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WELCOME TO THE September Vision: 2025 News Bulletin

Welcome back to the Vision: 2025 newsletter, after a brief hiatus in August, with many of us in the fields creating events! Amongst the challenges we sense real hope for returning to viability and building back greener, with significant shifts in commitment in the industry demonstrated by new Climate Actions Groups in the AIF and AFO, the launch of the LIVE Green vision, and the release of the Tyndall centre report. As we start to turn our attention to 2022, we're pleased to be able to share experiences, news and knowledge from across the industry.In this newsletter

  • Megan Best at Native Events and Body & Soul Ireland takes our Industry Green Leaders Q&A
  • Guest blog: Vision Nine's Kevin Moore shares this years innovations at Boardmasters
  • Vision: 2025 announce Showman's Show conference details.
  • The 2021 Industry Green Survey is launched in partnership with the AIF and AFO
  • Tyndall Centre x Massive Attack publish the Super Low Carbon Music report
  • Round-up of event sustainability training from across the industry
  • Event Buyers Live set to tackle travel emissions with ecolibrium
  • Powerful Thinking set to launch of Guide to Sustainable Power for Campsites.

Get in touch with your enquires and suggestions at info@vision2025.org.uk

GREEN LEADERS Q&A #16 - Megan Best, Native Events and Body&Soul Festival

Megan Best has spent the last decade at the helm of the Body&Soul Festival, the sustainability forerunner in Ireland’s festival scene. In 2017, she co-founded Native Events with the aim of accelerating sustainable event production in Ireland. Here Megan takes our Industry Green Leader Q&A sharing her sustainability challenges, highlights and inspiration, read her answers HERE.

In July, Em Weirdigan, Director at Green Gathering, took the Q&A. Read her answers HERE. 

Guest Blog: Kevin Moore, Festival Director at Vision Nine, shares Boardmasters’ approach to sustainability

In 2021, Boardmasters used an onsite waste sorting and recycling plant to increase recycling rates by minimising contamination and maximising efficiency. The plant also reduced HGV vehicle movements from site by 85% helping to cut Boardmasters’ overall carbon footprint.

In September’s guest blog Kevin Moore, Festival Director at Vision Nine, shares Boardmasters’ approach to sustainability - outlining their four key strategies to minimise impacts on the local environment and community and gives the detail on this year's recycling win. Read the blog HERE

Vision: 2025 returns to The Showman’s Show for ‘Journey to Net Zero’ conference

The first Vision: 2025 conference for two years will take place in person at Newbury Showground, 20th October 2021.

In the run up to COP26, the ‘Journey to Net Zero’ conference will bring together trail-blazers from the world of outdoor event sustainability to share knowledge, working practices and look at new products and services to support organisers and suppliers tackling environmental impacts on their journey towards carbon net zero.

The conference includes a series of industry briefings from leading experts and organisations on: Net Zero, tackling travel impacts, energy technology and bioplastics; a panel and Q&A dedicated to Net Zero hosted by Julie’s Bicycle; and Powerful Thinking will launch their Campsite Power Resource Pack for events. The conference once again hosts the Showman's Show Green Supplier Awards. Find out more and sign up to the free-to-attend event HERE.

Vision: 2025 launch the 2021 Event Industry Green Survey

The annual Event Industry Green Survey is now live, launched by the Vision: 2025 industry climate action group in partnership with the Association of Festival Organisers’ (AFO) and the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF).

The survey asks event organisers about environmental measures in place, challenges, and plans for the future, plus what resources are needed to make progress. It provides a vital picture of the sector's practices, to chart progress and to shape support for event organisers.

The survey takes around 5 minutes, and all participants will be entered into a raffle to win a free delegate place at the next AFO Conference. The survey is open until 15 October 2021.

TAKE THE SURVEY

RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT: Massive Attack and Tyndall Centre publish Roadmap to Super Low Carbon Live Music

Earlier this month, Massive Attack published an open resource for the music industry, the 'Roadmap to Super Low Carbon Live Music,' commissioned by the band and produced by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. 

