Meghan Marrin
April 2, 2020
Certifications as A Pathway to Sustainable Festivals and Events
Client: Kilowatt Events & Blue Strike Environmental

Abstract
Live music events are growing in terms of popularity and attendance
every year. Along with the traditionally produced festival comes social,
environmental and economic impacts. Some event and festival management
teams focus on “greening” their event, which involves operating sustainably.
Many of them seek recognition in the form of certifications to highlight and
market these efforts.
There is a disconnect between event and festival management teams and
certifications, however. Many management teams do not know which
certifications exist, or which to choose based on their sustainability values. To
solve this dilemma, I am creating a decision-making tool termed “FestEval”
that compares Wiek’s sustainability criteria inspired by Gibson’s principles to
six green certifications. Certifications are ranked using percentages and pie
charts to display how well each certification aligns with the principles.
The tool provides event and festival management teams with a method
for choosing a certification that promotes their sustainable event and fits their
values. It is designed to advance the future of festivals and events in a
sustainable direction.
The project identifies gaps in green certifications and suggest strategies
for their improvement. It draws connections to Matt Burmeister’s Sustainable
Sound Guide, designed to help management teams shift from operating at the
current standard to operating sustainably.
The three university certifications most heavily involved the first
principle, Viability or Integrity of Ecosystems. The three international

Certifications as a Pathway to Sustainable Festivals and Events

certifications included the principles more evenly. The fifth principle of
sustainability, Justice for Future Generations, was the least included principle
in all of the certifications.
Unfortunately, FestEval was unable to be piloted as planned due to
Covid19 and the nation-wide shelter in place orders, however Meghan
Tierney of Kilowatt One, the event sustainability division of Kilowatt Events,
reviewed the tool and the user guidelines that accompanies it and provided
valuable feedback.

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Certifications as a Pathway to Sustainable Festivals and Events

Table of Contents

Page

Introduction and Background
Literature Review
Approach and Intervention Methods
Outcomes
Recommendations
Conclusions
References

4-5
6-8
8-11
11-13
13-14
15-16
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Certifications as a Pathway to Sustainable Festivals and Events

Introduction and Background
Live music events are the most lucrative and fast-growing segment of the
“concerts and events” industry, above nonfranchise sporting events, theater
performances, and fairs according to IBIS World industry market research
(2019). In total, they generated 8 billion dollars in revenue last year. This
industry is growing in popularity and expanding every year.
There are a large number of impacts typically associated with producing
music festivals and events. Events compromise the integrity of the local
environment and the host sites. These impacts stem from emissions due to
attendee travel and transportation of equipment, followed by food and single
use product waste from vendors and attendees, as well as energy
consumption. Festivals damage the host venues’ grounds and disrupt the soil,
with the burden of reparations being placed on local taxpayers. Often times,
festivals outsource staff and vendors, overlooking the opportunity to
contribute to the local economy and incorporate the host community (Mair
and Laing 2012). These are some of the most common impacts; there are
many more.
Recently the industry has shifted with festivals and events “greening” their
operations, however there is a long way to go until we see industry wide
reduction of impacts.
The concept of greening a festival through certifications is a relatively
recent and developing concept. Mair and Laing (2012) explore the concept of
“greening festivals”, drawing on similarities from motivations of management
in corporate greening. They state that often times ethical festival greening is
driven by the motivated management team of the company (2012). For
businesses who may have other intentions, they use greening strategies as a
competitive advantage and a tool to enhance their image.
Coachella is an example of an established festival that operates quite
sustainably relative to others in the industry. By my definition, sustainable
operations in the festival and events industry incorporate environmental,
social and economically responsible practices, including respecting
neighboring communities, with strategies in place for future generations to
enjoy the festival.
Coachella operates sustainably by providing on-site donation bins in the
campground to encourage reuse instead of discarding unwanted gear
(“Sustainability”, n.d.). They require their local vendors (locals to Coachella
Valley) to minimize single use items, provide seasonal options, serve
beverages in biodegradable cups and food on biodegradable plates. They host
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Certifications as a Pathway to Sustainable Festivals and Events

