Environmental & social inclusion charter

INTRODUCTION

Everyone is welcome to be part of the Audi presents Wilderness celebration, both on and off the stage. Everyone means E.V.E.R.Y.O.N.E. Regardless of their...
RACE / GENDER / SEXUALITY / IDENTITY / AGE / ABILITY / RELIGION / PRONOUN SIZE or SHAPE...or, anything else for that matter.

We wish for everyone to feel safe, welcomed, and represented at Audi presents Wilderness.

Evidenced across our seven programming pillars, we continually strive to deliver an eclectic offering, celebrating all identities and communities.

Whether in the content we're booking, the topics we're discussing, the performers, partners and producers that we're working with, or the audience we're trying to reach, we aim for Audi presents Wilderness to be broad reaching and inclusive with no hatefulness.

ACCESSIBILITY

Festivals bring together music fans of different backgrounds.

At Festival Republic/Live Nation (FR/LN) we are committed to doing everything we can to promote a culture of inclusion and accessibility for all of our customers.

We aim to provide, and constantly improve on, accessible infrastructure and services, delivered in a way that respects the needs of each individual and does not exclude anyone.

RACE & GENDER

We believe that there is strength in diversity. We welcome all people equally, on, behind and in front of the stage. We continually assess and aim for balance in our performers and partners across all our venues. We work closely with collectives who look to close the gender gap in their industries and promote underrepresented demographics.

We partner with an array of inspiring women chefs, food journalists, restaurants and caterers who share a mutual desire to forge a kinder, more inclusive and sustainable approach to hospitality and address the notorious gender imbalance in their industry.

MENTAL HEALTH AND SAFEGUARDING

We partner with many agencies who work at Audi presents Wilderness to keep everyone safe.

We have developed a safeguarding policy outlining our statement of intent toward the well-being and human rights of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. We also outline the strategies in place to safeguard customers and staff from abuse, including harm and neglect.

We provide a 24/7 all-inclusive safeguarding system meaning whatever support or treatment is required, to be provided as quickly as possible within the festival site. We believe that no one should experience abuse of any kind and that we have a duty of care to protect customers and staff as much as is practicable and proportionate. Helping us deliver our Safeguarding policy are:

Our Safeguarding Coordinators - Prioritising the emotional welfare of our audiences.

Safer Spaces - Every year, we revise our internal Safer Spaces Policy by consulting with our artistic community. We have a zero-tolerance policy for disrespectful, hurtful, or discriminatory behaviour of any nature. We strive to communicate and encourage everyone to follow our Safer Spaces Policy.

Open Road Welfare - Our welfare team provide a supportive environment for anyone who needs it. There to give professional advice, converse with parent(s) and guardian(s), link in with partner agencies, striving to make everybody feel safe and happy to enjoy the full festival experience.

Oxfam - Stewards work across the festival to answer questions, point our audience in the right direction and generally be a friendly face in the crowd.

Code Blue Medical Services - Providing medical care and additional safeguarding support.

The Audi presents Wilderness Info Tent Team - Located in the centre of the arena, our Info Tent Team will answer any questions and help reunite customers with anything they might have lost during the festival.

The Sanctuary - Our home of well-being focusses on every aspect of what it means to care for personal health and wellness. From mindfulness and mental health to developing connections, grief workshops and addiction fellowship groups. The Sanctuary is a dedicated safe space, aiming to nourish our audience and continually striving to open the discussion around a wide range of topics and issues affecting any and everyone. The importance of care for all persons on site is paramount, be that our festivalgoers, artists or crew.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

We’re committed to preserving the live music experience and inspiring climate action at our shows. Guided by the Live Nation Green Nation Sustainability Charter, our goal is to cut carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.

Our dedicated sustainability team embeds sustainability action into Wilderness Festival and continually looks to improve and introduce new initiatives.

We know that we cannot tackle climate change alone. That’s why we collaborate across the music industry to amplify change. We proudly support initiatives like Vision for Sustainable Events, contribute to The Show Must Go On Report, and the Green Events Code of Practice. We’ve also signed up to Music Declares Emergency.

Climate Change 

Every year the carbon footprint of each show is measured and audited across all key impact areas in scope 1&2, including energy use, water, and waste.

Energy 

Energy is our biggest emissions challenge and our top priority. Here’s how we’re tackling it:

• 100% renewable power for all show generators using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) biodiesel from recycled cooking oil.
• Smart fuel monitoring to right-size generators and cut consumption.
• LED lighting and efficient power planning for every site.
• Using battery storage and solar hybrids generators where possible.
• Through our membership of Powerful Thinking we are constantly working to reduce the power consumption at the festival to a minimum.

Travel & Transport

• We encourage everyone to travel via public transport, including Big Green Coach and provision of shuttle buses from Charlbury train station, and encourage carsharing.
• We track staff and contractor travel to understand and reduce impact.
• We work closely with our contractors to find efficiencies when moving equipment between shows, significantly reducing trucking miles.
• All car passes include an environmental levy which is donated to a local environmental charitable donation. Previously we have donated to Trees for Cities and the Trust for Oxfordshire's Environment.

Resource Efficiency  

We ae committed to implementing closed-loop waste management systems at Wilderness Festival and work to support the development of a circular economy.

• We apply the waste hierarchy, prioritising waste reduction, followed by reuse and then recycling, energy recovery and disposal. Wilderness Festival is zero waste to landfill, and we aim to achieve a 50% (or higher) material recovery rate by 2030.
• We use of a waste management facility in the locality to the site to minimise our carbon emissions from waste transport. We receive annual reports from the facility and have closely track our waste and recycling.
• We use Compostable serveware only, and plastic cutlery and straws banned since 2009.
• Everyone is actively encouraged to bring their own reusable bottle to the festival.
• All water and soft drinks are served in cans. Other drinks are served in paper cups or recycled plastic bottles with a minimum of 30% rPET content.
• Separate waste streams across our sites encourage everyone to sort their waste and recycle.
• The deposit return scheme has a 10p return on paper cups, cans, and bottles, encouraging recycling in the arena.
• Recycling bags are distributed to campers, and we have plenty of recycling points in all campsites.

Food and Water  

• We encourage that vendors should be local to the festival and track the vegetarian and vegan options available to festivalgoers.
• We track the environmental credentials of vendors including use of free range, MSC Good Fish Guide, Red Tractor Assured, Fairtrade, and Organic produce.
• Crew catering does not serve high-carbon food such as beef, and we encourage meat-free meals in crew catering.
• We measure the amount of water consumed at our festivals, and self-stopping taps are in operation to minimise water wastage.
• We are committed to collecting and redistributing any surplus food from the festival, and work with local foodbanks and organisations such as Oxford Food Hub to help us do this.

ENGAGEMENTS AND LOCAL IMPACTS  

We engage with fans, artists, and local partners to make sustainability a key part of the festival experience. Our recent projects include:

• Giving a platform to groups such as Greenpeace.
• We take into account ecologically sensitive areas or artefacts of heritage or cultural significance on our sites and work within any local conditions and carry out environmental impact assessments if required to protect local flora and fauna.

BIODIVERSITY

We contract an ecological consultant to conduct annual ecological surveys, integrating their recommendations in our plans to ensure that Audi presents Wilderness avoids negatively impacting the Wychwood Forest Site of Special Scientific Interest.

To find out more about the methodology used see here.