Top names from the live entertainment and environmental fields assembled today for the 17th edition of Green Events and Innovations (GEI17), the leading conference for event sustainability.

Organised by A Greener Future (AGF) in partnership with the International Live Music Conference (ILMC), the event attracted hundreds of delegates to London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel, kicking off ILMC Week.

Headline session Act 1.5 and Beyond focused on the groundbreaking work of Massive Attack and their collaborators, following their huge proof-of-concept show in Bristol last year, and UN Accelerator City being awarded to Liverpool in 2024. Hosted by AGF’s Claire O’Neill, the session featured environmentalist Dale Vince (Ecotricity/Forest Green Rovers) and professor of climate and energy policy Carly McLachlan (Tyndall Centre), plus special guest – writer and Act 1.5 lead producer Mark Donne.

“The theory and critique was important, but we didn’t want to just produce reports… [the idea was to] bring as many identities together and create a proof-of-concept show,” said Donne. “We know it works, we know fans want to do it and buy into it, but how do you begin to proliferate this stuff? How do you scale it? How do you work with government and authorities?”

Held last August on Clifton Downs, the 32,000-cap Massive Attack gig was powered by 100% renewable energy and has now been confirmed as breaking a world record for producing the lowest ever carbon emissions.

“We went about it by initially developing this super low carbon live music roadmap, which was setting out some targets for different areas of emissions,” explained McLachlan. “Act 1.5 in Bristol last summer was putting the elements of the road map into practice.

“The thing for us as scientists working with Act 1.5 as a partner is that they wanted to get stuck in there. This collaborative process was really central.”

“Act 1.5 has demonstrated that it is possible to run a significant outdoor event entirely from batteries without any diesel generator back up”

McLachlan has co-authored a newly published report reviewing the performance of the Act 1.5 show against the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Super-Low Carbon Live Music Roadmap.

The report concludes that Act 1.5 “demonstrated that it is possible to run a significant outdoor event entirely from batteries without any diesel generator back up”, adding that: “Emissions associated with onsite electricity were at least 81% lower than the counterfactual event running on diesel generators.”

AGF was responsible for advanced planning, on-site sustainability management and coordination, post-event analysis and reporting for the concert. Donne revealed the show was originally planned for Liverpool, but switched to Bristol to serve as a homecoming for Massive Attack.

“Part of the reason why Massive Attack decided to do the show in the Downs was because there’s an existing festival there [Forwards], which is run by Team Love, who are effectively our hosts, and they were every bit as committed as we were in this initiative,” added Donne.

The GEI panel stressed the need to “break down barriers” with the wider industry, so that others can follow the example.

“We’re down here talking about sustainability, they’re talking about something else,” said Donne. “We need to be in the same room. They wouldn’t exist without everyone in this room, and we need to break that barrier down and stop having reductive conversations about individual exercises. We need to talk to the government, but world leaders making hundreds of millions of pounds in profit every year need to start stepping up.”

Act 1.5 also included a 100% vegan menu, while extra trains and free EV buses were organised for the audience.

“Foods brought a 90% reduction in emissions. Artist travel [saw a] 73% reduction,” said McLachlan.

“GWR [Great Western Railway] were amazing to work with,” said Donne. “We want to get to a position quite quickly where we can partner with a show and there is a rail presale of 48 hours with something like GB Rail being the sponsor.”

“There wasn’t much choice when it came to food & beverage 20 years ago”

Asked about other initiatives similar to Act 1.5, McLachlan added: “We heard a lot from others we interviewed that often in production, there’s good intent in the beginning, but then you hit some bumps. There’s pressure from commercial and time aspect, but you have to find a solution that’s in that super low carbon space.”

Earlier, the opening Food & Drinks: Impacts & Emotions – The Cow in the Room session explored the impact of sustainable food & beverage within the live event industry. It heard that while the easiest issue to solve on a practical level, F&B has long faced resistance from profit-driven companies and event audiences who are hesitant to attempt plant-based alternatives that would greatly reduce their carbon footprints.

“There wasn’t much choice when it came to food & beverage 20 years ago, but what we’ve noticed over the past five to eight years, especially from the younger generation, is a huge drive towards wellness and understanding the provenance of product,” said Adam Hempenstall of festivals & events bar operator Peppermint. “There are more indie breweries such as Small Beer and Purity that are producing more information and are being more transparent about the carbon footprint of their processes, and there is absolutely a higher interest in locally-produced F&B nowadays.”

