The team behind AGreenerFestival.com are responsible for the award, which was unveiled last year and in keeping with the website's ethos aims to promote greener practices and sustainability for the festival circuit.
The festivals are (in alphabetical order):
Big Session Festival
Camden Green Fair
The Cambridge Folk Festival
City Blues Festival
Download
The Glade
The Glastonbury Festival
Hard Rock Calling
Latitude
Lounge on the Farm
Wireless Festival
T in the Park
Workhouse Festival
2000 Trees
The Award is based on a seven part questionnaire which covers event management, travel and transport plans, CO2 emissions, fair trade, waste management and recycling, water management and noise pollution. Points are awarded for festivals which can show an active plan to promote public transport, reduce on-site waste, recycle and compost wherever possible, re-use water and use sustainable power. Festivals are expected to have a coherent environmental policy and AGreenerFestival.com has environmental auditors who visit as many festival sites as possible to assess how festivals implement their plans.
A Greener Festival co-founder Ben Challis said, "we are very encouraged that so many more festivals are making an effort go green and adopt environmentally friendly practices. Some festivals are going through a steep learning curve to improve their green credentials, others are old hands now who keep improving year on year. The UK and international festival scene is now making a concerted effort to be a leader in protecting the environment and fighting climate change".
He added, "applications for the award are double those for 2007 and standards are undoubtedly higher with some great new innovations ranging from new green power sources, to better public transport solutions to biodegradable tent pegs."
The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival (USA), Bluesfest - Eastcoast Blues & Roots Festival (Australia), The Falls Festival (Australia), and West Coast Blues n Roots Festival (Australia) all receive international awards for their efforts.
These are the first of the 2008 Awards to be announced. There will be a second announcement of further awards which will be made in September 2008 when the UK and US festival season ends.
This festival award actually has some meaning. Unlike other festival awards, its based on a fair comparison by people who have actually attended the festivals being voted for or against, and isn't based on marketing through emails begging for votes, a perhaps self interested short-list of festivals to vote for, or people voting for or against festivals they haven't attended - through all these things other awards are completely meaningless.