How Sustainable is Leeds Festival?

You wouldn’t assume that a music festival would be a sustainable enterprise – what with after-images of fields of left behind tents and litter, not to mention the huge energy involved in setting up a temporary festival for 100,000 people for three days! 

But in recent years, Leeds – and its Reading sister festival – has been changing the way it puts on its events. As part of owner Live Nation’s broader environmental strategy, they’re looking to reduce their environmental impact, aligning with global standards like the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Live Nation is focused on several key areas:

1. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Their goal is to cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030. 
   
2. Energy: They aim to transition to 100% renewable energy for all venues and events. Crucially, there’s no timeline on this, with their Environmental Charter simply mentioning ‘We will increase the share of energy from renewable sources and invest in energy efficiency measures and certification’ over the next 10 years. 
   
3. Waste and Resource Efficiency: Live Nation ‘aim for all of our offices, venues and events to be zero waste to landfill and achieve a 50% (or higher) material recovery rate by 2030.’ 
   
4. Plastic Reduction: Single-use plastics have already been phased out. All items must be ‘reusable, renewable, certified compostable or if unavoidable made from at least 30% recycled content.’
   
5. Water Conservation: Leeds Festival aims to ‘reduce water waste and identify high-risk areas that require restrictions on water consumption’, while also ‘exploring reusing grey water.’ 
   
6. Sustainable Food: Sourcing food with high animal welfare standards and minimising food waste through composting.
   
7. Public Engagement: Leeds Festival say they will use their platform to raise awareness about environmental issues and encourage sustainable practices among fans and partners.
   
8. Transport and Local Impact: Festival goers will be advised to use public transport where possible, minimising noise and light pollution. 

The Live Report

Official statements are one thing, but putting them into practice is altogether different. Axiom’s Sophie Dryden was at the festival last weekend and had this to report:

• All food packaging that we received was recyclable.
• I saw lots of people litter-picking throughout the day. You got 10p for every cup you returned, so you’d have to pick up 69 cups to get a free drink! 
• We bought some souvenirs from a stall and received our goods in a handmade, reusable fabric bag.
• The wristband fastening is metal rather than plastic.
• There were re-fillable water points across the site.

But while that is an improvement on previous Leeds festivals, there is still room for improvement. Some things I’d like to see are:

• I’ve seen reusable souvenir cups at other festivals, and I think they’re great.
• EV Charging points in the car park.

About Axiom

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