interactive art displays designed by the surrounding community. Attendees
receive a guide to the three-day festival months in advance, with an entire
page dedicated to educating attendees on their actions to “gamify”
sustainability. Gamifying sustainability is a practical technique to engage
attendees in interactive sustainability conversation through fun activities. For
Coachella these include bicycle charging stations where attendees can
generate their own electricity, a water bottle collection rewards program with
opportunities to upgrade an attendee’s tickets, and a trash bin design painting
contest for artists in the Coachella community. Coachella partners with
nonprofit organizations such as Global Inheritance who holds them
accountable for operating sustainably long term.
This festival has already earned positive recognition by those who closely
follow the events industry and has the opportunity to gain more recognition
and attendees by highlighting their efforts with a green certification.
A green certification is a tool that recognizes voluntary sustainability
efforts that management has taken to reduce their environmental, social and
economic impact. There are many certifications in existence, yet it is time
consuming for management to search through green event certifications. Even
if they take the time, it may not be apparent which certification best fits them
based on their sustainability values. There is no list or guide in existence to
assist with this decision. This project investigates how interested event and
festival management teams can make an informed decision on which green
certification to use.
A decision-making tool was created termed FestEval that compares six
certifications using Arnim Wiek’s criteria for identifying a sustainability
problem (2015) inspired by Gibson’s principles (2006). Each criterion
contains a percentage to show comparatively which principles are heavily
emphasized within a certification, and which are emphasized less. The other
intended outcome was to gather recommendations on how to improve green
certifications based on identifiable gaps.

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Certifications as a Pathway to Sustainable Festivals and Events

Literature Review
Music festivals create a wide array of sustainability impacts that are
often discussed by the industry (Gibson and Wong 2011). These negative
impacts are typically discussed in terms of environmental, social, and
economic impacts. Major environmental impacts stem from CO2 emissions
linked to attendee and staff travel and single use product waste for catering
and camping and recreation. Social impacts include damages to the event site
that local taxpayers have the burden of repairing with their tax dollars. There
is usually a missed opportunity to contribute to the local economy because
events typically outsource their staff and vendors (Mair and Laing 2012).
There has been a shift in the industry towards creating Green Events
which operate in a sustainable manner without exacerbating the negative
impacts mentioned above. Green events can be defined as, “events that have a
sustainability policy or incorporates sustainable practices into its
management and operations” (Laing and Frost 2010). Green certifications,
also known as green credentials, give credibility to festivals that are
voluntarily operating as green events, and are rather marketable for business
(Mair and Jago 2012). These credentials are becoming an integral part of the
competitive business world for festivals and events and may one day become
an industry norm (Mair and Jago 2012). Events that hold a green certification
display their commitment to operating sustainably.
Certifications are utilized across the globe, however there is no
comprehensive list or chart in existence to bring an organization awareness of
these certification’s existence. Many event management teams are simply
unaware of the certifications that exist. The closest one can get with an online
search is lists of primarily green product certifications and building
certifications within articles. Even if event management teams are aware of
certifications, an organization’s management team rarely knows which
certification suits them best without spending an exuberant amount of time
researching each certification.
FestEval was designed to help event and festival management teams
differentiate green certifications so that they may select a certification based
on their desires, values and sustainability efforts. Guiding this tool is Arnim
Wiek’s criteria for identifying a sustainability problem as seen in Table 1
(2015) inspired by Gibson’s Principles, which include eight criteria for
sustainability assessments (Gibson 2006). These principles are widely
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Certifications as a Pathway to Sustainable Festivals and Events

accepted in the academic world of sustainability and serve as a guide for the
decision-making tool. Each criterion has a percentage to show comparatively
which are heavily involved within a certification and which are less involved.
Two objective auditors selected from the MSUS cohort based on similar study
interests provided independent oversight of the percentages and rankings for
the certification elements.
Table 1: Wiek’s principles for identifying a significant sustainability problem

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Certifications as a Pathway to Sustainable Festivals and Events

There are a variety of green certifications in existence; some of which are
specifically designed for events and music festivals, and some that apply to
other industries as well.
FestEval is designed for use by event and festival management teams or
sustainability consultants. It’s designed to be used independently, with
written guidelines accompanying the tool. The guidelines for using the tool
use language and terms that are universally understood, an important
consideration for those applying this tool outside of the sustainability
community. This project is designed to advance the understanding of green
certifications in the event industry, identify the current gaps, recommend
solutions, and further sustainability practices in the events and festivals
industry.
Project Approach and Intervention Methods
The primary method for analyzing the six certifications was performing a
qualitative assessment on the elements and guidelines of each certification’s
guide or checklist. Each guideline was ranked with one or more of the
sustainability principles. For example, one of the guidelines in the Greening
Events Guide was, “Educate attendees about sustainable food practices when
serving food by appropriate signage, menu notes, or by food servers.” The
auditors and I assigned principles 1 and 2 to this guideline. We replicated this
and assigned principles to hundreds of guidelines for the six certifications.
We agreed to “Key Terms” commonly used in event and festival literature
seen in Figure 1 to guide our rankings for consistency. The key terms each
correlated with a principle, sometimes more than once.

