We’ll hear from Mark Laurie of The Nationwide Caterers Association (NCASS) who will shine a light on the amazing work of food salvage project, Eighth Plate, which enjoyed a triumphant revival in 2018, resulting in tons of would-be food waste used to feed those in need of nourishment elsewhere on the neighbourhood.

Eighth Plate have the aim of “redirecting” 100 tonnes of food and 400 tonnes of CO2 per year by 2020. So if you run a festival, event or any space generating food waste, come and find out how to incorporate food salvage and reduce food miles at your event this summer, at little-to-no financial cost!

Finally, we will hear from Nika Brunet from MetalDays (SI), about how even the burly security guards at their Metal Holiday event in the Slovenian mountains, love vegetarian days onsite.

Merch Ado About Nothing: In Search of Ethical Merch

One part of this panel, we will be asking why the ethics and impact of food has entered our collective consciousness (with most of us at least slightly aware of the positive and negative impacts of our food choices on the planet and our fellow inhabitants), but the ethics of our clothing are rarely considered. Yet clothing (unless you’re a naturist or have overdone the LSD) is one of our most basic needs.

How can we be sure our merchandise isn’t encouraging human rights’ abuse in the form of child labour, despicable working conditions and modern slavery? Or environmental degradation through the use of harmful chemicals, deforestation, and uncontrolled pollution to land and water in crop growing and dyes?

Are we producing items that are durable and likely to be used and cherished, or churning out tat destined for landfills, incinerators, or the ocean?

Merchandise allows artists to connection with fans and provides a vital income for artists and promoters – so how can we continue to provide affordable merch whilst still protecting the natural world?

Maeve O’Brien of Giant Triplets shares their work on Glastonbury Festival’s sustainability initiative the ‘Worthy Warriors’, alongside Oxfam and Greenpeace, plus Larmer Tree Festival and Ecotricity amongst others.

We are also joined by Richard Cassar from Ethical Tee Company who will share insight from over twenty years experience providing merchandise for the industry with clients such as The White Stripes, Adele, Lou Reed and Ben Harper.

Wellbeing for Delegates
Hosted by: Sytske Kamstra, How Many Yogis (UK)

Proving for the third year that it is possible to create a moment of calm despite a frantic schedule, IPM’s producer, Sytske Kamstra, provides a short beginners’ Anahata yoga session to encourage delegates (and crew) to slow down, be mindful and stretch… and not a leotard in sight. Returning yogis are welcome. No experience needed. Just breath.

Megan Woodworth is head of Resource Recovery at the impressively innovative engineer led company Loowatt. The marvel of a flush toilet without the water! Capturing waste for value-generating treatment. Don’t miss the latest and greatest from the company who have proudly processed >300 tons of human waste from events in utility-run facilities that generate energy.

What is on the horizon for the live industry across Europe, including future opportunities to collaborate? What are we doing as an industry to ensure that our strong and important relationships which defy borders grow, and that our message of unity resonates with the millions of people we reach every year? We hear from Holger Jan Schmidt, Meegan Jones and Paul Schurink about the inspiring international collaborations which exist, those which are launching, and the ones we dare to dream of.

A welcome opportunity to take a reflective moment and connect with your ‘Path of heart’, helping orientated your personal desires or goals within the bigger picture. Perhaps revealing the next step or stages that you might take on your journey towards a sustainable future.

A month later, the Event Safety Alliance ran the annual Event Safety Summit in Lititz, Pennsylvania. We asked two production specialists who attended to share what they took away from these two events with delegates of IPM and GEI.

This session will consider digital futures for specialist training, including how partnerships between academia and industry can effectively provide specific skills and knowledge to the live events industry, using online short-courses run by Falmouth University in conjunction with both A Greener Festival and Attitude Is Everything, as examples.Hosted by: Adrian Bossey, Falmouth University (UK).

The sixth edition of the Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds, also known as “The Green Guide,” is now available. The Green Guide helps sports ground owners and operators calculate a safe capacity for their venues and is used around the world by architects and designers as a best practice guide for the development and refurbishment of stadiums. The sixth edition offers the latest expert advice and technical specifications for ensuring a safe environment for spectators.In this session, Carl A H Martin will talk to former chair of the RICS Building Control Professional Group, Core Cities Group, Sunderland Stadium of Light Safety Advisory Group, Ken Scott, now Head of Inspectorate at the Sports Grounds Safety Authority, about the most recent changes and implications for the production industry in this latest document sharing best practice.

For years we have been talking (and worrying) about the education/training of the next generation of production people. In fact, the next generation are now well into their 30s, and there are plenty of twenty-somethings shaping up to put their mark on the production industry. During this round table, we’ll give a voice to the younger generations and provide them with the opportunity to discuss their visions for the future of event production. We’ll hear about their inspirational stories, learn which projects they have in the pipeline and perhaps most importantly, how they think we should go about creating a more sustainable future for this industry not to mention the rest of the planet. And in order to limit CO2 emissions and to set an example to the older generations a number of our panellists will be participating via the miracle of modern technology.

