In 2023, Strawberry Fields placed sustainability on centre stage through its eco-friendly practices and initiatives. These opportunities to care for Yorta Yorta Country proved Strawberry Fields to be at the forefront of Australian festivals doing their best to protect precious land and water.
Here’s a closer look at how festival organisers implemented wide-reaching sustainability initiatives before, during, and after the festival.
Rewash Revolution
Strawberry Fields transitioned to a cashless system to facilitate its Rewash Revolution - eliminating waste from disposable foodware. Single-use plastic items like plates were switched out with reusable crockery made from innovative waste products like banana and rice husks. Attendees paid a deposit and received a refund when they returned their foodware to be washed and reused.
Across the weekend, over 18,000 pieces of reusables were washed and kept in circulation, avoiding a whopping 54,000 single use pieces of crockery. After hundreds (or perhaps thousands) of uses, the reusable crockery will be composted.
Encouraging Responsible Campsites
Strawberry Fields partnered with Green Music Australia and QUT to promote Camping Buddy, a new waste reduction tool for camping audiences. With 1 tent the equivalent of 8750 straws, and over 50% of festival landfill coming from campsites, Camping Buddy aims to improve campsite behaviour. It empowers festival-goers to plan their campsite essentials in advance, curbing last-minute packing decisions that often lead to impulse purchases of low-quality, disposable items. The app also helps groups share camping resources, allowing them to coordinate and reduce waste by avoiding duplicate or unnecessary items.
Leave No Trace Campaign
Using compelling sustainability communications and waste management, Strawberry Fields encourages their attendees to “Leave No Trace.”
The festival partnered with Wallaroo Camping Hire to rent out and repair a wide range of high quality camping equipment - creating greener and stress free campsites for attendees.
69% of all waste generated across the festival was diverted from landfill, with 17.6 tonnes recycled and 14.6 tonnes recovered for waste to energy.
Transforming Waste into Resources
Composting toilets at the festival transformed waste into nutrient-rich soil, bypassing chemical treatment and supporting local permaculture initiatives on site.
Learn more about how Strawberry Fields are using permaculture to revegetate the landscape.
Sustainable Energy and Carbon Offsets
From beats to lighting - all energy at Strawberry Fields is powered by green sources such as lower emissions fuel and solar energy.
In partnership with Treecreds, the festival also offset 100% of the carbon emissions generated by audience travel. Our research from AMIDESI has found that fans travelling to and from the event typically makes up the majority of transport related emissions, making it a key area of impact.
On top of that, Strawberry Fields encouraged fans to ditch their cars and jump on shuttle buses from key locations across New South Wales and Victoria, providing designated car free camping zones.
Insights from Festival-Goers
Green Music Australia conducted on-site surveys with festival attendees, asking for their feedback and insights on sustainability at music festivals. When asked how they’d rate Strawberry Field’s initiatives, over 88% of respondents gave them a 4 / 5 or higher.
Participants were also asked what they considered to be the biggest sustainability challenges at camping festivals.
While waste was the main concern from festival attendees, other complex challenges included emissions reductions, possible impacts to flora and fauna, and the cultural challenges when promoting sustainability were raised.
To learn more about Strawberry Fields including details of their 2024 event, visit their website.
Strawberry Fields is a member of the Party with the Planet alliance, comprising major music festivals, promoters, artists, social enterprises, and nonprofits across Australia.
Launched in 2019 and led by Green Music Australia, the alliance unites members to collaborate on key areas of environmental sustainability including waste and adaptation.
The Party With The Planet Alliance is supported by the NSW Environment Protection Authority and the NSW Government through Create NSW.
