We recognise the interconnectedness of the community, music and the environment. Inspired by the spirit of folk traditions, we are committed to creating a festival experience that is kind to our planet.
We strive to find ways to become greener and more sustainable. We would like our wonderful audience to join us in reducing the negative impacts of a fabulous cultural festival.
Through our dedication to environmental sustainability, For 2024, we have identified four key environmental issues and corresponding objectives:
- Energy – reduce fossil fuel use on the event to a minimum
- Waste – we aim to minimise production of waste across all Góbéfest activities, during build and derig and throughout the festival. We will engage all artists and teams at the start of the process to ensure reuse and recycling is considered as early as possible
- Food & Drink – we aim to strengthen engagement with food and drink traders to ensure sustainable food options are available and waste is kept to a minimum
- Communications – we aim to communicate Góbéfest’s sustainable activities, both to those working behind the scenes, the participants and to the audience coming on the day. The approach will be to communicate how the event is doing its bit, in order to encourage individual action.
Measurable targets for each of the above have been set and include:
- 100% of power in event hubs will be from renewable sources
- 85% (minimum) of waste from the activity tent will be diverted to reuse/recycling (increase 80% in 2021)
- 100% of our food traders will demonstrate sustainable practices e.g. Fair Trade, locally sourced, seasonal, organic, animal welfare standards or sustainably sourced
- 0% Single Use Plastics allowed in our food and drink area, which means no single-use plastic drinks bottles, bags, straws, stirrers , sachets, cutlery, food containers/trays
- Reusable cups will be used at all bars
- We will be sharing our learning with our partner organisations to share good practice
- We will monitor the carbon footprint of the event.
Is it just about being green?
No, for us we aim to develop an event that’s wholly sustainable. Being sustainable for us means delivering an event that benefits local communities and the local economy, whilst minimising the negative impact on the environment.
What that means in practice:
- Social impact: Working closely with communities is at the heart of what we do and we continually strive to ensure Góbéfest can have the best possible effects on local communities.
- Economic impact: Being careful with our resources in order to achieve this is fundamental to all that we do, we strive to maximise the impact for the local economy.
- Environmental impact: Whilst we have a number of areas of good practice already, we are continuously reviewing all aspects of our environmental performance in order to continue to improve.
Raising Awareness of Forest Preservation
Protecting intact forests is one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions all while protecting the environment. While reforestation is important, conserving already intact forests is the most efficient and effective was of reducing GHG. Góbéfest aims to raise awareness of ancient forests in the UK and Europe. Transylvania is home to the largest remaining forest in Europe and Transylvania is a key theme within our festival.
Let us know if you have any thoughts or ideas on what we’re doing or could do, get in touch with us here
