Sustainable Eventmanagement

With the project “Greener Fête de la Musique” we have made it our mission to reduce the ecological footprint of Fête de la Musique Berlin. We want to make Fête de la Musique Berlin as sustainable and climate-sensitive as possible and we need your help!

Get active!

The guide “A Greener Fête de la Musique Berlin” provides you with tips, suggestions for action, checklists and good practices on the topic of sustainability at Fête de la Musique.

Download guide (German)

GREENER FÊTE 2023 – Summary of the results Steps towards a Greener Fête de la Musique Berlin

Thanks to a infrastructure funding from the Initiative Musik we were able to make significant progress last year towards sustainability at the Fête de la Musique.

Important results of the project Greener Fête 2023 are:

Development of an excel template for data collection (indicator system): We have developed a simple template that music venues can use to collect important environmental data and sustainability indicators, for example on energy consumption, waste generation or the mobility of artists.
Recording the status quo: With the help of two online surveys, we learned about the challenges and needs for a Greener Fête.
Support for three pilot stages (Greener Fête Piloten): The Greener Fête pilots, the Centre Français, the Museum of Communication and Nirgendwo have tested the indicator system. We used the data to create carbon footprints for these music venues and identified carbon reduction potentials. They serve as a model for a Greener Fête and help to define future goals and proposed measures for an ecologically, socially and culturally sustainable Fête de la Musique.
Development of a Greener Fête Charter and Greener Fête Award: To promote sustainable action, we have created a charter and an award for the most sustainable music stages.

The results of our project are a valuable contribution to the design of sustainable cultural and music events and can be applied throughout Europe at Fête de la Musique. Greener Fête is thus actively committed to an ecologically, socially and culturally sustainable future in the cultural sector.

Download report 2023 (German)

GREENER FÊTE Charter
On the road to a sustainable Fête de la Musique

Preamble

As part of a Green Deal in 2021 Fête de la Musique Berlin has committed itself to intensify sustainability and climate protection in the organization of the event, but also to take on a pilot function at national level in over 80 German cities that celebrate Fête de la Musique.

Fête de la Musique faces unique challenges due to its decentralized structure and more than 150 different locations in Berlin which include private and public, both outdoor and indoor spaces. This diversity comes with different circumstances and infrastructures which makes planning and implementation of strategic sustainability management particularly challenging. The Green Deal is the cornerstone to make the event ecologically and socially responsible in the coming years and to contribute to climate protection and holistic sustainability.

By creating this Sustainability Charter, we as the organizers of Fête de la Musique Berlin call on all stage operators, musicians, suppliers and visitors to the event to work together for an ecologically and socially responsible Fête de la Musique. We are committed to promoting and implementing sustainable practices.

Guiding themes and principles of the Charter:

We conserve natural resources and increase resource efficiency by reducing, reusing and recycling.
Focus on circular economy: We minimize and avoid waste, prefer reusable solutions and consistently separate waste for optimal recycling.
We use water responsibly.
We rely on energy-efficient technologies and certified green electricity to save energy and avoid emissions.
At open-air events we pay particular attention to sensitive areas, especially green spaces, and ensure that the event is carried out in an environmentally friendly and open space-friendly manner.

When purchasing materials and products we apply great importance to environmental and sustainability criteria. We are guided by recognized environmental labels (e.g. Blauer Engel, EU Eco-Label, Bio Seal, EU Energy Label, Grüner Punkt).
Before we purchase new materials, we prefer to borrow, rent or buy second-hand items. When decorating our stage we reuse materials and pass on materials that are no longer needed to collection points or other initiatives.
We always offer vegetarian and vegan options with a focus on seasonal and regional food from organic farming.
We avoid single-use plastic and prefer reusable tableware to minimize our ecological footprint.

We focus on climate-friendly mobility, minimizing arriving by car by planning transport with foresight and avoiding unnecessary journeys.
We promote environmentally friendly employee mobility and encourage our team to use public transport, cycle or walk to the music venue.
For our artists we strive for a no-flight policy and prefer climate-friendly travel options to avoid air travel.
For touring artists and bands we cooperate with other venues to offer traveling musicians additional performance opportunities during the Fête de la Musique, especially if they are already in the vicinity.

Our Fête de la Musique event is open to everyone and free of charge in order to promote cultural participation.
We make our music venue as accessible as possible and are committed to inclusion and accessibility.
When booking artists we pay attention to diversity and gender equality.
We use anti-discriminatory language and develop an awareness concept.
We actively inform the neighbourhood about our music venue and possible negative impacts such as noise in order to promote transparency and understanding.

We collect data on energy and water consumption, waste generation and the mobility of our employees and artists as well as transportation in order to measure the environmental impact of our music venue.
We make the collected data available in a transparent manner so that the overall carbon footprint of Fête de la Musique Berlin can be drawn up in the long term.
We define sustainability goals for our music venue and actively communicate these to our guests and stakeholders.
We use incentives to encourage a rethink and anchor sustainable thinking and action in our organization.
We have a contact person for sustainability at our music venue.
We actively involve our employees in our sustainability process and encourage their commitment to sustainability issues.
Our service providers are informed about our sustainability goals and adhere to the defined measures.

Signatories of the Charter

Are you a music venue and/or supporter of the Greener Fête and would like to sign the charter?

Background and initiation

The project “Greener Fête de la Musique” was initiated in 2019 together with Dr Birte Jung, expert for sustainable events in urban open spaces, Jacob Bilabel, founder of Green Music Initiative, and the stage organizers who put on the Fête every year.

New Green Deal

In 2021 Fête de la Musique Berlin reaffirmed this commitment with a Green Deal and pledged to make the major event more environmentally and socially sustainable in the future. The signatories of the Green Deal include: