What is the AGFs A Greener Supplier Kitemark.

Sustainability credentials are becoming more and more important for festival organisers and every festival entity now issues public statements on their commitment to running sustainable events. These commitments extend to all the suppliers and contractors used by festival organisations and this new initiative is intended to formally address this.

Launched on the 18th August 2022 with a big PR splash the ‘A Greener Festival’ organisation (AGF) announced the launch of a new certification kitemark scheme for suppliers to the festival sector. The objective of the scheme is to make the selection of suppliers easier and faster.

Who are the AGF.
The AGF is a not-for-profit company registered in England and formed in 2005 with the objective of helping events, festivals and venues to become more sustainable and reduce their environmental impact. They do this by providing certification schemes, training, advice and expertise on sustainability. The AGF have a consultancy service available for organisers and suppliers to help develop policies, action plans, environmental impact assessments and valuable research and training. AGF have a global reach with members throughout Europe, Australia and North America and they are able to converse in more than 10 languages.

A Greener Supplier Kitemark. 
The announcement made by AGF last month of the A Greener Supplier Kitemark was aimed at suppliers to the events and festival industries. The objective of the scheme is to independently verify a supplier’s green credentials making the procurement process easier and faster. It is hoped that this may reduce the need for suppliers to provide the copious amounts of evidence often demanded in any tender process.

How Will This Work.
The AGF state that in order to attain the kitemark suppliers will have to demonstrate a commitment to supporting biodiversity, reducing their organisation’s emissions and waste across the company’s operations, purchases and investments. Specific areas of focus will include energy, food & beverage, transport, waste management, water, plastics & packaging and social responsibility. There will also be an assessment of how the supplier deals with any hazardous materials if that is relevant. There are currently no further details of how the Kitemark will be assessed, how long the process will take or any likely costs that may be involved.

This initiative is a positive move for the events industry and should be welcomed by the entire festival industry. How successful this will be may depend on take up and how fast assessments can be conducted and Kitemarks issued, as with many initiatives like this the devil will be in the details. Any suppliers interested in getting certified with this this new Kitemark can enquire directly with the AGF for further details.

For festival organisers planning their events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics including a dedicated contractor management module. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, cashless payments and contactless ordering. 

Suppliers interested in the A Greener Supplier scheme can register their interest by contacting scott@agreenerfestival.com

Photo by Wendy Wei via Pexels

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