While the focus of the Events in the New Climate: Damage Limitation panel was on the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles last month, Megan Best of Native Events recalled her experiences being at festivals such Co Kildare’s Forever Young in Ireland as an example of the ruinous effects that extreme weather has on live events.

“These extreme weather events are tough enough for us when it comes to the human & financial cost, but there’s a huge natural cost as well,” she explained, adding that we have quickly gotten used to “once having a wet Glastonbury, to enduring more intense tropical rainfall over the last decade”.

Further panel reports from GEI17 will appear in IQ in the coming days.

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Massive Attack is set to deliver a 100% battery-powered festival headline set during the inaugural LIDO Festival in London this summer.

The British duo, comprised of Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja and Grant ‘Daddy G’ Marshall, will expand on their Act 1.5 show series during the AEG-backed event. Last year, the group pioneered decarbonised live music events with shows in their native Bristol and Liverpool.

In partnership with clean energy provider Ecotricity, the hip-hop group plans to deliver a historic day in the UK capital, their first London festival show in nearly a decade.

“To present London’s first ever 100% battery-powered festival day with a dynamic range of artists is an optimum outcome for us. History shows it’s often the combination of art and science that overcomes the greatest challenges we face, so it’s good to see LIDO take learnings from our ACT1.5 event last year and apply those technologies to where they see emissions coming from,” Del Naja says.

“Clean productions beginning this journey to normalisation is good news for everyone, but especially for music fans that come to festivals and the local communities that live around them.”

LIDO is part of AEG’s efforts toward “a broader adoption of industry-leading sustainability principles across AEG European Festivals”, says Jim King, AEG Presents’ CEO of European Festivals.

“Big changes require both courage and determination, and I cannot speak highly enough of Massive Attack and their team for embracing the challenge of launching this important initiative. AEG was fortunate to collaborate with Massive Attack on the ACT 1.5 event in Bristol last summer, which set the standard and inspired our team to continue the work they have started at LIDO,” he says.

“A new line has been drawn in the sand for what we expect of events of all sizes”

Following the initial Bristol performance, A Greener Future’s Claire O’Neill hailed the climate-action concert as a “new dawn” for sustainable events.

“A new line has been drawn in the sand for what we expect of events of all sizes, and what can be done when you really put your mind to it, and your money where your mouth is. I think that we’re going to see fewer and fewer diesel generators being used in the coming years, finally,” she said at the time.

O’Neill will deliver a session on Act 1.5 and the future of battery-power events during both the Green Events and Innovations Conference next Tuesday, 25 February and ILMC Futures Forum next Friday, 28 February.

Support for the day will come from French duo Air, Yasiin Bey, and The Alchemist are FORENSICS, with additional names to be announced. Massive Attack round out LIDO’s headliners, and join Jamie xx (Saturday 7 June), OUTBREAK Fest (Friday 13 June), Charli xcx’s own party girl festival (Saturday 14 June) and London Grammar (Sunday 15 June) for the inaugural event.

Sustainability is at the forefront of some UK events this year, with Boomtown launching a hydrogen-powered stage in partnership with Hydrologiq. Organisers claim they will be the first major UK festival to host a stage of this nature.

The effort adds to previous efforts between the partners, as Hydrologiq provided power to the public transport hub via a hydrogen-powered generator for the festival and the week preceding in 2022.

This year’s edition, set for 6-10 August, will feature Maribou State, the Sex Pistols ft. Frank Carter, Sean Paul, Overmono, Hybrid Minds, Nia Archives, and more.

Festivals in Norway, Germany, the US, the UK, and Brazil have added a variety of names

In additional festival news, lineups across the world have added a variety of names.

Norway’s Øyafestivalen has recently added Mk.gee, BICEP, Lola Young, Kelly Lee Owens, Anna of the North, and Yung Lean & Bladee to its impressive lineup. The 6-9 August event will be headlined by Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, and Queens of the Stone Age.

The UK’s Rock N Roll Circus will also boast Queens of the Stone Age, along with the Viagra Boys, Fat Dog, the Bug Club, and So Good in Sheffield on 27 August. They join Reverend and The Makers, headlining another day in Sheffield, along with McFly, Courteneers, Olly Murs, Sam Ryder, and more for the three-day Norwich edition of the festival.

