a circular festival model
offset + awareness
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Carbon offsetting is a widely adopted tool organisations around the world outsource to achieve a negative, neutral or reduced carbon footprint from business activities and events. It is an important factor in reducing impact, but research tells us there is a lot of room for improvement in the tree offsetting industry.
Guiding Principles
1. Offsetting is not required if you do not create the
carbon footprint in the first place
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the most successful way to avoid carbon creation, and the need for off-setting it is behavioral and event design strategies to avoid creating it.
2. The Blue Economy can be a more efficient and effective
means of offsetting carbon
Kelp is an emerging and viable way to offset carbon. It's not all about trees!
Charters + Policy
1. Close to Home
Offsetting should occur as physically and time-wise close to the event or impact location as possible.
2. Traceable and Transparent
Process of offsetting is transparent; site location, process (including labor and all sourcing) as
well as progress should be fully traceable. Remember to check out third-party auditors who can help certify the offset.
3. Mutualistically Beneficial
Offsetting must pose advantage to the environment not just the business. This may be through
reforestation, habitat creation, bio-diversity etc.
4. Real-time measuring
The actual amount of carbon offset at a point in time should be the promoted figure. Routinely updating the figure with progress is an appropriate and accurate measure.
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5. Minimise Transport
pre, during and post-festival. For staff. For artists. For patrons. Get the show, off the road.
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in detail
Phases for implementation are developed with reference to the planning, delivery and post-festival stages. We have ranked each step by impact and effort, to help you prioritise resourcing and investment in the objective.
phases for
implementation
priority
rank
p1
Behavioral Shift to Support Carbon Awareness
1. Promoting use of other methods of transport, or pooling;
2. encourage patrons to calculate their own carbon footprint
Consider Footprint of Site Location
1. consider opportunities to tap into existing systems of transport and resourcing. For example, urban sites compared to regional, can maximise existing public transport and bike routes and will require suppliers and supplies to travel less distance (and create less emissions).
2. consider site location relative to crew/staff base location.
Performance Acts Selection
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consider and measure artist location and transport to and from festival (calculate Co2 emission from aviation here)
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prioritise local artists or tap into existing artist tours
3.
4.
5.
Carbon Considered Food Systems
head to the food page of this model for detail.
6.
2.
Incentivise Public Transport Use
employ a rewards/ token-based (e.g. F&B token/ discount) system to which rewards patrons for using public transport.
Ensure this service is accessible (physical, psychological etc.)
Use Electric Vehicles
where viable for staff and crew transportation;
and patron transport
p2
Secure Bike Storage
create and promote free, secure bike storage on site to incentivise
Furniture and Asset Alternatives
utilise natural and local resources to replace transporting furniture/ assets. For example
Make it Difficult to Take a Car
making car parking inconvenient and expensive (with of course, accessibility exceptions) incentivises other modes of transport.
Overnight Experiences
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consider camping opportunities to avoid daily transport to and from the site, or otherwise provide public transport.
7.
8.
9.
11.
10.
Measure Carbon Footprint
(here is how) to quantify carbon needed for off-setting
1.
p3
Offset Carbon
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Before engaging with a third-party to offset unavoidable carbon, consider any opportunities for participatory engagement in offsetting carbon during the festival.
1.
opportunities / design propositions
See the full list
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Offsetting using the Blue Economy in Tasmania
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Live Tracking of Carbon Sequestered
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