Talking of A Greener Festival, which we were, that organisation, set up to encourage music events to be more eco-friendly, has announced which fests met their strict environmental standards this year.
As we've possibly previously reported, the Greener Festival Award is assessed via a seven part questionnaire which covers event management, travel and transport plans, CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, fair trade, waste management and recycling, water management and noise pollution. In total 23 UK festivals and 8 international festivals have been awarded the award, with six having their eco-policies dubbed "outstanding". Which is nice.
A Greener Festival co-founder Claire O'Neill told CMU: "This year applications for our awards more than doubled and this is fantastic news. More and more festivals are making the effort to go green and adopt environmentally friendly practices. Some festivals are still improving and going through a steep learning curve, others are old hands now who keep improving their green credentials year on year. The UK and international festival scene is now making a concerted effort to be leaders in changing behaviour to protect the environment".
The full list of 2008 winners is as follows ('outstanding' winners marked with a *):
UK festivals: Bestival, Big Chill, Big Session Festival, Camden Green Fair*, The Cambridge Folk Festival, Download, End of the Road, The Glade Festival, The Glastonbury Festival, Hard Rock Calling, Hydro Connect, Latitude, Leeds Festival, Leicester City Blues Festival, Lounge on the Farm, 02 Wireless Festival, Reading Festival, Shambala*, Summer Sundae Weekender, T In The Park, Waveform*, Workhouse Festival, 2000 Trees.
International festivals: The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival (USA)*, Rothbury Festival (USA)*, Bluesfest - Eastcoast Blues & Roots Festival (Australia), The Falls Festival (Australia), West Coast Blues n Roots Festival (Australia), Southbound (Australia), Electric Picnic (Ireland), Boom Festival (Portugal)*.