Norway’s Bergenfest has finalised its lineup, adding names including Lucy Dacus, Anna of the North, Lambrini Girls, Confidence Man, 070 Shake, The Wombats, and Princess Nokia. The four-day festival, set on the grounds of a medieval castle and fortress in the Bergen city centre, returns from 11-14 June and will be led by Alanis Morissette, Roxette, The The, Kjartan Lauritzen, Benjamin Ingrosso, and Aurora.

Germany’s Parookaville, set for 18-20 July, has announced Alok, Artbat, Felix Jaehn, and Kshmr will join as headliners, adding to a programme led by Afrojack, Armin van Buuren, Steve Aoki, and more.

Mariah Carey, Jessie J, and Camilla Cabello will head up Brazil’s The Town in September

Hamburg’s MS Dockville will be headed up by Raye, alongside The Last Dinner Party, Lola Young, Royel Otis, Sigrid, Peter Doherty, and Milleniumkid. The two-day festival will take place from 15-16 August.

The US’s Oceans Calling will see Green Day, Lenny Kravitz, Noah Kahan, Vampire Weekend, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer top the bill, along with co-organisers O.A.R. The C3 Presents-backed festival lands in Ocean City, Maryland from 26-28 September.

Across the country, FairWell Festival will return to Oregon from 18-19 July, led by Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson. Dwight Yoakam, Sierra Farrell, Cody Jinks, Koe Wetzel, Flatland Cavalry, Tanya Tucker, and Ludacris will also perform.

The UK’s End of The Road recently added nearly 100 names to its 28-31 August event, including Viagra Boys, The National frontman Matt Berninger, DIIV, Christopher Owens, Katy J Pearson, Mabe Fratti, and Sofia Kourtesis. Caribou, Father John Misty, Self Esteem, and Black Country, New Road will also feature.

Nottinghamshire’s Forbidden Forest has unveiled the second phase of its lineup, adding Marco Carola, Andy C, I Hate Models, Sam Divine, Sota, and Charlie Sparks to its 29 May-1 June event.

And Brazil’s The Town will return this September, with Mariah Carey, Jessie J, Camilla Cabello, and Ivete Sangalo revealed as the São Paulo festival’s first stars.

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The Green Events and Innovations Conference (GEI17) has unveiled its full agenda, featuring speakers such as Moby, Dale Vince OBE, Declan McKenna and award-winning musician and activist Madame Gandhi.

The leading conference for event sustainability is organised by A Greener Future (AGF) in partnership with the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) and takes place on Tuesday 25 February 2025 at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel.

It has been announced that the highly anticipated EarthPercent Hour will include a keynote conversation between the foundation’s CEO Cathy Runciman and renowned artists Moby and Declan McKenna.

Another headline session Act 1.5 and Beyond, focuses on the groundbreaking work of Massive Attack and their collaborators, following their huge proof-of-concept show in Bristol, and UN Accelerator City being awarded to Liverpool in 2024. Hosted by Claire O’Neill (A Greener Future), the session will feature environmentalist Dale Vince (Ecotricity/Forest Green Rovers) and professor of climate and energy policy Carly McLachlan (Tyndall Centre).

Tackling increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather, Events in the New Climate: Damage Limitation will be chaired by Greg Cochrane (journalist and broadcaster). He will be joined by Dr Clair Barnes (World Weather Attribution/Imperial College London), Erik Distler (AEG), Steven Howell (Media Insurance Brokers) and Megan Best (Native Events).

A Greener Tour Round V, which tackles the impact of touring, will be chaired by AGF’s head of a greener tour and Massive Attack tour manager Jamal Chalabi, who will be joined by Richard Burnett (KB Event), Christof Huber (Gadget Entertainment Group AG), and Vanessa Govinden (Offshoot Tours).

Global Perspectives and Common Cause, hosted by Sangeeta Waldron (Serendipity PR), explores the issues we face collectively and individually that create division and intolerance, and how the events sector can use its influence and be an agent for good.

The day rounds up with the International AGF Awards 2025

Food & Drink: Impacts and Emotions addresses the impact of event/tour catering, commercial and emotional resistance to change, and the solutions, chaired by punk legend John Robb (Membranes/Louder Than War), with Dale Vince OBE (Ecotricity/Forest Green Rovers), Adam Hempenstall (Peppermint), Tobias Azizah (Meta/Vegetarian Society) and Bonnie May (Eat to the Beat).

Water & Sanitation: Getting out of the Shit delves deep into the urgent topic of water scarcity and national sewage overflowing into our waterways, with Glastonbury Festival and Boomtown’s head of sanitation Jane Healy.

