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WELCOME TO THE FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER

This month we highlight a bunch of online events focused on sustainability for you to join, and delve into managing uncertainty with festival pioneers Green Gathering. We welcome Sarah Bird in the Green Leaders Q&A, representing Wild Rumpus, who bring art, events and sustainability seamlesly together through their events.

We also hear from Charlie at Vision: 2025 about developing a green supplier directory, and from ecolibrium on the positive impacts of their climate solutions programmes in 2020. Enjoy, and stay in touch with your news and blog ideas.

GREEN LEADERS Q&A #10: Sarah Bird, Co-Director of Wild Rumpus

We welcome Sarah Bird to our Green Leaders Q&A this February, Sarah is Co-Director of Wild Rumpus; from their woodland HQ they produce a range of events and festivals that inspire audiences to connect to nature, including delivering Just So Festival in Cheshire and Timber in The National Forest. They are members of Without Walls and Sarah is on the board of Outdoor Arts UK & The Association of Festival Organisers (AFO). Read Sarah's answers HERE. 

In January Chris Rutherford, co-founder of Boomtown Fair took the Q&A read his answers HERE.

GUEST BLOG: EM WEIRDIGAN - FORGING AHEAD IN UNCERTAINTY

The Green Gathering (GG) is a pioneer off-grid, inclusive and sustainable festival in the UK, designed to be a space in which festival goers can explore new ways of living.

In this guest blog, Green Gathering Director, Em Weirdigan shares their journey to deciding to run the 2021 edition, navigating the restrictions imposed by the global pandemic, and why they believe that bringing the community together is so vital despite the difficulties presented by the uncertainties ahead. Read her blog HERE.

Photo credit: Green Gathering by Stefan Handy

GUEST Blog: Vision: 2025's Charlie Kingsley - BUILDING A NETWORK OF GREEN SUPPLIERS

Vision: 2025 team member Charlie Kingsley, has worked with us to begin building the Green Supplier Directory. Here he shares his views on why greening the supply chain is such a vital step in helping the Live Events Industry hit their environmental targets – and spotlights inspiring suppliers; Every Can Counts, Continest and Tuned in Travel, whose products and services help event organisers tackle the key issues of audience behaviour change around littering, and carbon emissions from transport. Read his blog HERE.

Photo credit: Tuned in Travel

EVENT: Vision: 2025 at #GEI13 'Fest foot forwards' panel

Vision: 2025 Chair, Chris Johnson, will be joining the online Green Events and Innovations Conference on Tues 2 March, for the Fest Foot Forwards panel, 9:20-10:10am in GEI Room 1. 

Chris joins panelists, Jenny Hamada (AEG Presents / BST Hyde Park), Teresa Moore (A Greener Festival) and Artur Mendes (Boom Festival) to identify the key goals that outdoor events can focus on in order to achieve significant emissions and waste reductions - and what support is available to make that happen. 

Discounted tickets to the 13th edition of GEI are available until the 19th February: HERE

EVENT: JULIE’S BICYCLE: THE COLOUR GREEN IN CONVERSATION

For the upcoming Comfort and Courage season, Julie's Bicycle  presents an exciting new instalment of The Colour Green in Conversation on Monday 8th March, 7:30pm - 8:30pm GMT.

Baroness Lola Young will converse with international climate lawyer, Farhana Yamin, and artist and musician, Gaika, to share their hopes, insights and inspiration around climate justice and culture for this crucial year of climate action. Sign up HERE.

Photo Credit: Angela Dennis - for the launch of The Colour Green podcast

ecolibrium: balancing event travel carbon in 2020

Despite the restrictions to events in 2020, event and music industry charity, ecolibrium continued to work with event, artists and supplier members to tackle travel emissions from their covid-safe events.

Carbon-balancing donations to their new programme Trees+ totalled 4,644 tCO2; protecting 11,286 acres of threatened rainforest, planting 15,641 trees in Northern Malawi and 12,390 trees in the UK.  Donations to their Energy Revolution programme, went to Low Carbon Hub to help them grow their portfolio of community-owned renewable energy projects in Oxfordshire.  Find out more about ecolibrium and how to get involved HERE.

Photo Credit: Forest Carbon, ecolibrium's UK planting site (2020) in Cumbria

AFO CONFERENCE: FULL AGENDA NOW LIVE | JOIN THE VISION:2025 PANEL - 'COUNTING WHAT MATTERS'

Join us for a Vision: 2025 hosted panel on measuring and recording environmental impacts, plus enjoy a whole day with a packed agenda, including plenty of insights into how to adapt to create covid safe events: Demystifying Streaming, Covid-Safe Ticketing and UK Music CEO on the impact of covid on live music and beyond. Full agenda and book HERE. 

OUR GREEN NEWS PICKS FROM THE EVENT SECTOR AND BEYOND

Here's what the Vision: 2025 team have been watching, listening to, and reading - or are looking forward to - this month:

'Why ‘ Don’t be a Tosser’ signs will not address the reasons people litter - blog by Sustainable Sidekicks Livvy Drake HERE.

Dutch government announces €300 million event insurance fund - in IQ Magazine HERE.

How Biden is reversing Trump's assault on the environment, in The Guardian, HERE.  

Want to tackle your digital footprint? Join this webinar by Green Tech on reducing your website's environmetnal impact: HERE.

Chris Johnson's Inspiring Environmental Podcasts of 2020, in case you missed it HERE. 

Join the Climate Change Committee's Path to Net Zero webinar series HERE.

Our Planet: Too Big To Fail: film exploring the role the finance sector can play in powering a sustainable future HERE.

Photo credit: Marcus Spiske @ Pexels

Powerful Thinking News: ZAP Concepts Smart Power Plan Tool

In this month’s blog Chair of Powerful Thinking, Tim Benson, shares sustainable event energy consultant Zap Concepts’ new Smart Power Plan Tool.  Developed over the last 12 months, and part funded by an Innovate UK grant, the tool is designed to help event organisers to take control of their power advancing & ensure onsite generation is matched to actual demand – enabling organisers to use alternatives to diesel generators and increase efficiency – reducing CO2 emissions by up to 80%. Read Tim's blog HERE.