Not-for-profit organisation A Greener Festival has announced the shortlists for the second International AGF Awards which shines a light on festivals striving to reduce waste and emissions and enhance equality and ecosystems. Awards are given across ten important sustainability categories, including the top accolade of the International Greener Festival Award 2020.

Nominees are selected from those certified by A Greener Festival following a detailed environmental assessment, site visits and post-show analysis by trained sustainable event auditors. To enter the awards it is necessary for events to apply for an assessment and to provide evidence such as fuel or electricity and water usage, waste transfer notes, transport measurements, procurement policies and traceability, and survey data. This process was undergone by festivals from 18 countries over five continents in the past 12 months.

The ceremony follows the Green Events and Innovations Conference on March 3 at the Royal Garden Hotel, London. It will be co-hosted by A Greener Festival co-founders, Claire O’Neill and Ben Challis.

Festivals certified for A Greener Festival Award 2019 will also collect their well-deserved trophies during this celebration.

AGF co-founder, Claire O’Neill, said: “Congratulations to all of the participants and nominees, and huge thanks to all of the individuals who work tirelessly to make festivals, events and our daily lives more sustainable, compassionate and inclusive!”

And the shortlists are:

International Greener Festival Award
Cambridge Folk Festival (UK)
DGTL Festival Amsterdam (NL)
The Green Gathering (UK)
Øya Festival (NO)
Paradise City  (BE)
We Love Green (FR)

AGF Greener Transport Award
Cambridge Folk Festival (UK)
Das Fest (DE)
Øya Festival (NO)
Primavera Sound (ES)
Houtfestival (NL)
Walthamstow Garden Party (UK)

AGF Community Action Award
Buenas Noches Producciones (AR)
Envision Festival (CR)
Greenbelt Festival (UK)
Rainbow Serpent Festival (AU)
Sonidos Liquidos (ES)
Walthamstow Garden Party (UK)

AGF Circular Festival Award
(for reduced waste & resourcefulness)

DGTL Festival Amsterdam (NL)
Dub Camp Festival (FR)
The Green Gathering (UK)
Øya Festival (NO)
Paradise City (BE)
Wonderfruit Festival (TH)

AGF Greener Catering Award
DGTL Festival Amsterdam (NL)
The Green Gathering (UK)
Elrow Town (NL)
Envision Festival (CR)
Paradise City (BE)
Roskilde Festival (DK)

AGF Greener Power Award
BST Hyde Park (UK)
DGTL Festival Amsterdam (NL)
Dockyard Festival (NL)
The Green Gathering (UK)
Øya Festival (NO)
We Love Green (FR)

AGF Pied Piper Award
(for Greener Communication)
Metal Days (SI)
Glastonbury Festival (UK)
SWR3 New Pop Festival (DE)
Boomtown Fair (UK)
We Love Green (FR)
Wonderfruit Festival (TH)

AGF Greener Creative Award
Own Spirit (ES)
Paradise City (BE)
Terraforma (IT)
The Green Gathering (UK)
We Love Green (FR)
Wonderfruit Festival (TH)

AGF Water and Sanitation Award
(supported by MSS International)
Glastonbury Festival (UK)
Hadra Trance Festival (FR)
Paradise City (BE)
Pete the Monkey (FR)
Rainbow Serpent Festival (AU)
Strawberry Field (AU)

AGF Greener Innovations Award
My Cause Green Ambassadors @ BST Hyde Park (UK)
Climate Academy @ Das Fest (DE)
Resources Cabins @ Dockyard Festival (NL)
Composting System @ Sziget Festival (HU)
“People” Database @ Roskilde Festival (DK)
Plastic Free Wristbands @ Greenbelt Festival (UK)
Recycled Garden @ Lambeth Country Show (UK)

Category descriptions:

AGF Greener Transport Award
One of the biggest impacts of many temporary events. Audience, production, crew and artists: with our transport sector still staggeringly carbon heavy, who’s smashing the pants off reducing their carbon footprint and still delivering the party?!

AGF Greener Catering Award
Food is such a significant issue for sustainability for its ethical and environmental impacts both globally and locally. By consciously crafting our consumption choices and what we support with our bellies, we can make some huge strides towards a more sustainable relationship between one another and our planet. (this would be called the greener food award but sounds a bit off!)

AGF Greener Power Award
Event power is a hot topic in the realm of sustainability and also a hotbed for innovation. This award goes to the event that has successfully maximised their energy efficiency and adopted a power source that has the lowest impact on the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.

AGF Community Action Award
A strong connection with local community and sense of community within the event is celebrated here. This award recognises those demonstrating outstanding social inclusion, action for unity and acceptance between people, and positive projects that provide benefit to others beyond the event itself.

AGF Greener Creative Award
This award is for the event that creates the most incredible spaces, installations, shows or environments in the most ethical and environmentally sustainable way.

AGF Circular Festival Award
This one goes to the festival that has demonstrated a firm grasp of the need to close the loop on their resources flow. Every item that comes in to the event ultimately has a plan above disposal. Preventing waste, reusing, recycling and demonstrating the full traceability of all movement of materials both in and out of the event.

AGF Water and Sanitation Award
The winner of this award has shown clear environmental concern in their water usage and sanitation provisions, by reducing water usage and waste, minimising production and poo mileage, eliminating unnecessary chemicals and separating liquid waste streams to allow natural biological processes to harness valuable nutrients.

AGF Greener Innovation Award
This goes to the outstanding innovation, initiative or invention that has been a game changer in the green event space, that has disrupted business as usual, or has given a new solution to help turn something problematic in to something good. This award can go to either an event, an individual or a supplier that has stood out the most from the global event assessments.

AGF Pied Piper Award (Greener Communications)
Who has the silver tongue and skips along like the pied piper, luring unsuspecting victims to a greener way?! This award goes to the event that has had an excellent communication and PR plan which has resulted in significant cultural or behavioural changes for the greener good within and beyond their event!