Doing Good With Wood

For many people, going to a festival is a key part of the British summer. Standing in a field listening to live music, whether it’s sunny or raining, creates shared experiences that stay with us for life. However, as the climate crisis deepens, people are increasingly aware of the cost to our planet.

The environmental impact of music festivals is significant, and as their popularity grows, so too does their footprint. In 2024, over 19 million people attended around 850 festivals across the UK, a 33 percent increase on the previous year. While this is good news for artists and local economies, it raises serious questions about sustainability.

The Travel Problem

Travel is the single largest contributor to a festival’s carbon emissions, accounting for around 80 percent of the total. Although some hardy travellers carry everything they need on public transport or use dedicated coach services, most attendees still travel by car or taxi, often to remote rural locations where the options are limited. Add to that the logistics of transporting artists, crew, staging and equipment, and the environmental cost becomes clear.

Some festivals are beginning to address this. Shuttle buses, park-and-ride schemes and improved rail links are helping to reduce congestion and emissions, while others are encouraging carpooling or offering incentives for low-emission vehicles. ‘Hybrid event’ festivals that offer virtual attendance options and more of a focus on smaller, local festivals are also ways to mitigate transport problems at the source by reducing the need to travel long distances. These are welcome steps, but we need to go further. If festivals are to remain viable in a low-carbon future, sustainable travel must become the norm rather than the exception.

The Waste We Leave Behind

Another major issue is the sheer volume of waste. After the music stops, fields are often strewn with abandoned tents, sleeping bags, food containers, drinks cans and clothing. Much of this waste is non-biodegradable and ends up in landfill or incineration.

Festival organisers are responding with clean-up crews, recycling stations and “leave no trace” campaigns. Some now offer tent recycling schemes or encourage attendees to bring reusable gear, but the problem persists. It isn’t just an environmental issue – it also affects local communities, who are often left to deal with the aftermath.

A Cultural Shift

The good news is that change is happening. Artists like Coldplay are leading by example, cutting emissions on tour by using biofuels in their transportation and installing kinetic floors in their venues that create electrical power from dance. Although the carbon savings are a fraction of those created by the festival and interventions like kinetic floors have questionable practicality, celebrities help shape the public conversation and commitments like this can have a massive impact in inspiring others to make the changes necessary for real progress. There are also many other examples of emerging green technologies being used, often in partnership with the companies developing them, such as the hydrogen fuel-cell powered Hydrologiq HYDRO stage debuting at Boomtown this year. These innovations show what is possible when creativity meets climate action.

However, we must also look beyond the headline acts. Grassroots music venues, the places where many artists get their start, are under threat. In 2023, 13 percent of these venues closed and over half are operating at a loss. These spaces are often more sustainable than large festivals, yet they are disappearing at an alarming rate. Smaller, community-based events typically have lower emissions, generate less waste and are more accessible by public transport. They also help keep money in the local economy and provide vital opportunities for emerging talent.

What Can We Learn?

At Community Wood Recycling, we have long believed that sustainability and community go hand in hand. Our network of social enterprises collects waste wood and gives it a second life and we are just as happy to pick up timber from Glastonbury as from our local construction sites, so it can find a use as timber for DIYers or as the raw material for products, while creating training opportunities for people facing barriers to work.

We see parallels in the music world. Just as we have shown that reuse can work at scale, festivals have the potential to become testbeds for sustainable innovation. From renewable energy and circular design to low-impact infrastructure and community engagement, festivals can lead the way in building a greener future.

But we must also protect the smaller, quieter spaces where culture begins. Without them, we risk losing not just our next generation of musicians, but the chance to build a truly sustainable music scene.

Learn more about this topic at:

• What Environmental Impact Do Music Festivals Have? | Groundwork
• 2024 Music Festival Trends: Attendance Pattern Shift | TF Learn
• ‘Small and mighty, that’s what we are’: the team turning discarded tents into bags | The Guardian
• Live Music Matters | Scottish Music Review

In 2023, the project’s work with BBC Studios was recognised nationally when the BBC EastEnders and Community Wood Recycling pilot project was named a finalist in the Circular Economy Project of the Year category at the UK Green Business Awards. Wood waste produced from filming on the iconic square when sets were upgraded or storylines came to an end was collected for reuse in the local community – the most sustainable choice for end of life material. The collaboration demonstrated how even the fast-paced world of television production can embrace reuse and help build a circular economy. Over 52 tonnes of timber were collected in the first six months alone, with 22 tonnes reused. This saved an estimated 26 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. This recognition has helped spark wider interest in the entertainment industry, with more studios now working with Community Wood Recycling to reduce waste and support social value through wood reuse.

In 2023 the St Albans Wood Recycling moved to larger premises in the north of the city where the timber they have rescued and the products made by the team can be showcased. The work of the project doesn’t just help the environment, it’s changing the lives of local people.

As we move further into 2025, St Albans Wood Recycling continues to grow its impact. With every reclaimed board and every person supported, they’re proving that sustainability and social change go hand in hand.