As a growing community of European frontrunner festivals, we strive for fully circular and climate neutral festivals!

The Green Deal Circular Festivals (GDCF) is a cooperation of the Dutch government and a growing community of European frontrunner festivals, who have pulled together to speed up the transition towards circular and climate neutral festivals. The GDCF is facilitated by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment. It’s one of the over 300 Green Deals closed in The Netherlands since the start in 2011. GDCF was signed in 2019. So far, 49 festival organisations from 17 countries have signed this international Green Deal, and the community of front runners is growing. By signing the GDCF, participating festival organisers committed to strive for circularity and climate neutrality, to inspire visitors and set an example for other festivals.

We believe festivals can play a guiding role in inspiring a green movement and accelerate society’s transition. As a microcosm where all human needs come together, they are a model for regions, cities and other sectors in the circular and climate transition. As a society we can learn from technical and social innovations, culture and community building taking place on festivals.
 

Main goals of the GDCF

Our festivals strive for circular and climate neutral festivals by 2025. Our ultimately goals are:

• We fundamentally change the way we use materials at our festivals, by adopting Smart Resource Management. In line with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s widely used model for a circular economy, we rethink our productions in such a way, that we limit the need for unrenewable resources and materials, keep in circulation materials, and ‘design out’ waste. While aiming for the highest level of circularity, recycling and re-use are intermediate steps.
• ​We organize our festivals Net Zero, to reduce to ‘zero’ all carbon emissions related to our festivals, and across our supply chains and compensate unavoidable emissions.
• We positively contribute to the local Communities and Biodiversity, by designing-out any negative environmental impact and even enhancing the quality of the local environment of communities, habitats and ecosystems.

What we work on

The parties of the GDCF together shaped a model for circular and climate neutral festivals, to clearly define what a circular and climate neutral festival is. Inspired by this model, the festivals of the GDCF set their own priorities and plan how to become circular and climate neutral. Therefore, participating festivals develop their own roadmaps towards circularity and climate neutrality and use the GDCF Monitor to measure their progress. Together, they also develop concrete solutions to encounter challenges, through pilots and pioneering projects, and by sharing knowledge and tools which are vital in the sustainable transition of the sector.

1. Model for a circular & climate neutral festival: a joint future perspective for the sector
2. Support Festivals to develop their own roadmaps / sustainability plans
3. Online monitoring tool where festivals can measure their impact
4. Sharing best practices and lessons learned (see also the toolbox)
5. Support collaboration to innovate, break down barriers and scale-up successful solutions
6. Involving visitors to inspire them in sustainable choices and behavior
7. Connect with other events, sectors, regions & cities to enlarge our impact