Widely regarded as the world’s favourite festival
city, Edinburgh truly transforms during the month of August every year. With
multiple festivals taking place at the same time, some of which have programme
listings in the thousands, it can be hard to navigate your journey through the
festivals.
As Creative Carbon Scotland’s summer intern and
blogger-in-residence, one of my roles with the organisation is to help sort the
chaos of the festival into a more navigable affair. Creative Carbon Scotland
is an organisation based in Edinburgh and working across Scotland that has
created a successful network of like-minded people, all of whom explore the
idea of integrating sustainability into the arts, and put culture into the
heart of a sustainable Scotland. Creative Carbon Scotland offers practical
training for organisations looking to become more sustainable and offers an
abundance of resources for this developing strand of the cultural sector.
As part of our GreenEdFests campaign (#greenedfests),
we will be launching a micro-blog to act as a comprehensive resource for all
things green at the Edinburgh Festivals. If you are at all interested in
sustainability, or the arts, or both, the information provided below will give
you a head start to your Edinburgh Festivals strategy for 2014.
Working with the Edinburgh Fringe, we will be hosting two
Re-use and Recycle Days for Fringe
companies to bring their festival remnants for repurposing or recycling. The
event will take place at Fringe Central on 25-26 August. At the Re-use
and Recycle Day in 2011, twelve tonnes of unused
print publicity were collected for recycling, showing the excessive amount of
print wastage produced during the festivals. By being able to monitor and
record this amount, Fringe venues moved to reduce their print runs by 25% the
following year.
Festivals Edinburgh and Creative Carbon Scotland will
host a seminar “Can Festivals Change the
World?” on 14 August. Speakers at the seminar will address the following
questions-
- What is art’s role in a changing climate?
- How can artists be part of changing the world for the better?
- What can festivals do for sustainability?
The Green Arts
Initiative is an accreditation service provided by Creative Carbon
Scotland. Through training and active participation, a number of venues,
companies and organisations across the city have made significant improvements
in operating sustainably. Many of these venues are active during the Festivals,
so be sure to show your support for their environmental efforts by attending
shows and exhibitions.
Supported by the Center for Sustainable
Practice in the Arts, Creative Carbon Scotland
and media partner The
List, the Edinburgh
Fringe Sustainable Practice Award will be in its fifth year of existence
for this year’s Fringe. The award
recognises artists and companies whom address sustainability in myriad ways
during the Fringe. The award is granted towards the end of the Fringe, so be
sure to keep in touch via Creative Carbon Scotland’s website for more
information in due course.
Practical Tips for Festival-Goers
BYOB- Cut
down on costs and your carbon footprint by bringing your own reusable water
bottle. The Edinburgh
International Book Festival offers two public
drinking-water taps in their venue.
Avoid
leaflets- We know it is hard to avoid collecting a single
leaflet during the Festivals, but most information can be found conveniently
online or by using mobile applications
specifically made for the Festivals. The Edinburgh International Book Festival
also encourages reuse of their brochures by offering points to return brochures
after use.
Travel
green- Luckily Edinburgh is a very walkable city. With an
efficient bus
system, new tramline,
bicycle taxis and rail service, getting to and from the festival venues is easy
and green.
Stay
green- While finding accommodation can be a frantic search,
if you have started your search enough in advance you should be able to book
one of the city’s many Green
Tourism Gold Award recognised hotels or hostels.
While we respect the many approaches and themes
present at the Edinburgh Festivals, following our Green Guide offers an eco-conscious
approach to the Edinburgh Festivals.
For current events listings, articles and further
information, please visit our website at www.creativecarbonscotland.com
and be sure to include #greenedfests in your Festival tweets.
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