A Greener Future certifies Boom Festival, Primavera Sound, Festival De La Luz, and more among their list of 2023’s 36 most sustainable festivals.
While music festivals are often seen as an escape from reality and a space where we can be our truest selves, these large-scale events require a lot of money, equipment, and manpower to exist, which can leave behind quite a mark on our beloved planet. In recent years, there’s been more scrutiny around festivals across the world regularly leaving behind trash, camping gear, and more. Attendees are now becoming more aware of the ramifications that their favorite music festivals have on the environment, but few are taking action.
A Greener Future (AGF) is one organization determined to combat those ramifications. The Canada-based organization is a non-profit focusing on environmental sustainability and a mission to maintain a healthier environment. Their work consists of projects like cigarette butt collections, lake cleanups, and more. Along with their honorable volunteer work, they’ve also recently published their list of 2023’s most sustainable festivals, a certification that event planners highly regard.
The list consists of 36 festivals from across the world, with four possible categories including “Outstanding,” “Highly Commended,” “Commended,” and “Improvers.” Among the few certified as “Outstanding,” we see Boom Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival, Green Gathering, Oya Festivalen, Paradise City, and We Love Green. Meanwhile, following close behind in “Highly Commended” are festivals like BST Hyde Park, Cabaret Vert, Dockyard, Greenbelt, I Land Sound, Northside, and Sonidos Liquidos.
Following that, in the “Commended” category are festivals like the Primavera Sound Barcelona, Festival De La Luz, Green Man, Mystic Garden Festival, and more. Last but not least, in the “Improvers” category are festivals such as Boomtown Fair, Das Fest, Sziget Festival, We Out Here, and more. From Improvers to Highly Commended, all of these festivals are doing their part to care for the Earth and leave it as they found it, if not better.
Hats off to all festivals and events that are achieving this certification, which is no small feat. We not only need to prevent further pollution, waste, emissions and biodiversity loss, but we now also need to adapt to the changes already happening around us, as a result of climate change. These festivals and events are ahead of the curve and give many people hope, showing how we can all do things differently whilst having a tonne of fun at the same time.
A Greener Future CEO Claire O’Neill
Each festival certified by A Greener Future has gone through a process that includes a self-assessment, site visits, and post-event evidence and data provided to A Greener Future’s assessors. The festivals are then tested on 11 standards, including local ecosystems, community, travel, food, drinks, energy, waste, EDI, and governance. Following the certification of these festivals, the Green Events and Innovations conference will host the International AGF awards on February 27 in London, where the best-certified events will be rewarded.
While this list provides great insight into festival ethics across the world, it also provides an opportunity for reflection. One thing that stood out to us was the reality that there were zero American festivals certified by A Greener Future. As disappointing as that might be, it also provides an opportunity for American attendees to take action.
Whether that’s joining your local festival cleanup crew or tagging your favorite music festival and encouraging them to apply for certification, every action matters. We look forward to seeing more festivals certified in 2024 and hope for the first American festival!
