AGF Insider: Trends And Best Practices In Sustainability With Marie Furseth
Welcome to AGF Insider, our insightful series where we bring you monthly interviews with industry experts.
(Photography: Endre Lohne)
Each month we catch up with an industry leader in the sustainability world to find the current trends and best practices
This month, we catch up with Marie Furseth, Head of Food and Sustainability at Øyafestivalen.
(Photography: Thor Møller)
What are the best practices that you are seeing give the best results?
We have done many actions over many years, but changing from generators to grid power cut our power emissions by 98,6%! We got rid of the last generator in 2010 and have never looked back.
Last year we went all meat free and that was also a big driver in emission reduction. I think you have to do what you can where you are and being an urban festival in Oslo makes it easier to do these measures, but we had to do investments in the power infrastructure in the park and we did meet some reactions when removing the meat from the menu. To be a frontrunning sustainable festival you have to make investments (that may gain money in the end) and be true to your cause.
(Photography: Thor Møller)
What trends are you seeing this year?
It seems like power and mobility (transport) really is on the agenda in Europe, which is great. But in Norway we have a different situation. We are blessed with good grid power, so many festivals already have clean power. Transport is more difficult to work with in this quirky country where distances are great and infrastructure sometimes are bad. We don't have high speed trains and our roads cross many mountains, so unfortunately the most efficient way of transport is by plane.
But the trend I see the most nowadays are questions about sustainable sponsorships, which is a big thing in a country with big oil and fishery companies. I think the importance of guiding the audience to focus their engagement in the most meaningful direction will be important, i.e focusing on boycotting the "big bad companies" instead of the artists or cultural events who present an arena for idealism, engagement and much needed social interaction.
(Photography: Thor Møller)
What are the obstacles?
Always: money is always the x-factor. More financial support and a good year means we can do more good, and in years with less money we have to cut down to the core, and that means less fun side quests (like bigger social projects that don't generate income).
These days: the unstable situation in the world makes people more nervous. As a festival we want to offer a safe space and good vibes only, which will be more important when there's a lot of anger and exclusion spreading from the west (I think we all know who I'm talking about). The importance of our partnership with Oslo Pride is more important than ever and our focus on this year's festival will be on the importance of meeting each other and seeing each other as humans.
What’s the next big thing in sustainability in events?
I think the focus will shift slightly from Co2-emissions to social sustainability in an unstable world. I also think the importance of consuming locally will increase, especially if international goods get very expensive. Maybe it will be more about doing what we can with what we have in our region. But I hope that clean grid power, sustainable travel and local (more meat free) food will still be high up on the agenda.
(Photography: Thor Møller)
What would be the biggest game changer from your perspective?
I think the global situation will be of great importance in the year(s) to come. With social sustainability and inclusion going in the wrong direction in many countries, especially in the US, it's more important than ever that we create inclusive and safe spaces that also do the job as a mental pause from everyday life and promote love, acceptance and togetherness.
We hope you found Marie’s insights on sustainability trends and best practices both informative and inspiring. Keep an eye out for next month's edition of AGF Insider, where we'll bring you more expert perspectives and fresh ideas!