Also on the agenda is the topic of DEI in sustainability with No Climate Action Without Us – How to make disabled people’s access to live events environmentally sustainable chaired by Suzanne Bull MBE, founder of Attitude is Everything, and The Social Sustainability of EDI in Festivals: Challenge or Opportunity hosted by AEME Chair Adrian Bossey (Falmouth University).

The lineup for the Quick-Fire Innovation Round, in which delegates present their innovative products or services, will be hosted by Abena Fairweather (Legacy Marketplace) and includes presentations by Sounds Right, Mycofilter, Wheelskeep, and A Good Thing with their innovations for a greener live sector.

The day rounds up with the International AGF Awards 2025 sponsored by Skydiamond and hosted by Madame Gandhi and AGF CEO Claire O’Neill. Finalists span 34 events, venues, and innovators from 14 countries.

GEI17 is supported by platinum sponsor Ecotricity, gold sponsor TAIT, and silver sponsor The O2, with EarthPercent as charity partner.

Click here for more info. See the full programme here and speakers here.

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Several arenas and venues across the UK and Europe have earned A Greener Future (AGF) certification by demonstrating their commitment to sustainability in 2024.

These include London’s The O2 (cap. 20,000), Glasgow’s OVO Hydro (14,300), Hamburg’s Barclays Arena (15,000), Leeds’ first direct arena (13,781), Berlin’s Uber Arena (17,000) and Uber Eats Music Hall (4,500) and ABBA Voyage London (3,000).

The certification is awarded by A Greener Festival (AGF), a not-for-profit company and sustainability expert, dedicated to helping events, festivals, and venues around the world to become more sustainable.

“We’re really happy to see the increasing uptake of venues aspiring to be greener. What is most important are the actions these venues are taking to improve touring and their impacts on the local and global environment,” says AGF CEO Claire O’Neill.

“These venues have a significant platform which can influence and speed up the green transition of the event sector, something that we so urgently need to do.”

AGF Certification is the world’s first and most comprehensive standard for sustainability in the live events sector, for festivals, events and arenas, reducing waste, emissions, and enhancing equality and biodiversity.

The 5,147-capacity New Lawn Stadium in Gloucestershire, which primarily plays host to the Forest Green Rovers football club, reclaimed its ‘outstanding’ certification and staked its claim as the only venue to earn the distinction.

“Finding sustainable ways to execute live events is essential to the future of our industry”

“Forest Green Rovers are pleased to have once again achieved Outstanding in our annual AGF certification – which is surely the toughest standard in the world today. We were the first to achieve this level and are still the only one – we encourage all other arenas to up their game and join us in the stratosphere of greenness,” says Dale Vince, chairman of the club.

OVO Hydro and The O2 both earned ‘commended’ certifications, with the London arena having a bumper year full of new initiatives from pioneering carbon-removal events to optimising energy efficiency and improving waste management programmes.

“Finding sustainable ways to execute live events, that don’t compromise on the fan or artist experience, is essential to the future of our industry,” says Sam Booth, AEG Europe director of sustainability. “AEG Europe has made huge strides in driving the sustainability agenda in the live industry forward on a global scale, from hosting the world’s first carbon-removed arena events at The O2, to rolling out an in-house reusable cup system across our three German venues.

“We’re so proud to have our achievements across London’s The O2, Berlin’s Uber Arena and Uber Eats Music Hall, and Hamburg’s Barclays Arena recognised by A Greener Future, and are committed to innovating and building on this work as we continue on our path to net zero,” he adds.

“We can’t wait to get further initiatives in place in 2025 to help towards a more sustainable future”

Five venues took home the ‘improver’ certification: ABBA Voyage London, Barclays Arena, first direct arena, Uber Arena, and Uber Eats Music Hall.

“It has been a hugely rewarding process working through AGF’s A Greener Arena certification,” says Kerryn Duckworth, head of operations at first direct arena. “The detailed application process has helped all teams within the arena evaluate our approach to environmental sustainability. It has provided us with a better understanding of what we do well and what areas we can focus on to reduce our emissions and waste further. We can’t wait to get further initiatives in place in 2025 to help towards a more sustainable future.”

To be certified, venues undertake a thorough assessment based upon the AGF Framework, including self-assessment, site visits, and post-event evidence and data submitted to AGF assessors for an independent auditors’ report.

