Please give it up for SUSTAIN! – Green Culture Summit

What if we not only know the solutions for a better future, but also implement them? That's what the initiators of SUSTAIN! thought and set up a summit that is about exactly that: empowerment and optimism instead of a mindset of apocalypse. This conference is featuring change makers from all over Europe who are already living the green transformation in the cultural sector and are sharing their knowledge. Welcome to the premiere of SUSTAIN!

The Reeperbahn Festival is proactively moving forward: In the project "Klimabilanz Reeperbahn Festival" up to 7 venues of the Reeperbahn Festival will receive a climate balance for the year 2023. According to "What you measure you will manage", the basis for a change of direction towards the vision of a climate-neutral Reeperbahn Festival can be laid and practical first steps in this direction can be taken. How these steps look like and what are the biggest climate factors in the cultural sector will be presented in this lecture.

The project is made possible by funding from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media. The assessments will be carried out by experts from Thema1 GmbH and presented at the Reeperbahn Festival 2024.

Welcome by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection

Michael Kellner (Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection and the Federal Government's contact person for the cultural and creative industries) will address the challenges and opportunities of climate protection and circularity for the event industry in his welcoming speech.

Once again, the music business is falling behind. While large companies like Intel or Thyssen-Krupp are supported with billions in their transformation efforts towards climate-friendly production conditions, the majority of the emission-intensive concert industry is only offered advice. Yet almost all sectors of the economy were considered in the conception of the European Union's Green Deal. There is also the German government's Climate and Transformation Fund, 2023 with a budgeted spending volume of almost 36 billion Euro, as well as countless other support programmes to improve the climate balance.

But where are those funding instruments and monetary subsidies for the necessary modernisation of concerts, tours and festivals in terms of climate protection? How needs-oriented are these programmes, or are they once again threatened only by the political offside trap of "not systemically relevant"?

Festival cancellations due to forest fires, hailstorms and extreme weather - can we still safely set up open air events in the future?

The scientific input by climate scientist and IPCC report author Prof. Dr. Daniela Jacob classifies which effects man-made climate change has: now and in the future. Plus the bonus question: What are planetary boundaries and which ones have we already exceeded? Where are opportunities for the event industry?

Embrace life: For the study 'Plant a SEEED' The Changency (Katrin Wipper, Sarah Lüngen) together with Prof. Thomas Sakschweski from Berlin University of Applied Sciences took a close look at five concerts of German band Seeed in Berlin's Wuhlheide in regards to their environmental impact. The results answer what levers the music and event industry must pull in order to still be throwing the best party on the planet in 5 years. And does the audience actually go along with all this 'green clunk'? Does sustainability communication directed at fans help or hinder sales for event organizers?

From Hell yeah to Fuck no: This critical discussion addresses the topic of additional costs, climate impact costs and climate adaptation costs in the music and event industry. Plus: Has anyone thought of social responsibility yet?

In addition, how must policymakers support the cultural industry in its transformation? What is the truth about these alleged additional costs? How much does 'business as usual' cost, and who pays the price tag for this?

This panel brings together a variety of opinions, and that's a good thing: practical experience and budgets on the part of organizers and artists meet political framework conditions and restrictions. At the same time, climate experts and the good conscience of activism aka Fridays For Future zoom out into the big picture and share facts for the music and event industry - plus possible savings in case of a quick transformation.

"Bullshit Bingo climate crisis“: Experience 30 minutes of love, bullshit and climate crisis. In the interactive "Bullshit Bingo climate crisis", clichés and absurd statements about the climate crisis will be reproduced and the contradictions and exaggerations in the debate will be refuted fact-based thanks to the experts from Klimadashboard.de. Each visitor will receive a bingo card with buzzwords and bullshit at the entrance - from technology openness to climate highways, we will evaluate the most beautiful bullshit phrases of the climate debate. And the best thing about it: You will not only get helpful information for the next bullshit debate: the first bingo will also receive a little surprise, no bullshit!"

This panel is an ode to empowerment: Jasper Goossen (CEO DGTL Festival, NL) lets us in on which obstacles the DGTL team had to overcome on the path to the world's most famous circular festival. Sanne Stephansen (head of sustainability Roskilde festival, DK) shares their festival's success story in visitor engagement and what their circular lab envisions. 
Daan Stigter (Labvlieland, Into The Great Wide Open, NL) shares which sustainable and circular measures are 'fan favorites' and have the most impact.
There is nothing you can do as a touring artist? Tour and production manager Jamal Chalabi (Yungblud/Massive Attack; head of touring AGF, UK) lists a number of measures he has implemented on tour and why communication is key. Turning urine by concertgoers into tea and what it's like to work with space agencies and festivals: Peter Scheer (Semilla Sanitation, NL) shares their circularity vision!