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Certifications as a Pathway to Sustainable Festivals and Events

Figure 1 : Key terms in event and festival certifications

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Certifications as a Pathway to Sustainable Festivals and Events

After ranking the guidelines in the six certifications, we reviewed any
discrepancies we had in rankings through a virtual meeting session until
coming to agreement on the rankings.
Within a certification, the occurrences of principles were tallied, and
percentages calculated as part of the creation of FestEval, seen in Figure 2.
Principles are represented by percentages in the decision-making tool to show
how involved they are in a given certification. For example, In the Greening
Events Guide, there were 135 total guidelines or points identified. There were
75 instances of the first principle, Viability or Integrity of Ecosystems, which
can be interpreted that this principle accounted for 55.56% of the
certification. The fifth principle of sustainability, “Intergenerational Justice”
was less involved in this certification, with 6 instances accounting for only
4.44% of the certification.
Pie charts showing involvement of principles within each certification
accompany FestEval for smoother interpretation.
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Certifications as a Pathway to Sustainable Festivals and Events

As a full-service production company with a sustainability division,
Kilowatt Events is an ideal user of FestEval. Meghan Tierney of Kilowatt One,
Kilowatt Events’ sustainability division, reviewed the tool for usability and
effectiveness. Her feedback indicated its ability to make sustainability
certifications more accessible to the event and festival industry.

Outcomes

Figure 2: FestEval

k

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Certifications as a Pathway to Sustainable Festivals and Events

Thus far, this investigation has shown that the certifications typically
heavily involve principle 1, Viability or Integrity of Ecosystems, an expected
outcome.
The three certifications that are mostly heavily involved with this
principle are certifications 2, 4 and 6: The Greening Events Guidebook
developed by the Sustainable Cities Network at Arizona State University,
UCLA Green Events certification, and North Carolina State’s Certification. The
common factor between the three is they are all associated with a University.
In terms of similarities, the second and fourth principles seem to be the next
most involved, and the third and fifth principles are the least involved.
The three national and international certifications are certifications 1, 3
and 5: The Council for Responsible Sport, the ISO Standards 2012, and the
Green Globe Standard. The five principles are more evenly weighted within
these certifications. The first principle isn’t as heavily weighted as seen with
the university certifications. It is still the most heavily involved, although just
by a few percentages with the exception of the ISO Standards 20121. The fifth
principle is more heavily involved in these three than in the three university
certifications. With the exception of the ISO Standard 20121.
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Certifications as a Pathway to Sustainable Festivals and Events

Although the ISO 20121 standard doesn’t include the principles as equally
as the other two national and international standards do in this study, I would
still encourage management teams to consider using this certification because
it is a highly accredited international certification.
This study paired the guidelines to sustainability principles based on
explicit mention of the key terms. Outside of the scope of this project was
assessing other materials published by certification organizations such as
reports or articles, webpages with values and about us sections. If these other
materials had been analyzed and included implicit mention of key terms, there
may have been more occurrences of the fifth principle of sustainability for
example, especially within the ISO 20121 standards.
In order to include the fifth principle of sustainability, the ISO 20121 could
for example add long term action strategies, reporting and tracking,
sustainability policies, and strategies designed to leave a legacy.
The document accompanying FestEval contains a brief user guide to assist
the management team. The user guide contains many visuals and a few simple
instructions. First, the user reviews and familiarizes themselves with the 5
principles of sustainability. Then they review the key terms and concepts
often used within the events and festival industry that correlate with each of
the five principles. Finally, they select a certification that best fits their event
or festival using the FestEval accompanied by the pie charts.
When Tierney of Kilowatt One assessed this tool, she responded with
positive feedback. Suggestions were made to clarify explanations in the user
guide, simplify the tool language and layout, and revise terms in the Key
Terms list. FestEval was not applied to an event seeing as events aren’t
operating due to Covid19. A second version of this tool will be developed to
incorporate her recommendations.
Recommendations
Event and festival management teams should choose to apply certifications
one, three and five to their event: The Council for Responsible Sport
certification, the ISO Standard 20121, or the Green Globe standard.
The Council for Responsible Sport certification and Green Globe Standard
appear to include the five principles at a fairly even distribution, with the ISO
Standards 20121 barely involving the fifth principle, however the ISO
Standards 20121 should not be discredited and still serve as a reliable and
well-developed certification. The fifth principle isn’t explicitly stated often and
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Certifications as a Pathway to Sustainable Festivals and Events