The AGF Framework includes 11 key themes, including local environments & community, travel, food, energy, water, waste, EDI, and governance.

Accolades were recently rolled out for events, with the UK’s Green Gathering, Norway’s Øya Festival, Belgium’s Paradise City, and France’s We Love Green awarded the highest honours.

The International AGF Awards, where certified events across a range of green categories will be crowned, will return on 25 February in London. The awards take place directly after the Green Events & Innovations (GEI17) conference, held in partnership with the ILMC.

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The O2 in London has announced that it has been awarded ‘Commended’ status as ‘A Greener Arena’.

The certification is awarded by A Greener Festival (AGF), a not-for-profit company and sustainability expert, dedicated to helping events, festivals, and venues around the world to become more sustainable.

The ‘Commended’ status recognises arenas that show ‘demonstrable improvements’ and ‘a significant engagement in reducing negative environmental and social impacts’.

This certification follows a year of sustainability initiatives at The O2. In February, the AEG Europe venue made history by hosting the world’s first carbon-removed arena events at The 1975’s four headline shows, resulting in the extraction and removal of 545.9 tonnes.

The venue has also optimised energy efficiencies within the arena and made ‘significant’ enhancements to waste management, with the full deployment of reusable cups and the installation of new waste sorting facilities both back and front-of-house.

“We’ve made incredible strides at The O2 this year”

On its path to net zero, the 20,000-capacity arena has invested in electric powered vehicles to eradicate its fossil fuel emissions altogether, with works continuing into 2025 with the installation of electric forklifts for use across the full site.

“From history-making moments like our carbon removed events, to the essential works we’ve done behind the scenes to create efficiencies and minimise waste and emissions, we’ve made incredible strides at The O2 this year and we’re proud to have this recognised by A Greener Future,” says Sam Booth, director of sustainability at AEG Europe.

“The path to net zero is one that is constantly evolving, and we’re committed to continued innovation so that we can deliver world-class, sustainable events for our fans, bands, and brands.”

Claire O’Neil, CEO at A Greener Future, adds “We’re really happy for The O2 and want to congratulate their team for all of their efforts to run a greener arena. When one of the most iconic venues takes visible action for a more sustainable live sector it reverberates throughout the industry. With all shoulders to the wheel, we look forward to seeing what will come next!”

In 2022, The O2 became the first arena in England to achieve its Greener Arena certification.

The O2 recently announced record-breaking ticket sales in 2024, with over 2.6 million tickets sold – a 3.5% uplift on 2023’s previously unsurpassed figure.

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The Green Events and Innovations Conference (GEI17) has confirmed more panels and speakers for its upcoming 17th edition.

The leading conference for event sustainability is organised by A Greener Future (AGF) in partnership with the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) and will take place on Tuesday, 25 February 2025 – the day before ILMC – at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel.

With a key theme of Biodiversity, Marie Sabot (We Love Green) and Hortense Serret (CESCO/Nabi Ecology) will offer a window into the work of the French festival and its home city of Paris in dealing with the ecological protection and enhancement at the event’s site and surrounding area.

AGG’s Nikita Coulter will present the National Arenas Association (NAA) Green Guide alongside the NAA, while A Greener Tour Round V session will see representatives from various parts of the live ecosystem look for collaborative solutions for improving the impact of touring.

Plus, Dale Vince (Ecotricity/Forest Green Rovers), Roxy Erickson (Music Climate Pact) and Claire O’Neill (AGF/Grid Faeries) will explore the latest technologies and solutions for power and removing diesel from events and film productions.

“We’re very excited with how the programme is shaping up with such important topics for the 17th edition,” says AGF CEO Claire O’Neill. “We’re looking forward to hosting the inspiring GEI community, including this year’s newcomers.”

GEI17 will be rounded off by the International AGF Awards 2025

In addition, extreme weather-related discussions will focus on water and sanitisation with chair Jane Healy (J Healy Productions/Glastonbury/Boomtown Fair), and potential insurance claims, as Steven Howell (Music Insurance Brokers) provides insight into the landscape and considerations for event organisers to be protected and minimise their risks.

Elsewhere, Gabrielle Austen-Browne (Diversity Alliance) will explain how to meaningfully integrate DEIBA into event consciousness and Sanjoy K. Roy (Teamwork Arts) will share information about the sustainability and social actions of Jaipur Literature Festival in India

Meanwhile, following Act 1.5 Expedition One in Liverpool, UK, GEI will look at the future of event sustainability reporting and communication through the lens of public health.

