Welcome to the Vision: 2025 November newsletter. This month the climate crisis and strategies for tackling environmental impacts are headline news with all eyes on COP26 as global leaders renew committments and thrash out policy to enact change - with climate activists hot on their heels demanding clarity, honesty and ever more urgent action. Check our news section for updates from COP and read on for: 

• Green Leader Q&A with Ben Street, Director at The Wild Paths
• Vision: 2025 Conference round up - an insight into panels and discussion at The Showman's Show event last month
• Mitchell van Dooijeweerd, Sustainability Coordinator at DGTL talks to Green Events about circular economy at Elrow Town, Amsterdam
• Resource Spotlight: Reusable Cups at Events: Why it matters and how to do it
• Julie's Bicycle and Native Events launch the Creative Green Tools for Ireland
• Powerful Thinking's Tim Benson reviews the festival campsite power panel at the Vision: 2025 conference
• News and events from across the industry - with a focus on COP26. 

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

Ben Street has a unique breadth of perspective when it comes to the live events and music industry – as well as founding and directing Wild Paths, a 23 venue city-wide festival, he is a professional musician, runs a music promotions company, and is events manager at music venue Voodoo Daddy’s Showroom. Wild Paths has embedded their commitment to tackle climate issues into their programming and their practices, as well as challenging outdated attitudes surrounding gender and minority group representation.

This month we asked Ben about his inspiration, goals and challenges in terms of creating a sustainable event. Read the Q&A HERE

In September, Megan Best, Co-founder of Native Events and Ops Manager at Body & Soul Festival took the Q&A. Read her answers HERE.

The Vision: 2025 conference at the Showman's Show last month gathered event organisers, supplier members and visitors to share insights, updates and resources on how key stakeholders can work together to move towards more sustainable practices as an industry. 

Read the update and watch an overview of the day in this round up, including a synopsis of the 'industry briefings' on Net Zero, Energy, Travel and Reusable Cups at Events. Plus the Green Supplier Award, which saw reusable cup supplier 'One Planet One Chance' scoop first prize (pictured). Read the round up HERE

Our friends at Green Event NL sat down with Mitchell van Dooijeweerd, Sustainability Coordinator at DGTL Festival, and their Revolution Foundation, to talk about circular economy strategy for Elrow Town in Amsterdam, which ran just after restrictions were lifted in the Netherlands in September 2021.

Revolution Foundation and DGTL Festival have been leaders in event sustainability for many years, and circularity is at the heart of their approach. In this interview with champions of sustainable events in the Netherlands and across Europe, Green Events NL, Mitchell describes his role and how circular solutions were used to tackle everything from the food court to the legion of inflatable animals for which Elrow is renowned. Read it HERE.

Cube Modular, a Vision: 2025 Green Supplier member, has announced ecolibrium as its charity partner for 2022. Cube shares ecolibrium's mission in finding solutions to help the live events industry reduce carbon emissions from travel and transport - typically the biggest contributor to an event's overall carbon footprint. 

Both Cube Modular and ecolibrium will be at the Event Buyers Live conference, 29th Nov - 1st Dec, where ecolibrium will host a panel on tackling the environmental impacts of travel and transport at live events, bringing together environmental consultant, Liz Warwick (Lansdowne Warwick), Graham MacVoy (Site & Ops Manager, Boomtown Fair), Brandon Weston (MD, Cube Modular) and Naomi Lawson (Project Manager, ecolibrium). Together, they will discuss the challenges and look at strategies for reducing travel carbon emissions at events with a focus on innovation in the supply chain and how stakeholders across the sector can collaborate to create positive change. Find out more HERE.

Cube Modular are also hosting a panel at The UK Events Summit, 15th December, in Manchester: ‘Sustainability and your part in it' will feature Global Host Cities Director, Judith Rowan, guests from ecolibrium and the E-Bike Grand Prix Series, with more speakers tbc. Find out more HERE . 

The Guide to Reusable cups at Events was launched at the Vision: 2025 Conference at Showman's Show, Oct 20th, by Manchester City Council's Event Manager, Helen Harland.

The guide outlines the benefits of reusable cups, provides advice on how to manage reusable cup systems, and offers examples and tips from Manchester's event community. It is relevant for urban and greenfield sites, one-day and multiday events both large and small. It is also applicable for indoor event management, and of interest to anyone serving drinks in licensed premises. Download the guide HERE.

Native Events, Ireland’s driving force for events sustainability, and Creative Climate Charity Julie’s Bicycle EU, will launch the Creative Green Carbon Calculator for Ireland at 1pm on the 12th of November 2021. 

The event will give attendees an overview of Julie’s Bicycle carbon calculator, developed specifically for the creative industries, which will now be available for Irish arts, events and cultural activities organisations to use, including the conversion factors for CO2 emissions in Ireland’s unique energy mix. The event includes a live panel discussion with guests from the worlds of both the arts and sciences. Find out more and get your FREE ticket HERE. 

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:

Client Earth have released a 'Understanding COP26 Cheat Sheet' HERE

Outrage + Optimism Podcast - Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, Paul Dickinson and their guests comment on proceedings at COP26 in Glasgow HERE.

Shambala Festival explain COP26 in a nutshell with tips on how to get involved HERE

Events industry presents “Net Zero Carbon Events” pledge at COP26, 10th Nov, 109 business from across the world sign. Watch the livestream HERE

The Plate Up mini-series explores the role of food in climate, featuring Moby, Andrew Simms and Morgnaine Gaye HERE

George Monbiot in the Guardian - A reminder of the underlying causes of climate change + how we need to rethink everything to achieve a sustainable and equitable world, not just recycle HERE 

'Sounds Like a Plan' Podcast with Music Declares Emergency Founder Fay Milton and Journalist Greg Cochrane. Listen to a special episode 'COP26' – with Enter Shikari's Rou Reynolds recorded in Glasgow during the climate summit HERE

Music Declares Emergency: #SingTheChange Campaign: Watch and listen to choirs across the nation performing the iconic Louis Armstrong song ‘What A Wonderful World’ arranged by acclaimed choir leader Mark De-Lisser HERE

Coldplay announce their 12-point plan for sustainability for their Music of the Spheres tour HERE 

The Earthshot Prize for the environment, designed to incentivise change and help to repair our planet over the next ten years. Watch the five documentaries that showcase solutions to our planet’s greatest challenges HERE.

Join Wildscreen for Communicating COP26 a one-day hybrid event in Bristol and online,15 Nov 2021, interpreting the key messages of COP26 and providing a toolkit for storytellers to communicate climate science HERE.