The TOOLKITS SERIES Festivals, Climate Change, and En­vi­ron­men­tal Sus­tain­abil­i­ty

We often think of festivals as ephemeral—a moment, distinct and different from ordinary life—events that happen then vanish. Of course, those in the festival world know this to be a half-truth; community engagement continues, core staff remain in place, perhaps venues continue to operate. There is the memory of the experience, the awards, and accolades (or the bad reviews), people have met, connections have been made, minds opened, stories shared. Festivals may be ephemeral, but their impact is lasting. This toolkit examines the lasting ecological impact of festivals and investigates what festival managers can do to minimize climate change and damage to the environment.

The toolkit is based on information gathered from a series of Ateliers and activities promoted by The Festival Academy, existing resources and knowledge produced by our alumni, mentors, experts & festival practitioners network. This toolkit is a work in progress, which is why it is intended that it will be developed and updated over time to build on experience and insights generated through future activities.The aim of this toolkit is to provide festival experts and sector practitioners access to information on current trends of Climate Change and Environmental sustainability, as well as relevant contextual information on the topic. This toolkit should enable readers to get insights and inspiration for addressing challenges of Climate Change and Environmental sustainability.