Mobility: Bringing People Together
Artists, crew, visitors. Stages and supplies. There are a lot of moving parts in and around a festival. And all that travel has a big impact on our climate, whether it’s international or local. At DGTL, we’re doing everything we can to minimize movements as well as distances, and choose sustainable transportation based on renewable sources instead of fossil fuels. This is the fourth of five articles about DGTL's five pillars of sustainability.
Every artist performing at DGTL, both local and international, is actively involved in our sustainability efforts. Since 2022, we’ve partnered up with SkyNRG to compensate all fossil fuel for flights with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Artists are informed about every sustainable travel option and, as part of their contract with us, contribute 2% of their fee to SAF for their flights, offsetting their travel emissions. In Amsterdam, they stay at a circular hotel and are taken to and from the festival site with emission-free electric cars.
Our goal? Transforming all transportation and travel to and from the festival by choosing the most sustainable option every time. Whether that’s powered by electric or hydrogen power, formic acid, or human effort. Zero emissions and 100% renewable sources may not be feasible now, but we’re constantly working towards it anyway.
On the Grounds
When it comes to sustainable mobility, it’s all about planning and communication ahead of time. For our supplies and construction materials, it means we go as local as possible and rely on low or zero-emission machinery to move everything around. With our visitors, we actively inspire and encourage eco-friendly travel opportunities. We promote public transportation, cycling, and carpooling through our website and on all social media channels. But we’re not quite there yet. That’s why, for the coming editions, we’re working on new ideas to convince even more visitors. We’ve also created a free tool together with SkyNRG and CHOOOSE in which visitors can address the emissions of their transportation and accommodation – not just for DGTL, but for festivals, artists, and music fans around the world to use.
Beyond the Fence
Whether you’re on stage, in the crowd, or behind the scenes – we all contribute to making DGTL sustainable. And since a festival pretty much operates like a small city, we hope that what we learn here can be of use beyond the fence. Sharing our knowledge on sustainable travel options and CO2 offsetting might just impact travel behavior outside our festival, too. By showing what’s possible at DGTL, we hope we can open some eyes and encourage more and more people to join us on the road to sustainability – both in the festival industry and in the wider world.
What's Next?
The more we learn, the more we realize we still need to do. And that’s ok. Every edition, together with our partners from all over, we continue to find new and better ways to run the most sustainable party in the world. And with our visitors pitching in more and more, it truly becomes a collaborative effort. Let’s get the crowd moving to the beat while joining us in making a big sustainable impact.
Your Impact
By participating in all of DGTL’s sustainable solutions, and even by simply being part of the crowd, you make a positive impact on the world. What we’ve been talking about here is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to everything that’s involved in running a completely circular festival. Want to know more about what goes on behind the scenes, year-round? Click on through.
