As a Festival, Greenbelt is trying to minimise its environmental impact and ensure its practices are as sustainable as they can be. It's a tall order for a four-day festival, but it's something we're very committed to.

We've signed up to the 10:10 Festival scheme, which means we are committed to cutting our carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.

However, we recognise that the main way we can have maximum impact is to inspire and equip Greenbelters at the Festival to change the default settings in the way they travel to the festival, and maybe change the way themselves, their churches and their associated organisations operate.

Here's some practical stuff we're already doing... 

Transport (which represents the biggest environmental impact of the Festival)

• Set up an online liftshare group on the website (click here for details)
• Promoting public transport options through our website and other communications, including notifying people when cheap train tickets become available.
• We're hoping to provide a shuttle bus service from the train station to the Festival site - watch this space.
• We're hoping to provide secure cycle storage on the Festival site to encourage people to travel to the Festival by bike - watch this space.

Environmental levy

• In 2008 we introduced an opt-in levy at the ticket booking stage so that people can choose to make a donation which we will ring-fence and then give to a nominated project in the developing world struggling with the effects of climate change. The total carbon emissions from the Festival has been estimated at nearly 500 tonnes. But we are not convinced enough by any off-the-shelf offsetting scheme to just offer that as a mechanism. So we have introduced our own levy. Click here for more on this.

Waste

• A massive recycling operation is in place at the Festival, provided by Network Recycling (see www.networkrecycling.co.uk). Alongside recycling of glass, plastic and cans, this year we are reintroducing collections of biodegradable waste in the main Festival Village areas and on the campsite.
• All on-site caterers are required to use biodegradable or reusable food packaging.
• We use reusable beer glasses in our on-site bar.
• The polybag outers that the Greenbelt literature is sent in is oxybiodegradable.
• Site vibing is carried out using recycled materials from scrap-store.

On-site energy use

• We are introducing daylight sensors for some external lighting
• Using energy efficient bulbs in venue lighting
• Introducing switching for venue lighting, where this won’t compromise security

Printing

• The Festival Guide and all its year-round publicity is now printed by Calverts, a Coop printing house in London, specialising in working with 100% recycled paper stocks and committed to sustainable practices (click here for more)

Caterers and traders

• The use of fair-trade products has been encouraged across the festival over the last few years and in 2004 all caterers bar one used fair-trade products
• Caterers are encouraged to provide healthy, organic where possible, food from local sources, with fair-trade products
• All Greenbelt branded garments are made with organic, fairly traded cotton

Sound pollution

• Sound monitoring takes place in the surrounding areas throughout the Festival