wasn’t counted often due to the defined methods of this study, but with
further investigation of ISO 20121 materials outside of the guidelines, this
standard does mention future thinking and leaving a legacy, which directly
relates to the fifth principle of sustainability.
The ISO Standards 20121 is for any type of festival or event. They state, “If
you are involved in the event industry in any way, this standard is for you”
(ISO 20121, 2020). This standard is the broadest of the 6, therefore is capable
of accepting a variety of events. The Council for Responsible Sport, like the
name states, is mostly focused on certifying sporting events. They certify
performances as well which include festivals or music events. The Green
Globe Standard typically certifies businesses within travel and tourism but
offers certification to a variety of industries including events and festivals.
Using a combination of the certifications would be a great way to highlight
an event and give the event even more credibility. The ISO Standard 20121
would be a great certification for any event in combination with either the
Council for Responsible Sport or the Green Globe Standard based on the
nature of the event.
FestEval contains a small number of certifications and could be even more
effective if more certifications were added to the tool. The data would be more
reliable with additional auditors to review the rankings of the guidelines,
especially if the auditors are industry experts.
They should use the other certifications under very specific circumstances,
if they are hosting an event or festival through one of the universities. These
three certifications were included in this project primarily to draw
comparisons between certifications and gather more information on which
sustainability principles are commonly included in green certifications
generally.
Festival managers should invest time into researching and staying up to
date on what others are doing in this in this industry in terms of advancing
towards sustainability. They should review their sustainability reports and
incorporate similar sustainable operations demonstrated to be effective by
other sustainable events. It would be useful to compare other sustainable
event’s operations to their own, analyze what’s missing, and identify gaps.
Hiring a professional consultant or an auditor is another method to
discovering room for improvement in operations. Management teams should
be conscious of emerging certifications as the industry develops and more
certifications become available.

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Certifications as a Pathway to Sustainable Festivals and Events

Conclusions
For the scope and time frame of this project, analyzing six certifications
was ideal; not too many certifications, not too few. There was sufficient data
to draw conclusions and gain an understanding of principles certifications
typically included, which was a goal of this project. Had there been more
certifications to assess, the project would have had an overwhelming amount
of information to analyze. FestEval could have additional certifications
included in the future.
FestEval came to be through researching and selecting green event
certifications, creating relevant key terms, auditing guidelines and corelating
them to sustainability principles. It was envisioned to advance sustainable
operations in the event and festival industry.
Tierney of Kilowatt One responded very positively to this project and the
decision-making tool. She described FestEval as having the potential to
advance sustainability within the industry by making certifications more
accessible and she intends to recommend it to clients interested in comparing
certification options. This tool simplifies and organizes green certifications
and has potential to assist a wide audience in understanding green
certifications. Her comments indicate the potential for acceptance and
industry-wide adoption by those looking to pursue certification.
Sustainability within the events and festival industry has come a long way
since the development of this industry yet has a long way to go. Future
thinking and long-term sustainability are still developing concepts. This is
reflected within FestEval; there isn’t much mention of the fifth principle of
sustainability. Certification developers should adjust their guidelines to fill
this gap and make their certification holistically sustainable.
This project has the potential to be expanded upon by adding more
certifications to the list, or by making an online version of this tool. There
could also be a completeness check within each certification to show how
balanced the principles are with each certification receiving a completeness
score. There is potential for a more in-depth analysis of the certification
guidelines to be conducted using other methods. The decision-making tool
can also be replicated and tailored to other industries, with the content
focusing on green building certifications, clean energy certifications, or
sustainable product certifications.
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Certifications as a Pathway to Sustainable Festivals and Events

This project took hours of individual research, dedication, and selfdiscipline. Hitting roadblocks and experiencing stress were minor setbacks
and Covid19 distancing added a new obstacle; lack of face to face peer and
faculty support. Even so, the results reflect the original intention of this
project; to improve the ability of event management to select a green
certification that fits their organization’s values.

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References
Burmeister, Matthew. Sustainable Sound: Festival Guide (2019).
https://catalog.sustainabilityconnect.asu.edu/project/565
IBIS World. Website
https://clients1.ibisworld.com/reports/us/industry/productsandmark
ets.aspx?entid=1960#PS
ISO 20121 - Sustainable events. (2020, March 11). Retrieved from
https://www.iso.org/iso-20121-sustainable-events.html
Gibson, C., & Wong, C. (2011). Greening rural festivals: Ecology, sustainability
and human-nature relations. Festival places: Revitalizing rural Australia,
92-105.
Gibson, R. (2006). Beyond the pillars: Sustainability assessment as a
framework for effective integration of social, economic, and ecological
considerations in significant decision-making. Journal of Environmental
Assessment Policy and Management,8(3), 259-280. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/enviassepolimana.8.3.259
Judith Mair & Jennifer Laing (2012) The greening of music festivals:
motivations, barriers and outcomes. Applying the Mair and Jago model,
Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20:5, 683-700, DOI:
10.1080/09669582.2011.636819
Sustainability. (n.d.). Retrieved October 7, 2019, from
https://www.coachella.com/sustainability
Wiek, A. (2015). Solving Sustainability Problems – Tools for a New Generation
of Sustainability Professionals. School of Sustainability, Arizona State
University, Tempe, AZ.

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