Measuring and managing the environmental impact of festivals: the contribution of the Ecological Footprint

Abstract

This paper assesses the contribution of the Ecological Footprint as a method for estimating the environmental impact of festivals. It responds to calls for more rigorous methods to assess the environmental impacts of festivals, and contributes towards providing festival organisers and policy-makers with a more balanced evaluation of their outcomes. This paper focuses on the 2012 Hay Festival of Literature and Arts (Wales, United Kingdom), and describes how the Ecological Footprint was used to calculate the environmental impact of its visitors. It also considers the potential value of the Ecological Footprint as a method for evaluating alternative strategies designed to improve the environmental sustainability of festivals. The paper demonstrates that Ecological Footprint analysis can provide valuable information for festival organisers and policy-makers on factors influencing the scale of a festivals' environmental impact, and the types of strategies needed to reduce the effect of visitor travel.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions of Spectators’ Transportation in Collegiate Sporting Events: Comparing On-Campus and Off-Campus Stadium Locations

“…Previous studies have focused on one university [4], mega-sporting events [3,6,16,[36][37][38], and aggregate annual emissions for professional sports [7,18]. The findings revealed both meaningful and insightful information regarding the effects of stadium location, spectator's transportation choices and miles traveled on CO 2 emissions.…”

“…The generation of GHG emissions contributes to climate change and 82% of GHG emissions are carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) [1,5]. Previous research corroborates that spectator's choice of mode for traveling to sporting events has a significant negative impact on environmental sustainability [1,6,7]. Sports are a large part of society and a catalyst for human behaviors, which indirectly and negatively affect the environment [8].…”

Carbon Dioxide Emissions Research and Sustainable Transportation in the Sports Industry

“…Sport organizations are initiating environmental sustainability efforts in their everyday business operations [8]. For example, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) provides documentation with required environmental initiatives to countries and cities that bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games [9].…”

“…For instance, Agenda 2020 is a policy document that contains guidelines and procedures on how sports organizations that host the Olympic Games can reduce their impact on the natural environment [9]. In addition, environmental efforts constitute practices that aim to reduce CO 2 emissions generated by any activity associated with them [8,9]. In an effort to be more environmentally sustainable, sports organizations are constantly looking for ways to reduce energy, water and paper consumption and promote practices that have an environmentally friendlier outcome, such as recycling, the construction of green buildings, and the use of sustainable modes of transport [10].…”

“…For instance, in to host a sporting event, large outdoor space is required where sports organizations could accommodate the sport teams, the employees, and the volunteers and facilitate its consumers [14][15][16]. Spectators have a bond with their favorite sports team and as consumers, they contribute to the highest quantity of CO 2 emissions [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Specifically, the emotional connection between spectators and sports teams result in overconsumption habits related to sports products and services, attending sporting events, purchasing sports goods, and consuming food and beverages [14][15][16][17] In addition, the largest quantity of CO 2 emissions is derived from spectators' transportation and travel to the place of the event [18,19].…”