Music Victoria were once again proud to be involved in the Festival Waste Roundtable led by Green Music Australia. The inaugural Roundtable was hosted at the Music Victoria HQ in 2018, and this year’s meet was home to Noisy Ritual Urban Winery in East Brunswick.
This Roundtable followed on from the findings of 2018, that as the festival scene in Australia grows, so does the garbage pile. This year’s Roundtable discussed the fraught relationship between festivals and sustainability, and united the dialogue between industry figures on how this should and could change for the future of festivals.
The day was facilitated by sustainability experts Berish Bilander and Matt Wicking, and the esteemed group of industry representatives included Chris Burton – Falls Festival, Tory Bauer - Splendour In The Grass, Rhett Mclaren & Katherine Coppins – Unify, Brad McDermmot - Party in the Paddock, Sorca Hubbuck - Secret Sounds, Madeline Radke - Woodford / Earth Frequency, Sasha Mainsbridge - Mullum Cares, Henry Smale - Island Vibe, Jason Rahilly - B-alternative, Jacquie Besgrove - Green Connect, Adam Beres – Various, Laura Hughes - Untitled Group/Beyond the Valley, Ash Bartlett – Music Victoria, and Emma & Lilly – Green Music Australia Volunteers.
Green Music Australia shared their comprehensive research findings on festival littering, behavioural trends and the psychology behind unsustainable decision making of festival goers. Considering the main drivers behind festival littering, the group weighed up the impact of each of these and brainstormed possible interventions to redirect behaviour and reframe consumer beliefs at festival time.
The overall sense between these key industry figures was certainly not shying away from the systemic issue of climate change and sustainability. There were unified decisions for festivals to use their influence to intervene on festivals creating sustainability issues, along with empowered suggestions that were realistic and attainable. The future of sustainable festivals in Australia looks bright with Green Music and this steering committee!