Other speakers so far confirmed include Sangeeta Waldron (Serendipity PR), Dr. Teresa Moore (AGF), Madame Gandhi (artist/activist, US), and John Robb (artist/author).

The full schedule will include discussions, case studies and showcases, along with networking opportunities and a five-star vegan lunch and closing drinks party, while rounding off GEI17 will be the International AGF Awards 2025, sponsored by Skydiamond.

GEI17 is delighted to be once again supported by platinum sponsor Ecotricity and gold sponsor The O2, with Skydiamond as the International AGF Awards sponsor and EarthPercent as charity partner. Various sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities remain.

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The National Arenas Association (NAA) has published its Green Guide, developed in collaboration with A Greener Future (AGF), to help members operate more sustainably.

The NAA, which brings together the 23 largest indoor arenas in the UK and Ireland to share best practice, says the resource addresses the extensive environmental aspects of arena management, while also taking into account governance, social inclusion and economic opportunity.

It aims to help member venues set sustainability objectives and work towards reducing their environmental impact.

“The National Arenas Association Green Guide presents an accessible, action-orientated resource to help our member venues navigate the complex world of social and environmental sustainability,” says Claire Cosgrave, NAA Green Guide lead. “By focusing attention on a set of shared objectives, we believe the guide can help to drive progress in aspects common to all venues, regardless of size, age or stage of sustainability journey.

“Working with the experts at A Greener Future, the guide covers a vast range of detail with practical steps for venue operators to take and engage key stakeholders on including promoters and event audiences. As a group, the NAA is committed to driving best practice across all its member venues and we look forward to evolving the Green Guide further in future years.”

“This collaborative work is a significant step to getting the live sector’s house in order, with manageable steps towards greener arenas”

Shared objectives noted in the guide include improved social and environmental sustainability polices and overall governance; reduced energy consumption, water use and transport emissions; and more conscious choices in food and packaging provisions.

Venues can also benefit from access to a number of Sustainability Guideline Templates adaptable to align with a venue’s individual sustainability requirements and infrastructure.

“It is vitally important that venues act now to prevent negative impacts on the environment, provide safe and fulfilling spaces for people, and manage risks and opportunities posed by climate change and market transformation,” adds AGF CEO and co-founder Claire O’Neill. “Venues are the home of live entertainment. This collaborative work is a significant step to getting the live sector’s house in order, with manageable steps towards greener arenas.”

Backed by trade body LIVE and the Concert Promoters Association, the guide will be reviewed annually as part of the NAA working group and is expected to evolve as the live industry continues to adapt.

The guide and accompanying resources are available here.

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A Greener Future (AGF) has revealed details of the 17th edition of the Green Events and Innovations Conference (GEI17).

AGF‘s flagship event, GEI17 is organised in partnership with the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) and will take place on Tuesday, 25 February 2025 – the day before ILMC – at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.

The 17th edition of the leading conference for event sustainability will tackle and celebrate the future of green events with a programme of discussions, case studies and showcases, along with networking opportunities and a five-star vegan lunch and closing drinks party.

Last year’s GEI welcomed over 50 speakers including artists Brian Eno, Jarvis Cocker and Blaine Harrison (Mystery Jets); climate justice activists Dominique Palmer and Tori Tsui; plus Dale Vince OBE (Ecotricity), Cathy Runciman (EarthPercent), Carol Scott (TAIT), Patricia Yagüe (Live Nation), John Langford (AEG Europe), and Tom Schroeder (Wasserman Music).

“Events and the live sector are feeling the impact of global tensions first hand with growing costs, ethical scrutiny, and uncertainty, and in the worst cases, direct impacts to operations caused by war and climate change,” says AGF CEO and founder Claire O’Neill. “Some are simply moving in the wrong direction, whilst others are taking the most ambitious green actions we’ve ever seen. We’re experiencing significant change, which is sharpening focus, boosting innovation, and inspiring action.”

“The purpose of GEI is to expedite that transition through events and to have fun while doing it”

One of the main topics of discussion will be audience travel, which will include an exclusive deep dive into the TICKET TO RIDE project by The Changency & Crowd Impact together with German rock band AnnenMayKantereit and the impact of business structures and ticketing on fan travel.

