The urgency of the climate crisis is ever-growing and the time for industry-wide sustainable transformation is now. Next to setting out to facilitate the exchange of knowledge to inspire innovative action, ESNS has joined the collaborative enterprise to amp up the sustainability efforts of European events and festivals. A lot of impactful knowledge and resources lie at our fingertips, reveals sustainability specialist Ian Tellam, what we need now is a collective strategy to transform it into collective action. Read on to discover which innovative efforts and EU-level corporate directives are marking strides in the path towards a sustainable future for the music sector.

Interview by Roxy Merrell

I work with all kinds of organisations. So I juggle roles across different companies. At Climate Analytics (www.climateanalytics.org), I'm a senior science advisor. I work on projects helping developing countries with climate science and policy. But I've also managed to mix my passion for music with my interest in sustainability. Through my own consulting company, Ecotunes (www.eco-tunes.com) I'm working to help make the music and creative industries sustainable.

Under the Green Deal Circular Festivals, I'm facilitating the development of a comprehensive sustainability strategy for the European events and festival sector, collaborating closely with recognised sustainability frontrunners to encourage the whole industry to strategize and implement environmentally responsible practices.

The sustainability frontrunners that I’m collaborating with are: A Greener Future, Earth Percent, ESNS, GDCF, Green Events, Green Music Initiative, Greener Events, Hope Solutions, Julie’s Bicycle, Lab Vlieland, Music Declares Emergency, Native Events, Vision 2025, and Yourope.

It's vital for the whole industry and events sector to develop strategic actions to make sustainable practices mainstream. Clear standards for measuring progress and aligning goals are needed. Facilitating the sector's transition to sustainability also requires accessible knowledge and tools. More effective communication between different stakeholders in the industry – improved dialogue and collaboration around sustainability issues between festivals, investors, management companies, suppliers and audiences – is also essential to achieve these objectives.

Climate change is manifesting in Europe in extreme weather events like storms and floods. These disruptive events are hitting businesses in their balance sheets, with total losses across Europe amounting to billions of euros.

This has moved sustainability beyond a concern advocated only by campaign groups. Large investors want to know how much their portfolios are at risk from climate change. And they're not just asking nicely – they have lobbied governments to put sustainability reporting into law, to make it a matter of regulatory compliance. New EU sustainability disclosure legislation came into force on this at the beginning of 2024. 

The European events and festivals sector needs to respond not only with sustainability reports that disclose environmental data for individual festivals and events. All stakeholders - festivals, investors, management companies, suppliers and audiences - need to work together closely to come up with a credible strategy to make the entire industry sustainable. And those that don’t participate in this effort will start losing the attention and money of investors and audiences. So, it's pretty clear: go green or risk losing out.

We are at a turning point that raises a big opportunity for the sector – a chance to creatively change the tide. Many European festivals and events are world leaders in showcasing sustainability through waste reduction and recycling, use of sustainable construction materials, eco-friendly transportation, efficient use of renewable energy, water conservation, and sustainable food options. 

This puts the sector in a prime position to lead, especially by finding ways to connect creatively with the anticipated creation of millions of new sustainability-related jobs. These jobs span across renewable energy, recycling and waste management, eco-design, green construction, water conservation, sustainable mobility, and sustainability education.

By embracing this opportunity, the European events and festivals sector can not only contribute to sustainability but can also play a crucial role in driving job creation in a new sustainable economy.