Talking of eco-friendly festivals, AGreenerFestival.com, the website that champions the introduction of environmentally friendly initiatives at music festivals and events, has announced the launch of a new award which it will give to any music event that fulfills a list of eco-friendly criteria. The aim is to further encourage festival promoters, who have already generally become much more environmentally aware in recent years, to introduce more sustainable eco-friendly practices, encouraged by the fact that festival-goers are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of major events they attend. To qualify for the award, promoters will have to satisfy a sixty question check list and commit to an A-Z of green priorities.
Co-founder of AGreenerFestival.com, Ben Challis, told reporters: "The Greener Festival 2007 award is to promote greening practices at music festivals. We don't expect festivals to be able to meet every single point on our check list but they must reach a minimum standard. They need at the very least to have a coherent transport and travel policy promoting public transport; they must consider ways to reduce waste and pollution; they must have recycling on site and they must protect the environment and protect wildlife".
He continued: "We also expect festivals to aspire to a 26 point action plan - our A-Z of going green - and by 2008 we really do hope that all UK festivals will have basic green policies and practices in place. Ultimately we expect all festivals to aim for a 'leave no trace' philosophy where their festival is totally green and leaves no impact on the environment".