“Climate change and the pollution of the Earth are threats that require the transformative power of festivals, too. Sustainability is the order of the day on every agenda: in logistics as much as in the programming, not only in technical sense but in the message that the artistic content conveys. Every festival is a battle ground for saving our natural environment. Festivals warn and care about the environment.”  70-Years-On Agenda Point 11 

Arts and cultural organisations and festivals play a leading role towards awareness raising. They can trigger emotional connection, stimulate critical thinking, and motivate collective action. Climate change, without any doubt one of the most pressing challenges of our time, is asking cultural organisations to act as catalysts and source of inspiration for change while the limits of greening efforts within the cultural sector alone remain a small part of the problem. 

EFA acknowledges that systemic change requires collaborative action across all industries. In this perspective, we aim to enrich the discussion about how the cultural sector and more specifically arts festivals can make efforts to be and act more sustainably itself, by addressing what action and added value they can generate that can lead to effective change with expertise beyond the cultural field. 

In 2023, EFA built a dedicated campaign “Go Green, Festivals” to amplify the knowledge, experiences, and efforts of festivals, shining a spotlight on their endeavours towards sustainable practices. Festivals shared remarkable stories, insights, experiments, and lessons learned on how they are in tackling sustainability challenges. The goal was to facilitate mutual learning and create awareness about the significant role of arts and culture in addressing societal issues.  

EFA organises annual workshops on the topic of “festivals and sustainability” encouraging best-practice exchanges on how festivals deal with the topic.  

The workshops took place in the framework of the annual Arts Festivals Summits.

EFA in collaboration with Pearle* - Liver Performance Europe published a booklet titled “Cookbook for cultural managers: The EU Green Deal and Live Performance Organisations”. This practical guide helps performing arts professionals and entities to navigate the jungle of EU law and better understand the numerous initiatives related to the EU Green Deal. 

It encourages the reader to screen different aspects of daily work and shift the mindset to actively contribute to the EU goal to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. 

The booklet covers all fields of the EU Green Deal impacting the live performance sector, from the circular economy to energy-related questions, sustainable mobility schemes and green funding strategies. 

The European Festivals Forest is a carbon sequestration project through which Arts Festivals across Europe are coming together to plant a forest in Iceland to offset their carbon emissions. It celebrates the power and creativity of the festivals industry coming together to lead a progressive call to climate action. Each tree costs €2, and three trees sequester one metric tonne of carbon over a 30-year cycle. Every tree helps the planet. EFA is an associated partner of this project.

Environmental sustainability is one of the main themes explored and reflected upon with the cities and regions holding the EFFE Seal for Festival Cities and Regions. Krakow has published an e-catalogue of best practices, launched under the "Festivals for the Climate" initiative, collecting inspiring actions taken by diverse festivals, aimed at environmental conservation, sustainable development and social inclusion.  

Following the example of Krakow, the EFFE Seal signatories’ cities and regions decided to gather the most notable experiences, needs and experiments of festivals in relation to the challenges of environmental sustainability (and in relation to their cities). This compilation will be launched at the Berlin Conference 2024 and contribute to the European discourse on the role of festivals in relation to environmental sustainability.

EFA is co-initiator of Perform Europe, a funding scheme that looks into more sustainable touring models.   

Building on the success of its pilot phase from 2020 to 2022, Perform Europe continues its mission to foster fair, green and inclusive cross-border touring projects throughout the European performing arts landscape. Perform Europe is funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union and implemented by a Consortium of 6 organisations: IETM - International network for contemporary performing arts, European Festivals Association (EFA), Circostrada, EDN - European Dance Development Network, Pearle* - Live Performance Europe, and IDEA Consult.

EFA is a partner of the brand-new EU Climate Pact. EFA has been one of the 31 organisations selected out of 417 applicants to be part of a community that will shape the future of EU climate policy and inspire a broader audience to join the cause. The partnership lasts 12 months and can be reconducted after. EFA will contribute actively to this initiative and use this Pact, its partners, ambassadors and country representatives to build on common expertise and think of creative solutions to be more environmentally friendly. Being part of this Pact also contributes to EFA’s ambition to work in a more cross-sectorial way with organisations for which climate is the core business like WWF, Ecogenia, Climate Chance, etc.

As a member of EMC, EFA commits to the guidelines of the SHIFT programme and adheres to its eco-guidelines as of 2025 following the pilot phase of this important project for networks. In order to develop a broader political reflection on effective impact of actions in the cultural field, discussions will explore how festivals can answer to the following questions:

• What role can arts and culture play in climate actions that lead to effective change?  
• Which policies are needed in the field of culture to drive effective change?  
• What is the greatest potential impact or the most effective cultural action to bring about change?

EFA is a partner of the New European Bauhaus.The New European Bauhaus brings citizens, experts, businesses, and institutions together to reimagine sustainable living in Europe and beyond. In addition to creating a platform for experimentation and connection, the initiative supports positive change also by providing access to EU funding for beautiful, sustainable, and inclusive projects. 

The New European Bauhaus Festival brings together people from all walks of life to debate and shape our future. A future that is sustainable, inclusive and beautiful.