Modules · Sustainability & waste
Reusable cups are the norm, councils ask for a waste plan and funds for a story. At a modern festival, sustainability is not a side matter but a workstream, with its own figures.
A glimpse of this module
with sample data, liveSustainability & waste shares data with Food & drink, Transport & logistics and Safety & permits. Change one thing and they move with it.
Nineteen modules, one system. Change it here and it stays right everywhere.
What it does
Issuing, returns and losses per bar. The return rate sits live next to the food and drink revenue.
Residual, plastics and cans, glass, organic: which bins go where, who empties them and where it goes. Ready for the permit appendix.
Generator or fixed connection, consumption per zone, and the trade-off you want to read back next year.
Local suppliers and return arrangements visible in the suppliers module, so that sustainable is also practical.
One overview for council, fund or sponsor: cups, waste, power and mobility per edition.
Organising a festival sustainably means thinking ahead about waste, cups, energy and transport, and being able to prove those choices. Reusable cups are now the norm, many councils ask for a waste plan with the permit application, and funds want to see that you take it seriously. Sustainability is therefore not a loose good intention, but a fixed work stream alongside your budget and your production schedule.
In concrete terms you arrange a few things. You opt for deposit or reusable cups and track issuing, returns and loss per bar. You draw up a waste plan with separated streams such as general waste, packaging, glass and organic waste, and record where the bins are and who empties them. You map your power and water use per zone and make deliberate choices in purchasing, for example local suppliers and return agreements.
You collect all those figures in one place, so afterwards you can give a clear overview to the council, a fund or a sponsor. This module is one part of festival.productions and shares its data with the rest of the system: the return rate sits next to your bar revenue, the supplier agreements next to your budget, and the waste appendix next to your permit file.
Frequently asked questions
A sustainable festival starts with a plan for the biggest streams: waste, cups, energy and transport. You choose reusable cups, separate your waste, map your power use and buy locally as much as possible. Record your choices and the results, so you can prove them to the council and funds. In this module those figures run along automatically with your bar and your suppliers.
A waste plan describes which waste streams you separate, where the bins are, who empties them and where the waste goes. Think of general waste, packaging, glass and organic waste. Many councils ask for this plan as an appendix to the event permit. The sustainability module builds it and keeps it ready for the permit file.
Reusable or deposit cups are now the norm at festivals, because single use plastic for on site drinks is bound by strict rules. With a deposit you encourage visitors to return their cup. In the system you track issuing, returns and loss per bar, so you see the return rate live next to your bar revenue.
The usual streams are general waste, packaging (plastic, metal and drink cartons), glass and organic waste. Larger festivals sometimes also separate cardboard or deposit cups. Which streams you keep is recorded in your waste plan and linked to the bins on site. The module shows per stream how it is going.
Councils and funds want to see figures, not good intentions. Collect your cup returns, separated waste, energy use and transport data per edition in one place. From that data an overview rolls out that you send along with your permit, your report or your grant application. The reporting in this module bundles it per edition.
First map what each zone requires: bars, lighting and sound usually draw the most. Choose deliberately between a generator and a fixed grid connection, and match the capacity to what you really need. By measuring the use per zone, you see next year where it can be more efficient. The module records those choices and figures.
Everything in one place
In festival.productions, Sustainability & waste feeds straight into Food & drink, Transport & logistics and Safety & permits. You change it in one place and it stays right everywhere, from the budget to the event day.