As an immediate response to this research, Massive Attack have designed six major emissions reduction modules for their 2022 tour, to trial implementation and to bring all project learning together in a major UK testbed live show to proliferate change.

A full summary of the Tyndall Centre's key recommendations is now available HERE. 

Photo credit: Yannis Papanastasopoulos on Unsplash

Event Buyers Live partners with ecolibrium to tackle carbon emissions

Event Buyers Live (EBL), which takes place from November 29 – December 1, 2021, has partnered with ecolibrium, the events industry charity tackling travel emissions, to acknowledge and address the event’s travel carbon emissions.

Staff and speaker travel will be measured and reduced where possible with unavoidable emissions balanced through ecolibrium’s climate investment programmes, Energy Revolution and Trees+. Event attendees will also have the opportunity to calculate and balance their travel emissions. Find out more and book your place HERE. 

ROUND-UP OF TRAINING OPTIONS IN SUSTAINABILITY FOR EVENT Professionals

September = back-to-school and time to update your knowledge of carbon literacy and the latest research and practices for a sustainable live events and music industry. In a sign that the industry is maturing, there are now more options than ever for event professionals to skill up on sustainability:

  • ClimateEQ offers a day’s worth of certified Carbon Literacy learning that encompasses climate change science, context and action - geared to environmental issues facing the music industry for only £79 HERE
  • The Institute for Sustainable Events (ISE) offer a comprehensive range of professional online courses in sustainable event management with training, tools, templates, tips and support HERE
  • A Greener Festival Assessor Training in partnership with Falmouth University. Next date 4th Oct HERE 
  • Julie's Bicycle's Creative Climate Literacy 101 - A series of introductory webinars on creative climate action HERE
  • Vision: 2025 Resource Hub: From dealing with campsite waste to how to measure key environmental impacts; search by theme or resource type to find the latest event sustainability info HERE. 

OUR GREEN NEWS PICKS FROM THE EVENT SECTOR AND BEYOND

More news from across the Live Events Industry, including jobs, blogs, reports and what the Vision: 2025 team have been watching, listening to, and reading this month:

LIVE Green Festivals session available to watch back, led by Julie's Bicycle's Chiara Badiali HERE

Music Declares Emergency's Music Climate Blowout: Event in London, Oct 17. Find out more HERE

Net Zero - a North Star for Climate Action in the Outdoor Events Industry? Chris Johnson discusses HERE

The UK’s live music industry launches the Beyond Zero Declaration – a commitment to reach net zero emissions by the year 2030. Article in Access All Areas HERE 

Jon Richardson and the Futurenauts Podcast: The Future of economics featuring Doughnut Economics founder Kate Raworth. Listen HERE

Sounds like a plan podcast: Music Declares Emergency Co-Founder Fay Milton and music journalist Greg Cochrane speak with Festival Republic's Melvin Benn HERE

Crystals, Clits & Consciousness Podcast S2 E21 featuring Ed Gillespie on 'Consciousness and Capitalism' HERE

New report by ReThinkX details how disruptive transformation of energy, transportation and food systems can slash 90% of carbon emissions by 2035, and hit net zero by 2040 HERE. 

POWERFUL THINKING TO LAUNCH GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE FESTIVAL CAMPSITE POWER @ SHOWMAN'S SHOW 2021

Powerful Thinking will launch a guide on sustainably powering festival campsites, at this year’s Showman’s Show as part of the Vision: 2025 Conference on Wednesday 20th October.

The Campsite Power Guide is the first in a series of new Powerful Thinking resources that aim to hasten the move to sustainable power solutions at events – and comes in response to organisers hosting glamping events in place of their regular shows throughout the Covid pandemic.

In this month’s blog Tim Benson shares details of the Powerful Thinking session at the Vision: 2025 Conference as well as giving us a power supplier’s insight into the summer event season, which saw huge pressure on the supply chain - and challenged organisers conviction to ‘build back better’ - as the industry went into overdrive to squeeze shows into just a few months after restrictions were eased in July. Read the blog HERE.