Climate Action & the Festival Industry

Our project began with the aim to articulate a strategy for achieving agreed-upon environmental action goals among the membership of Festival City Adelaide, as well as a commitment to a five-year action plan and evaluation framework.

Several ambitions (broad KPIs) were identified among Festival City Adelaide members and other key stakeholders throughout the duration of this project, among them to:

go beyond zero to drawdown
leverage economies of scale to reduce costs
explore co-operative models to improve access to solutions,
increase confidence in data collection and measurement,
standardise reporting frameworks among the sector in South Australia,
collaborate on story-telling and audience communications,
go seasonal and plant-based, where possible,
advocate environmental sustainability leadership to foster systemic change.

Interviews, surveys, and site observations conducted by our project partner, Green Music Australia, demonstrated that most festivals have implemented environmental sustainability initiatives, particularly around waste management, but highlighted a lack of confidence in evaluation, auditing, and sustainability reporting – which underpin the sector’s credibility and reputation as a sustainable and climate actor.

Committing to sustainability action comes first, and support from festival boards and senior management is crucial to implementation.

Our Roadmap and Action Plan was launched in February 2024. You can download the Climate Action Roadmap here.

Hear from industry representatives below to learn more about what Festival City ADL partners and members are already doing and seeking to achieve.