Joe GallopLive event sustainability body A Greener Future has revealed the full agenda for the Green Events & Innovations Conference (GEI), which includes a keynote with Brian Eno and a Jarvis Cocker performance.
The 16th edition of GEI will take place on 27 February at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London, alongside the International Live Music Conference (ILMC).
Eno’s (pictured left) keynote will take place as part of the EarthPercent Hour and will be hosted by EarthPercent executive director Cathy Runciman. Cocker (pictured right) will take to the stage to present his ‘Biophobia’.
The agenda will explore the structures on which the live sector depends including artist contract clauses hosted by head of sustainability for EMEA at Live Nation Patricia Yagüe (Live Nation) welcoming LIVE Green Chair Carol Scott (TAIT), Tom Schroeder (Wasserman Music) and Ross Patel (Whole Entertainment / Music Managers Forum) in ‘Contracts for Climate’. Sponsorship and Greenwashing will be tackled by Luke Howell (Hope Solutions) sustainability advisor to Coldplay and Glastonbury Festival, Ella McWilliam (Full Fat), and Ed Collins (InfluenceMap) in ‘Presenting Ecosystem Collapse.
Dale Vince (Ecotricity / Forest Green Rovers FC) will host two sessions including ‘Low Emission Festivals & Events’, and ‘Avengers Assemble: Using Profile for Change’ with Sam Lee, Music Declares Emergency’s Fay Milton, and Louis VI following his keynote speech ‘Nature Ain’t A Luxury’.
Continuing the theme of structures to tackle the climate crisis, The O2 will host the world’s first carbon-removed gig, featuring The 1975 in partnership with AGF and carbon-removal experts CUR8. The results of this event will be discussed in ‘The World’s First Carbon-Removed Gig’, hosted by John Langford (AEG) with Mark Stevenson (CUR8), Sam Booth (AEG Europe), and AGF’s Claire O’Neill.
The event will also explore the current situation and adaptation in ‘Extreme Weather Events: Adapting to the New Climate’. Professor Richard Betts from the Met Office and University of Exeter will be joined by representatives of some of the events that were hit by extreme weather during the festival season of 2023, Yungblud and Massive Attack Tour Manager Jamal Chalabi (AGF/Backlash Productions), Alexandra von Samson (Safety & Security Consultant) and Cara Webster-Whiteside (Previse Events) to discuss the latest data on climate change, implications for insurance, and the future outlook for both our industry and the planet.
The sustainability of stages at festivals will be explored in ‘Greening The Stage’, hosted by John Robb (Louder Than War) and joined by Carol Scott (TAIT), Pauline Bourdon (Team Love/Soliphilia), Zarya Vrabcheva (STUFISH Entertainment Architects).
‘Influencing Audiences Beyond the Festival’, will explore the influence of green festivals towards audiences beyond the event, and is based on AGF research undertaken with award-winning UK festival Green Gathering. AGF’s Dr Teresa Moore and Green Gathering’s Em Weirdigan.
View the full event schedule here. GEI is supported by Ecotricity, TAIT, Instagrid, KB Event and The O2.