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Sustainability is an important part of the organisation for Intents Festival. Sustainability has become a broad concept in the past few years. These days topics which have to do with the environment, ecology, social responsibility and future-oriented thinking all come under the heading of ‘sustainability’.
Sustainability ensures that the world will remain inhabitable for the coming generations. It protects our natural environment and health and it is therefore important to treat it with the respect it deserves.
Intents Festival has been busy for years making the festival ‘Next Generation’-proof. With the ‘Next Generation Fee’ as small contribution on top of the ticket price, together we can invest more in a sustainable future.
Intents Festival focuses on the following sustainability topics (pillars). Various sustainability goals have been established per sustainability topic and we are involved in a number of projects and initiatives.
Smart energy plan
We make use of a smart energy plan. Account is taken of such things as a handy set-up of the energy facilities (e.g. by using green energy parks and mega batteries) and smart use of fixed power points.
Biodiesel (HVO)
At our events we use 100% of the most sustainable Biodiesel. This is less of a burden on the environment than normal diesel. It reduces CO2 emissions and emissions of other harmful substances.
With Biodiesel we save 185,000 kg CO2 and reduce emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen at Intents Festival.
What is 185,000 kg in CO2 emissions?
With this energy you could:
Batteries and alternative energy sources
We are going to reduce the power consumption further by making use of batteries (mega batteries) and experimenting with alternative energy sources.
Fixed power points
Intents Festival is striving to realise fixed power points on or near the location so that we can achieve smart reduction of diesel consumption (in combination with batteries).
LED lighting
We use LED lighting as much as possible. At present, almost all lighting on the routes which lead to the festival and backstage are fitted with LED. We use more and more LED on the site and on the stages.
One of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases like CO2 is the mobility of visitors and transport of materials which are necessary for the festival. Globally mobility is responsible for a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions. In order to reduce emissions we encourage visitors to use public transport, carpool or travel by charter bus. For example, we use shuttle buses which transport visitors for free from Oisterwijk Station to the festival site.
Cyclists can make use of a secure bicycle parking near the site.
Machinery
A lot of machines and transport vehicles are used while setting up and breaking down the Intents Festival. In addition to the newest machines, we use economical machines as much as possible (which are run on biodiesel), like electrical machines and transport vehicles, in order to limit the emissions of harmful substances and CO2.
Transport
We focus on the reduction of the transport that is necessary for the festival and encourage our suppliers to deliver goods using economical, low-emission trucks.
Survey & sustainability panel
In 2020 research was conducted into sustainability relating to the visitors of Intents Festival. In order to determine what they believe is important, a questionnaire was sent out which was filled in by 3,773 respondents. A sustainability panel has been established in which visitors can give their opinion and views on certain sustainability topics so that we can improve our festival using this input.
GreenGuards
Our GreenGuards are fans of the music and the festival, who voluntarily inspire visitors and motivate them to make sure that the Intents Festival camping site ‘IntentsCity’ stays tidy. Every day the GreenGuards have their own schedule with various tasks, with the goal of energetically making a contribution to collective awareness of the environment and a cleaner IntentsCity. They will help you at the entrance to carry your camping gear, hand out garbage bags, organise CleanUp raves and by means of a chat make visitors enthusiastic to take action themselves.
If you like the idea of being a GreenGuard at Intents Festival, send an email to [email protected]
What you eat makes a difference. For example, different types of food have different CO2 emissions.
Catering
We are actively engaged in making public and crew catering sustainable (vegetarian range, sustainable plates/cups/cutlery). We offer responsible food options. We serve vegetarian (and gluten-free) food in a separate food stand and other food stands and during work time the volunteers and crew can opt for a vegetarian/gluten-free/dairy-free meal. We also actively encourage our caterers to make use of Fairtrade products.
Tap water (free drinking water)
During the festival we offer fresh and free tap water at drinking water points. The water comes directly from the taps, meaning less waste and transport. On top of that, Brabant tap water is pure and delicious!
Bavaria
We work with a sustainable brewery, Bavaria. Swinkels Family Brewers, the family company that the Bavaria brewery forms part of, sees it as its duty to ensure that the coming generations can continue to enjoy everything it brews and creates. The goal is therefore to pass on an even better brewery to the next generations. This entails, inter alia, that the company wants to engage in circular enterprise as quickly as possible. In other words, resources, energy and materials will not be lost and will retain their value. The water that Bavaria uses to clean its brew kettles is purified and returned to the ground. The farmers in the vicinity of the brewery use this water to grow their crops. In this manner they always have sufficient water available, even in times of drought.
Local catering
A local caterer provides the crew and artist catering. To make sure that there is little food waste, employees must register when they want to eat. If food is nevertheless left over, it will be donated to the food bank.
Nature conservation
We want to limit any possible harmful effect of our events on the ecology and nature in the area and seek advice on how to do so. The site will be set up in such way that important plants are not harmed, trees are protected and account is taken of the animals living in the area.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity simply means the quantity of different kinds of organisms that exist, living creatures like plants, animals, insects, bacteria, moulds, etc. Biodiversity is very important for our planet, our health and our wellness.
Organic flower patch and nest boxes
In order to contribute to the biodiversity in the area we are planting an organic flower patch and placing nest boxes for the birds in the area.
4,000 Trees planted
In 2020 and 2021 together with ‘Stichting Duurzaamheidsvallei’ in the vicinity of Intents Festival.
Good causes
Intents Festival supports a large number of local charities, associations and foundations. These include local sports clubs, dinner shows and Christmas dinners for senior citizens, support for community centres, events for young people between the ages of 11 – 17, the local carnival, First Aid for the Young, Children’s Holiday Week, various benefit races and during the corona crisis a boost for lonely senior citizens.
Local suppliers
We use a lot of local suppliers, over 65% of our partners are from Brabant. We have intentionally opted for this, to expand local employment and cut down transport kilometres.
Nuisance
We do as much as we can to limit noise in the vicinity (nuisance). We do this by means of a favourable site layout, by using the best sound technicians and the newest techniques and monitoring the area. We are also building 140-metre long sound barriers of shipping containers to muffle sound.
Volunteers
Intents Festival has an important social function, not only for visitors but also for the 900 volunteers who contribute to the festival. The youngest volunteers are 18 and the oldest are 60+, the group comprises a lot of different people who work together to create something nice. Every year there is a party for the volunteers to thank them for their efforts.