In addition, Massive Attack’s Act 1.5 Climate Action Accelerator – which has been hailed as the future of green events – will be presented, in addition to an exclusive panel dedicated to phase 2 of the project. Meanwhile, The Quick-Fire Innovation Round will provide select delegates with the opportunity to pitch their innovative solution. Applications are open here.

“The purpose of GEI is to expedite that transition through events and to have fun while doing it,” adds O’Neill. “We can’t wait to come together again in February.”

The event will conclude with the International AGF Awards 2025, sponsored by Skydiamond (the world’s first carbon-negative certified diamonds made from atmospheric carbon).

Last year saw finalists from 12 countries, with the top accolade – the International Greener Festival Award 2024 – going to Belgium’s Paradise City.

“The climate crisis is no longer something in the future – it’s happening now, and we must act before it’s too late”

In other news, Vision:2025 – a shared vision for a sustainable outdoor events industry – has assembled a cross-industry working group, chaired by LIVE CEO Jon Collins, to produce the third edition of The Show Must Go On state of the industry report.

Set to be published in March 2025, it will focus on creating a climate transition plan for the festival and live outdoor events industry, and making the case to the government for support to unlock potential for a more sustainable festival and outdoor events future.

Specialists are collaborating with Vision: 2025 to review data and information, establish benchmarks, consider trends and opportunities, engage with industry, and shape a vision for 2030.

The industry working group comprises A Greener Future, Attitude is Everything, Association for Independent Festivals, Betternotstop, Cheltenham Festivals, Festival Republic, Hope Solutions, Julie’s Bicycle, LIVE and Norfolk & Norwich Festival.

“The climate crisis is no longer something in the future – it’s happening now, and we must act before it’s too late,” says Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn. “Each event business has its own unique challenges in taking climate action but we can pull together in the same direction as an industry to make the journey easier and more impactful.”

The funding target of £50,000 from industry sources will match funds raised from Arts Council England, EarthPercent, Dixon Foundation and Festival Republic. Click here for information on how to contribute.

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A Greener Future (AGF) co-founder Claire O’Neill has hailed a “new dawn” for sustainable live music events after Massive Attack’s groundbreaking eco-friendly concert.

The British band recently delivered their first show in five years, dubbed Act 1.5, which was powered by 100% renewable energy.

Held at Clifton Downs in their home city of Bristol, the concert, production and catering were powered entirely by battery and solar power.

AGF was responsible for advanced planning, on-site sustainability management and coordination, post-event analysis and reporting for the 35,000-capacity concert.

“This show has really pushed the boundaries and shown what is possible in events at scale,” says O’Neill, who has worked on sustainability in live events for 20 years.

“A huge amount of work and effort has gone into the greening of the live sector over time albeit often isolated or on the fringes without becoming the norm. I’ve never seen the entire main stage of a 35,000-capacity event solely depend entirely on a battery which is solely powered by the wind and the sun with no diesel back-up, with 100% vegan menu and extra trains and free EV buses organised for the audience.”

“I think that we’re going to see fewer and fewer diesel generators being used in the coming years, finally”

“A new line has been drawn in the sand for what we expect of events of all sizes, and what can be done when you really put your mind to it, and your money where your mouth is. I think that we’re going to see fewer and fewer diesel generators being used in the coming years, finally.”

Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity and co-founder of Grid Faeries alongside O’Neill, which provided the giant renewable charged batteries, is inclined to agree: “We’ve had several enquiries off the back of the concert and I think it’s only a matter of time before batteries take over from diesel – that’s our intention as the Grid Faeries.”

In fact, battery-powered shows have already been embraced by artists including Billie Eilish, Bruce Springsteen, Lukas Graham and Dave Matthews Band, festivals such as Lollapalooza and venues such as the Netherlands’ Johan Cruijff ArenA.

As O’Neill explains, the Act 1.5 concert was a “manifestation” of a carbon emissions report commissioned by Massive Attack and conducted by scientists at the University of Manchester’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.

Findings from the report and the event will be used to develop a roadmap for the live music industry to make events compatible with the 1.5-degree temperature change limit specified in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

“So many people came together to make this happen,” adds O’Neill. “Huge respect to Make Donne who has been working on Act 1.5 along with the band for the last five years, and Jamal Chalabi who went beyond the role of tour managing to navigate much of the sustainability actions of the show on the Bristol Downs.”

“There’s a real fear of stepping away from business as usual – especially when there’s a perceived risk”

But O’Neill says it was the cross-sector collaboration that made the concert viable – particularly in regards to travel, which the report found to be “the single largest contributor to an outdoor event’s carbon footprint”.

