More and more events are trying to be more sustainable. Most regular festivals are gradually approaching the topic – from waste separation to catering to mobility. The European Capital of Culture Bad Ischl – Salzkammergut 2024, on the other hand, has opted for a phased plan that is recommended for such extensive programs, because certifying all events would hardly be organizationally possible.
The opening of the Capital of Culture was certified as a leading event with the environmental label, the organization (company) itself bears the environmental label of the Climate Alliance Upper Austria, and for smaller events, for example, it is contractually stipulated that they must meet the minimum requirements for sustainable events, explains Christina Jaritsch, who is responsible for sustainability in the organization team. Since the Capital of Culture also deals extensively with the topic of sustainability in terms of content, the decision was obvious: “As soon as you work with these topics in terms of content, you should also deal with them operationally,” is her approach.
Regularly recurring events, on the other hand, usually work their way forward step by step: The Linz Ars Electronica Festival, for example, began working with the Upper Austria Climate Alliance in 2015 to develop criteria. Since 2022, it has been an official green event, says festival director Veronika Liebl. At that time, an explicit sustainability manager was hired for a year to develop a foundation on which it is now building. The Linz film festival Crossing Europe also began to address the issue of sustainability several years ago, initially with the “basics” such as waste separation, explains festival director Sabine Gebetsroither, but the circulation of printed matter has now been greatly reduced, and advertising and information have moved more online – “we used to throw away enormous amounts of flyers after the festival”. Flags and banners are later upcycled into gimmicks such as bags, etc. Liebl was also most surprised by “how far you can get with simple steps” – such as offering organic apples instead of classic festival goodies.
A completely new format is the OÖ KulturEXPO, a successor model to the state exhibition, which has implemented climate measures from the outset. “It was clear from the outset that green events and sustainability play a role and are taken into account. It is simply unthinkable not to think about it,” says Norbert Trawöger, artistic director of the OÖ KulturEXPO Anton Bruckner 2024. The development towards a green event is a process and is already being evaluated in order to be able to go one step further at the next KulturEXPO in 2027.
Costs are a major issue: At the beginning there were concerns about switching because it would become more expensive in the long term, said Ars director Liebl. But now there has been a rethink internally. “It was never questioned by our partners,” but contractual safeguards are necessary to ensure that the measures are implemented. At Crossing Europe, green mobility is particularly important: the team’s travel has largely been switched to train or bus and “we are also trying to be strict with guests from abroad,” said Gebetsroither, “so that perhaps a few fewer people come and stay longer.” But even if a cooperation with the ÖBB cushions some of the impact: “The costs have increased due to train travel,” in some cases doubled, “and you have to book very soon.”
In the case of the Capital of Culture, however, there is also potential for savings through sustainability: “It is a prejudice that sustainable is more expensive. It really balances out,” says Jaritsch. She points out, for example, that the disposal of separated waste by the waste associations is cheaper than that of residual waste by the municipalities, and that reusable tableware usually pays for itself after the third event. The fact that travel is being replaced by video conferences also has a gentle effect on the budget. Although it is not possible to do without travel entirely, because “as a Capital of Culture, we want to promote an international program and international exchange,” it was “never up for debate to fly someone in just for a keynote speech.”
Trawöger sees the many participating venues as an advantage at the KulturEXPO. “The whole country is a stage, the program is simply put together with local people and you don’t necessarily have to go anywhere, you can just see what’s happening there.”
Mobility is also “the biggest challenge” for the internationally oriented Ars Electronica Festival, admits Liebl. The “strict policy” is that up to 1,500 kilometers or ten hours of travel by train or public transport is required, both internally and for the artists and speakers. “That works where we invite people. With guests, we rely on education.” The biggest steps forward at Ars are being made with infrastructure measures such as the exhibition architecture. “We don’t use any new materials,” modular equipment was purchased many years ago, scaffolding is rented, the IPC containers that serve as signposts are donated by the Spitz company and are passed on after the festival. “It’s not sexy, but it’s very useful.” When it comes to technical equipment, too, “we try to rent everything.” Buying it is often cheaper, but some of the equipment is no longer usable after a year.
The buffet is also becoming more sustainable: Crossing Europe’s catering now uses reusable containers and the food is vegetarian or vegan – “some guests still complain a bit, but it’s getting better,” says Gebetsroither. However, only the buffets that the festival organizes itself are strictly meat-free; “we can’t prohibit partner venues from doing that.” The fact that they work a lot with external partners is also the reason why Crossing Europe “only” has the label of the Upper Austrian Climate Alliance and not the environmental label: “We try to really implement what is in our power,” but they often have to convince partners that sustainability is necessary. And they have no influence on the venues they rent. As far as she knows, there is currently only one certified hotel in the city center in Linz where they can accommodate guests.
Mobility at the venue is also a key point. The Ars Electronica festival pass is valid as a public transport ticket, and visitors’ requests for more bike racks are to be met this year. At Crossing Europe, an electric car for guests and a cargo bike will be used during the festival week. And the Capital of Culture never tires of encouraging its guests to travel by public transport – which is challenging for both sides due to the decentralized location.
The Garsten elementary school proved that even small events can be green events with its summer festival, organized by the parents’ association. Waste separation and waste avoidance proved to be the area where the – very committed – help of the guests was most important. “Despite meeting the criteria, the event was not significantly more expensive than last year,” said Nikolaus Koller from the parents’ association, who was surprised and announced that he would like to hold the next summer festival as a green event again.
Hannah Hofbauer from Pulswerk, a subsidiary of the Austrian Ecology Institute, which also certifies green events, also stresses the importance of communicating the individual measures – from accessibility to public transport and waste separation. There are “recurring patterns” of problems that organizers have at the beginning, she reports from her experience, often “the things that seem the simplest are the biggest challenge” – such as where to put the trash cans so that visitors can separate their waste, or switching to reusable containers. At least in the organizers’ perception, the change in catering is usually the biggest cost factor. It does happen that organizers withdraw because they do not have the resources, says Hofbauer. But “when they realize that they can do it, it becomes second nature.”
2024-07-28 04:28:58