AGF Insider: Trends And Best Practices In Sustainability With Pascal Frei
Welcome to AGF Insider, our insightful series where we bring you monthly interviews with industry experts.
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 Pascal Frei, responsible for Gadget Entertainment’s sustainability program, Green Gadget.
What are the best practices that you are seeing give the best results?
In our case, the biggest drivers regarding our carbon footprint at festivals and events in general are mobility as well as food & beverage. These are also the areas with the highest leverage. The inclusion (or even the partial inclusion) of public transport and shuttle services into the ticket price has shown the most impressive and measurable impact. For instance, since the introduction of free transportation from all over Switzerland at OpenAir St.Gallen 90 % of attendees are now getting to and from the festival by public transport, bicycle, or foot.
A second important factor is the expansion of vegetarian as well as vegan food options. This drastically reduces CO2 emissions. Another best practice example at OpenAir St.Gallen was the introduction of a deposit on all tents (next to reusable cups, dishes, cutlery and so forth) that were brought to the festival many years ago. This led to an 80 % decrease in metal waste, because close to 90 % of visitors took their tent back home – even after subpar conditions of the festival site caused by heavy rain with accompanying mud. Furthermore, the replacement of diesel generators by green electricity or photo-voltaic systems is key.
What trends are you seeing this year?
Unfortunately, in the current political climate the topic seems to be a bit a bit less in the spotlight or even experiencing pushback from certain political leaders. Nonetheless, many people and industries are working tirelessly on improvements – especially regarding the European Green Deal 2030. So overall, I think the main “trend” is to not be discouraged by current political and societal currents and standing firm on our beliefs. This is what we see from people in the field and what is very encouraging in return.
What are the obstacles?
Financing/funding and the general availability of ecofriendly alternatives in terms of infrastructure and mobility. For instance, vacuum operated toilets are at certain times only available in the Netherlands and would have to be transported to Switzerland. Also, electric all-terrain vehicles are not available in a sufficient quantity. And even if they are available – as is the case with e-nightliners – the cost is many times higher as traditionally fueled vehicles.
These rising costs in combination with the heightened expectations regarding experience and comfort by festival goers has proven to be quite difficult to merge with a sustainable way of organizing an event of this size and requires creative thinking outside the box. Generally, we’ll have to increase public awareness for the topic and invite our audience to be part of the journey and include them as much as possible. Be it via offers that we can make to them (eg free public transport) or by simply raising awareness for our sustainable causes. The same holds true for our own crew as well as other stakeholders.
What’s the next big thing in sustainability in events?
Hopefully, we’ll accomplish the energy transition as a society which in turn would benefit our sectors conversion to e-mobility, solar powered festivals and sustainable travel parties.
What would be the biggest game changer from your perspective?
Considering the amount of emissions caused by air travel, truly ecofriendly fuels would be the biggest game-changer for today’s landscape.
Furthermore, affordable electric vehicles of all kind could vastly change the impact on the environment. And lastly, the abstinence of meat-based meals.
We hope you found Pascal’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!
