AUTUMN | FEATURE
Shambala ’ s environmental purpose
A tireless advocate of sustainable event progress , Chris Johnson is co-founder and sustainability lead of Shambala festival ( cap . 15,000 ), chair of Vision : 2025 and CEO of sustainable travel charity ecolibrium . He tells Access about the environmental learnings at Shambala , and the resources available for event organisers looking to make a difference
Words : Christopher Barrett
How integral has environmental sustainability been to the production of Shambala since the beginning , and how has that focus evolved ? Shambala emerged organically from a gathering of 100 friends in 1999 , gradually becoming a ‘ festival ’ that was called Shambala , and now with a capacity of 20,000 – we sometimes look back and wonder how this happened . In the early days it was very much a wild , yet respectful , party with circus , woodland arts , music , and ‘ the unexpected ’, partly because it was such an organic event . It didn ’ t start as a ‘ green ’ festival , but fairly early on , when many of us founders started having kids , being environmentally sustainable felt increasingly important , and became a core element of what we wanted the festival to be . As a group of five founders , we ’ re all more or less on the same page with where we stand on the big issues of our time , and on
Chris Johnson
climate we have been clear for years that being a festival is an opportunity to do more than just ‘ do it right ’, by pushing the boundaries and shouting about it , to inspire change . Shambala really isn ’ t primarily a business , it ’ s been an opportunity to live our lives with purpose - it ’ s an incredible privilege to be able to express ourselves in the world so powerfully and be part of a wider and diverse community in this endeavour .
What have been the biggest learnings along the way ? Being sustainable has been a constant learning journey . It ’ s a bit like mountain walking as a kid ; when every horizon reveals another ¬– being proud of the festival has replaced the bribe of Kendal Mint cake to keep going .
When an essential ingredient to success is how people behave , it can take time to really understand motivations , values etc to be well informed in campaign design and communications . Listening to people , surveys onsite and post-
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