Planning Sustainable Transport Solutions for Music Festivals.

Any large music festival taking place on a greenfield site requires a significant amount of planning for sustainable transport solutions. Everything must be transported onto the site and thousands of festival-goers need convenient transport options to get to and from a site. Performances artists, their crews plus sponsors and vendors also need transport options.

Sustainability is a critical consideration for festival organisers and transport makes up one the most significant factors that impact on an event's carbon footprint. Some media reports have speculated that up to 80% of a festival's carbon emissions come from festival-goer transport. What are the key aspects that organisers can consider when implementing their sustainable transport solutions.

Sustainability Objectives.
The sustainability objectives of a music festival are published on websites and in press releases and usually state their current greenhouse gas emissions along with target numbers for forthcoming events. A variety of complex methodologies are used to monitor and measure achievements against set objectives. Broad objective statements can include an increased use of public transport and a reduction in single occupancy vehicles for festival-goers. In addition, organisers also focus on contractor, vendor and sponsor transport incorporating each organisations own sustainability credentials into their overall calculations. Whilst the impact of emissions cannot be directly controlled festival organisers will use a mixture of incentives and partnership deals to contribute to an overall reduction. When arranging their own transport logistics organisers can have a direct influence over the use of eco-friendly vehicles (Electric or hydrogen power).

Festival-Goer Transport.
Use of cars remains the primary means of transport to and from a festival site for festival-goers due to convenience and lower costs. Organisers communicate frequently with ticket buyers encouraging them to switch to public transport or to utilise more care sharing initiatives sometimes with financial incentives to do so. Organisers are increasingly cementing deals with public transport companies where a mixture of trains and buses can provide a viable option for festival-goers. For those that insist on using cars organisers can incentivise those who are using low carbon alternative power like pure electric or hydrogen. Festival-goers get priority or free parking and on occasions organisers may even arrange for on-site charging using hydrogen powered generators for example. A good PR programme combined with favourable incentives can help persuade festival-goers to switch to public transport or only use EVs and hydrogen powered vehicles. Measurement of the carbon footprint can be done using an ecological footprint or carbon footprint analysis to calculate emissions specifically generated by festival-goers which establishes a baseline for annual reduction goals.

VIP and Organisers Transport.
Festival organisers can get direct control over their transport options when planning for VIPs and artists who need to get to and from a site. The same principle applies to on-site transport for medical teams, volunteers and other infrastructure related requirements. Use of electric shuttle buses and on-site buggies will lower local air and noise pollution, and organisers often work with EV fleet providers to help them manage logistics for artist transport, waste collection, and deliveries. Using a zero-emission luxury transport fleet provides an opportunity to be highly visible promoting the artist and festival's green credentials even for headline performers. Organisers have direct control over supplier contracts and can specify zero-emission vehicles for their chauffeur driven VIP vehicles.

For festival organisers planning their next event using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, site planning, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

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