals already in the sector are tuning into the importance of environmentally responsible festival management, and we are also turning out cohorts of event management graduates into the industry with a passion for and skills in environmental management. The chapter suggests us to share successes and lessons learned, linking with neighbouring festivals to develop solutions and supporting local innovator and suppliers. Environmental management of festivals is not a competitive sport.