Case Study - Glastonbury Festival Environmental Policy 2008

The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (Glastonbury Festival) recognises that running the event at Worthy Farm has a direct impact (both positive and negative) on the environment. The Festival is committed to enhancing the environment through our operations wherever possible and minimising any negative impact.

The Festival also commits to maintaining the rich and diverse environment that has evolved through alternative land usage.

This statement will focus on litter management, sewage management, management of the general ecology of the site and environmental messaging to festival goers. The Festival is committed to working with the grain of nature, not against it, and complying with all environmental legal requirements.

Litter Management. Any event with 150,000 attendees will generate significant levels of litter. The Festival is committed to minimising the amount of waste and managing the on-site collection of that waste efficiently. The Festival works to the key environmental management principle of "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle". The Festival is equally committed to quickly and effectively clearing any litter caused by the Festival in the local community.

The Festival is also committed to continuing the composting initiative developed in 2004, to minimise the amount of waste that goes to landfill. It is Festival policy that all disposables provided to food traders by Festival wholesalers will be biodegradable and manufactured in environmental friendly fashion. This is closely monitored and enforced.

The Festival will actively promote recycling to festival goers and will research further recycling options. The Festival achieved twice the 2004 MDC target and commits to exceeding the MDC target of 24% of recycled waste in 2005. This is a demanding target for a one-off event in a field, compared to domestic, industrial or commercial outlets with regular established collection practices.

Managing Sewage and Waste Water. The Festival commits to transporting sewage and waste water off-site, with the use of the lagoon as a temporary holding facility, in full consultation with the Environment Agency and Wessex Water.

The Festival undertakes to provide containers for waste water and direct all employees and traders that there should not be any discharge of contaminated water to surface or ground waters. This will continue to be closely monitored. All foul drainage from the market areas and traders premises will be collected and transported to the lagoon for subsequent disposal.

The Festival will protect watercourses to minimise the potential of pollution during the event and undertakes to provide more urinals and toilets than recommended by the Event Safety Guide, siting the additional facilities at potential pollution hot spots. The Festival will also monitor the streams during the event.

Managing the Ecology of the Site. The Festival is committed to maintaining the high level of bio-diversity that was found on the festival site by the independent bio-diversity audit carried out by Liz Biron of Somerset Environmental Records Centre in 2003.

The Festival will continue to try to increase both the abundance and diversity of wildlife by:

actively enhancing habitats on-site by tree planting, hedge planting, coppicing and hedge laying etc.

continuing to allow the process of succession from inherited improved grassland to more diverse unimproved grassland

allowing a significant level of agricultural weed species (docks and nettles etc) to exist on its core site

The Festival will continue to protect individual vulnerable species by establishing new temporary reserves on a need basis. This was successfully achieved in 2003 and 2004 by creating a new reserve within the core site for three deer trapped within the site by the perimeter fence.

The practical reality of this commitment is that the Festival, for the fifth year running, will be enhancing the environment of its core site by more trees and hedge planting at three locations on-site. The planting to date has brought the total number of native tree and hedge plants planted to over four thousand since 2000.

Environmental Messaging. The unique environment of the Festival brings together many Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and environmental groups, and through participation in the Festival, the public are exposed to many positive influences highlighting environmental values - and hopefully, influencing subsequent behaviour. Glastonbury Festival is committed to:

having a "Green" message central to future marketing campaigns that will dissuade festival goers from urinating in streams, ditches and hedges

including environmental messages in festival publications such as the Fine Guide, the programme, the daily paper and the Festival website, which have direct links to environmental and humanitarian organisations

using the screens at the main stages only to promote environmental and humanitarian messages

employing the services of environmental organisations in the running of the event, increasing the amounts these organisations can raise towards their objectives - and increasing their profile

Additionally, the Festival is committed to:

creating awareness among its employees and subcontractors about the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" mantra and the importance of minimising any negative impact on the environment

employing safe work practices, developing contingencies and implementing measures to prevent, eliminate or reduce pollution

encouraging festival-goers to use environmentally sound transport options, by promoting the use of public transport and lift share

(When the trees planted at Worthy over the last five years are taken into account as well, there is now a significant carbon sink.)

improving energy efficiency, seeking green alternatives where possible

The Festival will review the effectiveness of the implementation of the above on a regular basis and constantly seek to improve environmental performance according to the above criteria

Although the principles remain largely the same, the statement is revised and updated to reflect current needs and requirements. For further information on many aspects of the planning and management of Glastonbury Festival, including an extensive student information pack, please visit www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk.

Questions

Summarise the potential environmental impacts of Glastonbury Festival. How do these differ from an event taking place in a purpose-built venue?

Based on the case study, identify examples of what you consider to be best practice approaches to environmental management. Discuss why you have chosen these.

What other practical measures could the organisers consider to ensure that environmental impacts are minimised?