Sustainability Latest News

AFO is a board and steering group member of Vision:2025. We help the outdoor events industry take action on the climate crisis.

Vision:2025 is a growing network of over 1,000 outdoor events and businesses taking climate action. We’re here to establish best practice and, connect you to free resources, tools, and each other, on our journey toward climate-responsible events.

Purple Guide Environmental Sustainability for Events Chapter Launch

The new Purple Guide Chapter was launched at Vision 2025’s Sustainable Event Summit, Oct 18th 2023. Chris Johnson (Vision:2025 Chair) and Steve Heap (Event Industry Forum Chair) took to the stage, in front of an audience of event professionals, to announce that The Purple Guide’s Chapter has now been written and will become the newest addition to the respected events industry guidance document.

Read more about this here.

27 October 2023

And then there was none… Well there shouldn’t be. Don’t get caught out next season

Government action to tackle litter and protect the environment from plastic pollution ramps up this weekend (Sunday 1 October), with bans and restrictions on a range of polluting single-use plastic items coming into force.

No business – whether retailer, takeaway, food vendor or part of the hospitality industry – will now be able to sell single-use plastic cutlery, balloon sticks nor polystyrene cups and food containers in England.

Read more about this here.

29 September 2023

Low Emissions at Festivals

A Greener Future (previously Festival) is asking you to engage with their power project Low Emission Festivals which has been put together through LIVE Green earlier this year. See this webpage. Its purpose is to get the survey completed by as many UK festivals and power providers as possible and AFO is partnering in order to provide a most comprehensive survey. Take a few moments to complete yours. As you are a festival click here.

Read more about this here.

21 September 2023

National and International Government Commitments and Policies UK

As a group of activists lead by Chris Johnson (Shambala Festival) are close to completing the Sustainability Chapter for the Events Industry Forum’s Purple Guide, some major editorial decisions have had to be made. In that the Chapter was beginning to get too long. It will be skilfully trimmed by Chris and the team without losing its main purpose to guide and inform. Julie's Bicycle have very kindly provided the following information on the national and international government commitments and policies front which you may find useful. 

Read more about this here.

18 September 2023

Recommended Ways to Reduce Travel Emissions

Set out below are recommended ways to reduce travel emissions, En-route to and at your festival. Please also refer to the Purple Guide Chapter 37 Environmental Sustainability, Travel and Transport section where this topic is also covered.

Read more about this here.

13 September 2023

More Sustainable Reporting

Once again Standout magazine are first to report Birmingham City’s delivery of their Festivals Sustainability. Their events took place from July 24 to August 6 to mark a one year anniversary of the Commonwealth Games Production. And building on that legacy was a wide cultural programme of entertainment both live and visual.

Read more about this here.

6 September 2023

Even More Green Issues

Fiona Stewart, Managing Director of the Green Man Festival, announces that this year has been the greenest edition yet.  Her 25,000-capacity festival, now in its 21^st year, sold out and ran from 15 to 18 August. Green Man was also awarded a Gold Charter for improving disabled people’s access to music from Attitude Is Everything. 

Read more about this here.

4 September 2023

EPS Goes Even Greener

The Event Production Show which takes place in London on 28-29 February 2024 at ExCel, London, has announced its amazing Green Credentials. Quoting "Our focus at the Event Production Show is to consistently work towards a more environmentally conscious event". They are certainly heading down that direction.

Follow this link.

18 August 2023

Industry Consultation Launched for Feedback on New Purple Guide Environmental Chapter

Vision: 2025, the UK outdoor event industry's steering group for environmental sustainability, has been commissioned by the Event Industry Forum’s (EIF) Purple Grants Fund, to write a new chapter of the Purple Guide on Environmental Sustainability for events. It is intended to provide clear guidance on best practice and signpost to users to resources and guidance to minimise the carbon impact of events.

Read more about this here.

31 July 2023

Sustainability Meets Accessibility

Three of the giants of the above have come together to deliver a joint project. Attitude Is Everything, A Greener Future and Julie's Bicycle have launched a research programme which will offer the opportunity for accessibility solutions to support and be supported by environmentally sustainable solutions. 

Attitude Is Everything say that they intend to provide the music and live events sector with a toolkit containing practical solutions and case studies. With funding from Arts Council England, the first edition of the toolkit will be published in early 2024.

Read more about this here.

15 July 2023