Organisers of major events in Reading, such as the Reading Festival and Reading Pride, are collaborating to emphasise sustainability.
Reading Borough Council is one of ten local authorities participating in a pilot project to establish consistent sustainability guidance for event organisers.
The initiative, called the Green Events Code of Practice (GECOP), is led by the Vision 25 group, representing members of the outdoor live events industry.
Reading’s involvement in the pilot, co-funded by the Arts Council and local authorities, aligns with its goal of achieving net zero carbon by 2030.
The GECOP focuses on governance, energy, travel, food and drink, waste, water and influence.
The aim is to address the lack of nationwide consistency in sustainability guidelines for event organisers.
Representatives from festivals like Reading Festival, Readipop Festival and Reading Pride gathered to exchange experiences and explore sustainable practices.
During the pilot phase, event organisers will test the Doughnut Advisory Tool for Events (DATE tool), which assesses an event’s sustainability against the GECOP and assesses accessibility.
The tool identifies areas for improvement and provides advisory information.
Louisa Dean, Head of Communications, Events and Marketing at Reading Borough Council, said: “Not only will this initiative support Reading’s ambition to be net zero but it will potentially help provide festival organisers and local authorities across the country with consistent guidelines to hold events that are sustainable and environmentally sound.
“It will help tackle many of the issues associated with festivals, such as use of single-use plastics, energy use, management of waste and how visitors travel to the site.”
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