Chaired by: Rachel Haughey, Four Corners of the World Ltd (UK)

Speakers: Ash Perrin, Flying Seagull Project (UK); Shanthi Annan, Mandela Mile (UK); Holly Hutchings, Broadwick Live (UK); Raiché Mederick, Rchai Foundation (UK); Ayanda Sithebe, Africa Rising International Film Festival (SA); Lala Tuku, Africa Rising International Film Festival (SA)

Whilst many artists are passionate about reducing the impact of their touring shows, there is a clear disconnect between the aspirations and reality from all sides, as best intentions can get lost in the noise from venue to venue. We’ve seen time and time again how live events’ sustainability endeavours can stop suddenly when they reach the door of the artist’s dressing room. In response to growing interest and requests from artists to “green” their riders, Coda Agency has partnered with A Greener Festival to launch their Green Artists Rider. With Coda’s significant experience and reach, this move brings the industry a step closer to realising the elimination of single-use plastics; reducing waste; supporting ecologically and socially responsible food production; balancing emissions; and raising the overall bar for a greener and more sustainable live events industry.

Joined by Coda’s Alex Hardee, we will detail exactly what the Green Artist Rider entails and how it is being implemented, and we will invite all managers, agents, artists, promoters and venues to join and adopt a greener rider for their own shows and events, so that together we can make it the industry norm.Artist Manager Karin Koopmans will share with us the work of the Sam Feldt Foundation and the successes and trials experienced in moving the EDM scene towards a greener way of life. How have the organisation worked with Artists, touring and venues to realise their ambitions, and has it been well received or easy?!The green, green grass of roamingHow can a tour ever be greener when, by its very nature, it moves larger and larger crews and ever increasing stage sets around the world using oil?

We will be joined by Maarten Arkenbout from touring transport specialists Pieter Smit, who will help us shine a (head)light on the inner workings and pressures of keeping the live music industry rolling, in the face of our need to stop burning fossil fuels, and the major city emissions regulations that go with it. Pieter Smit have been pioneering the way in trying to stay ahead of this inevitable shift, with some interesting early engagement from bands.

Whatsmore, this is a tall and very colourful tower that clearly stands out from a festival; like a glowing beacon of the festivals creative and futuristic approach to sustainability. This year GEM will be built and tested on several festivals.Dieter Castelein of Battery power providers, Greener Power Solutions, gives insights to the capabilities of this growing storage of power on events. They have worked with clients such as Elrow, Milkshake, BMW and In to the Great Wide Open. Learn how to achieve “peak shavings” for your events power be that arena, festival or any temp power scenario.

With everything including internal and external communication, security footage, crowd management, weather information, RFID applications, environmental monitoring and much more dependent on reliable networks, how has the wired and wireless infrastructure and related services changed over the last 10-25 years and what are the expectations and innovations for the years to come?Hosted by:Charlie Brownridge, Spindlewood Ltd (UK)

The circular economy is no longer a niche concept but a very real model for how we can continue to exist without completely depleting our resources.Single-use plastics remain the hot sustainability topic with straw bans and bottle-top collections happening left, right and centre. Fabulous. But… what does this mean for the plethora of alternative materials being thrown at bars and caterers throughout the festival season, and for new operational models that implement reusables? Where is it ending up and what is “greener” in reality? We hear from Gareth Williams at Cropredy about their significant plastic reductions from actions following the AIF “Drastic on Plastics” CampaignMeanwhile, campsites around Europe are still left looking like cut scenes from post-apocalyptic horror movies, seemingly acceptable to the audience and leapt upon and perpetuated by media. But there are actions and collaborations emerging that will help improve, and hopefully overcome, this epidemic of consumer culture.For the last two years, over 30 festival organisers from around Europe have been meeting to discuss and exchange ideas on reducing so-called “campsite chaos” and their findings and initiatives will be reported at GEI11. What are the methods of improving the culture of festival waste, as well as the latest research into the behavioural psychology of campers, which has been compiled by A Greener Festival’s very own Teresa Moore. What will it take for people to realise that disposing of an entire camping set-up after three days of use cannot be offset by triumphantly refusing a plastic straw in a drink?Joined by packaging industry expert Ian Bates from Reel Brands will we hear about the latest research and initiatives that can help organisers take control of the materials flowing through their events. We challenge the eco claims of new and old materials on the market, and ask can we create a better way?

Last but no means least, we are joined by Pentatonic – an extremely forward looking operation – making the circular economy happen now. Taking the abundant resource of post-consumer and supply chain waste, they invent new materials to create high-performance product applications using their industry-leading proprietary technology. From their own product line to their partnerships with the world’s biggest brands, Pentatonic is proving the viability of circular product creation and supply chain implementation across a broad range of consumer categories. Let’s see how this can work for our events – making waste a resource.

A final opportunity to mix and mingle with fellow delegates of both GEI and IPM after a full day of conferencing. And this time, with a drink in hand.

Courtesy of IPM Sponsors: eps, Megaforce, EFM, LoudMusic