The Green Deal Circular Festivals is rounding up by the end of this year, and we are very proud of what has been achieved. Since 2019, the Green Deal Circular Festivals has made significant strides in the transition towards a circular and climate neutral society, thanks to support from the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. More than 50 leading festivals from the Netherlands and 17 other European countries united in a movement that extends far beyond the festival sector.
Over the past six years, the festivals of the Green Deal Circular Festivals have built a collaborative network, developed and tested innovations, created sector-wide tools, and removed barriers. Serving not only the sector but society as a whole. Festivals have proven to be living laboratories for societal change. They make sustainable transitions visible, accessible, and inclusive for diverse audiences. As temporary communities, festivals bring together stakeholders who would otherwise never collaborate, creating unique opportunities to test innovations in real-world settings and scale them beyond festival grounds into broader society. They demonstrate that a sustainable future is not only necessary but also desirable and achievable.
Globally recognized pioneers call on Dutch national government
The Green Deal Circular Festivals participants have become globally recognized pioneers in sustainability and climate action. Both through their pioneering role in the events sector and their added value to society. Being part of GDCF has been crucial for frontrunners to take steps they would not have dared alone. The community provided the confidence to enter into complex cross-sectoral collaborations - with water boards, energy companies, start-ups, and research institutions - and to participate in ambitious programs such as EU Horizon projects. This collective strength turned individual festival initiatives into sector-wide movements.
During this year’s Amsterdam Dance Event, the participating festivals of the GDCF are calling on the Dutch government to maintain the momentum that has been created over the past five years.
Three concrete actions the sector calls for:
- Provide structural coordination: keep frontrunners connected and knowledge flowing;
- Shared challenges require shared commitment: leverage festivals as catalysts for societal change, as testing grounds for sustainable innovations, and as ecosystems that enable scaling;
- Remove barriers to innovation: maintain ongoing dialogue about the challenges frontrunners encounter and co-create solutions.
Supporting frontrunners is an investment in the entire sector: they remove barriers, test solutions, and develop widely applicable tools, ensuring that all festivals can benefit from the innovations achieved by those who dare to go first.
Important accomplishments
Two important deliverables that have been defined and developed by the Green Deal Circular Festivals are the GDCF Model and the GDCF Monitor. The GDCF Model defines circularity and climate neutrality with clear goals and targets. The GDCF Monitor is a measuring tool that tracks material and carbon impact across five themes, guiding festivals in refining strategies and accelerating their green transformation.
The participants of the Green Deal Circular Festivals achieved concrete breakthroughs across the five key themes that are defined in the GDCF Model. In mobility and transport, festivals like Mysteryland pioneered data-driven solutions to make sustainable travel the norm. In water management, cross-sector collaborations between festivals such as Zwarte Cross and SAIL, governments, and utilities improved water quality and resource management. Energy initiatives by festivals like DGTL removed barriers to grid access and hydrogen use. Materials projects with start-ups scaled circular solutions, from reusable tableware at Into The Great Wide Open to innovative waste recycling at Lowlands. In food and drinks, practical tools were developed to help festivals design more plant-based, local, and low-impact menus.
A complete overview of all that has been accomplished can be found on the GDCF website circularfestivals.com.
Proof of the pudding
By inviting the representative of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, we once again provided the proof of the pudding: bringing together all these passionate and dedicated frontrunners is showing results. One of the highlights of the day was when Ridder Haspels (Lago Lago Festival) handed over the GDCF Manifest - a collective call-to-action - to the Director General of the Ministry. With this gesture, the Green Deal Circular Festivals reaffirmed its commitment to collaboration and called on the government to acknowledge and embrace the momentum that has been created over the past years.
The best reaction came from Afke van Rijn, Director-General Environment and International Affairs of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, who shared how impressed she was by the sheer number of visitors, experts, and festival professionals who attended ADE Green. She emphasised how festivals demonstrate that climate neutrality and circularity can be both innovative and inspiring. Van Rijn also indicated that the Ministry will invite the Green Deal Circular Festivals to continue discussions on how to maintain this shared green momentum: “We recognize the questions that are being raised and see the value of having a conversation to reflect together on what has been learned and how we can best support each other in the transitions ahead.”
Looking ahead
The energy, creativity, and commitment displayed during ADE Green made it clear that the story of circular and climate neutral festivals is far from over. What began as an experiment has evolved into a proven model for sustainable collaboration: one that connects culture, innovation, and policy, and could be applied on a broader societal scale.
Maintaining this momentum means preserving a network, a movement that accelerates the sustainable transition far beyond the festival gates. The Green Deal Circular Festivals has shown what is possible when government and frontrunners work side by side. The next step is to secure the continuity of that collaboration: Ensuring that festivals remain engines of change in a world that urgently needs creativity and courage.