NOVEMBER | FEATURE
Sustaining environmental progress
Access explores how festival operators can balance their environmental sustainability commitments with the need to accommodate anti-Covid-19 measures .
While the virus has all but
wiped out the festival season this year , it could well have a lasting impact not least in terms of the need for improved hygiene facilities .
As well as being co-founder , operations director and sustainability lead of the 15,000-capacity Shambala Festival , Chris Johnson is co-founder and chair of festival environmental initiatives Powerful Thinking and Vision : 2025 . He says no matter what happens next year festival operators will be under pressure to deliver increased hygiene and that will principally involve hand washing and sanitiser .
With that in mind Johnson is planning to extend the water infrastructure at Shambala to make more taps available , will dramatically increase the number of hand sanitiser points and invest in contactless hygiene facilities .
A Greener Festival ( AGF ) co-founder Claire O ’ Neill points out that the increased use of sanitiser will mean event organisers will need robust wastewater systems : “ The chemicals pose a threat to biological systems . Even if is an eco-antibacterial it is ultimately anti-bacteria . If those chemicals are
Words : Christopher Barrett
used , they should be processed properly and not end up on the land or in water courses before they ’ ve been treated .” She suggests hand sanitiser is positioned away from soap and water to prevent it getting into the water system : “ That ’ s partly for their efficacy anyway because sanitiser isn ’ t going to work so well with water .”
In order to help protect the significant environmental progress already made by festival operators , O ’ Neill helped set up a working group of festival organisers and invited suppliers to take part .
“ It ’ s the contractors that are on the ground knowing what ’ s happening in their sector and what new restrictions or changes are being demanded ,” says O ’ Neill .
While many anti-Covid-19 measures need to be carefully handled to prevent them negatively impacting the environment , others could have a positive side effect .
“ The World Health Organisation said aerosol plumes from toilets carry coronavirus , so there could be a problem with flushing toilets . That could present an opportunity to move towards waterless toilets , which would be a positive for sustainability ,” says O ’ Neill .
Chris Johnson
Claire O ’ Neill
Aside from a move away from public transport , Johnson is concerned about people being less willing to use reusable items at festivals .
“ Vision : 2025 is creating clear messaging so that festival organisers feel reassured that it is safe to continue to use reusables because otherwise that would be a huge setback . We ’ ve seen in the last three years the rapid adoption of reusables and that ’ s been a key win ,” he says .
Commercially adoptable systems to enable the safe use of reusables are already available and 115 health experts from 18 countries have signed a statement assuring retailers and consumers that reusables are safe during the pandemic .
Johnson says Bristol-based City To Sea has also made an impact . The not-for-profit organisation launched # ContactlessCoffee ; a campaign to encourage the continued use of reusable coffee cups : “ They initially got together with local retailers to pilot a safe way to serve coffee with reusables and then took it national with major chains . It ’ s completely adaptable for the festival sector .
“ Single-use plastic and transport are the two things which we ’ re really beginning to tackle as an industry and there is no reason Covid-19 should be a setback .”
“ Single-use plastic and transport are the two things which we ’ re really beginning to tackle as an industry and there is no reason Covid-19 should be a setback .”
Chris Johnson , Vison : 2025 / Shambala Festival
44