To remedy this, Great Western Railway put on specially commissioned trains while Zenobe provided eight fully electric double-decker buses among other things. All vehicles used for transporting batteries and recharging the concert were either fully electric or CNG. Where EV wasn’t possible for trucking and tour buses all suppliers were encouraged to use certified or fuelled by certified waste product HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) fuel.

While these partnerships were invaluable to the event, O’Neill says more infrastructure is needed when it comes to making live music events sustainable.

“We need the rail networks to be cheaper,” says O’Neill. “We need to be able to have drivers or operations happening later if we’re going to have gigs later. There’s infrastructure that needs to be built. We did the composting of all the serverware but we had to take it to a site in West London because there were no in-vessel composters that could process that type of material in the southwest. So these are the kinds of things that we need to work with other sectors on.”

O’Neill has also called on the “bigger players in the industry” to ensure that Act 1.5 is the beginning of a tide change.

“There’s a real fear of stepping away from business as usual – especially when there’s a perceived risk,” she explains. “There is often a resistance to change but what was lovely to see with Act 1.5 is that people who were sceptical at the start came on board by the end and were excited to be a part of something that has a positive impact and worked.”

“The economics have caught up with the environmental reasoning at this stage”

As for misconceptions about the affordability of sustainable events, O’Neill argues: “There’s funding available and finances to build out the grid. Economics has caught up with environmental reasoning at this stage. It makes economic sense to change, and even more so when we factor in the cost of not taking climate action.”

The new Labour government in the UK is also a source of optimism for the AGF chief: “There’s a kind of a green light for green sectors to start making the solutions available, and which connects into temporary events as well. Our ultimate aim with the Grid Faeries, for instance, is to work with sites where connecting to the grid is a possibility. The batteries are a stepping stone towards making sites that are used regularly actually fit for purpose, so you don’t truck in a lot of extra equipment. And then when we build out the grid, where possible we build new renewables too, which will move us towards energy independence as a country.”

Excuses banished, O’Neill concludes: “Rather than it being like ‘Oh yes, the green event stuff is all very nice but the technology is not there yet, or it’s too expensive, or we can’t take that kind of risk on the headliner of the show. Actually, that’s all been proven now. We’ve done it and so from here, we can just keep on building from that.”

AGF are now working together on the post-event analysis supporting Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, which will help form a blueprint for eco-friendly touring that will be made publicly available.

Findings from the event will be presented at the 17th edition of the Green Events & Innovations Conference (GEI).

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Registration for the 17th edition of the Green Events & Innovations Conference (GEI) is now open.

The leading conference for sustainability in the live events sector will return to London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel on Tuesday 25th February 2025.

The one-day event is a partnership with not-for-profit sustainability specialists A Greener Future (AGF) and the International Live Music Conference (ILMC), which takes place immediately after GEI.

“Things are really heating up, literally and figuratively, in the lead-up to GEI17,” says GEI producer and AGF co-founder Claire O’Neill.

“The events and live sector is feeling the impact of global and national tensions first-hand with growing costs, ethical scrutiny, and uncertainty, but at the same time pulling out the stops on some of the most ambitious green initiatives we’ve ever seen.

“We’re in a time of significant transition, which is sharpening focus and boosting innovation and action”

“We’re in a time of significant transition, which is sharpening focus and boosting innovation and action. The purpose of GEI has always been to do its small part to make the transition that we all have to face, a transformation for good. To be better people, making better choices, creating better experiences, and having the most fun possible during this brief time we get to be alive, together, at the same time, on this beautiful planet.”

GEI17 promises engaging talks, panels, discussions, case studies and networking opportunities. The conference concludes with the annual International AGF Awards Ceremony.

Previous GEI speakers include Brian Eno, Jarvis Cocker, Pat McCabe, Aurora, Dale Vince (Ecotricity), Mark Donne (Act1.5), Cathy Runciman (EarthPercent), Blaine Harrison (Mystery Jets), John Langford (AEG), Carol Scott (TAIT), Em Weirdigan (Green Gathering), Tori Tsui, Mark Stevenson (CUR8), Patricia Yagüe (Live Nation) and Fay Milton (Music Declares Emergency).

Super Early-Bird tickets are now on sale for £139 (€165), which includes access to the conference, the International AGF Awards Ceremony, a drinks reception, plus a five-star lunch.

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