This is an important question for a festival - and one we need to continually ask ourselves. Everyone, from politicians to local councils to big supermarkets, seems to espouse green credentials these days. But exactly how do we measure our environmental impact? Well, here at the Green Festival, we continually devise ways to measure how green we are - and we are also trying to get beyond some of the conventional (and often misleading) ways these things are measured. We don’t just measure environmental impact in terms of our carbon footprint; we believe greenness includes being as open and accessible as possible to everyone in the community.

Here are some of the things you might want to know:

• We bring renewable energy sources on site. The Lakeside Stage and a number of our marquees take power solely from the sun via some huge solar panels.
• Mains electricity is also used to power the Green World Stage and the catering vans, but is paid for through a green energy tariff (using ecotricity - see their website for more info: www.ecotricity.co.uk).
• We have a strict environmental and ethical policy for our traders, stalls and info tents. They have to meet all our criteria. We turn down many people who otherwise would bring in lots of money for us because they don’t meet our standards - this is more important for us.
• We try to notice the small things and act on them. For example, we realised that we use an incredible number of cable ties to hold all those signs, screens and fences together. These are one use and will take thousands of years to decompose in landfill. Next year we are going back to good old fibre string!
• Our city centre location is within really close reach of public transport, accessible by foot or using pedal power. This is no accident. The festival is what it is because we sit amongst some of the most beautiful parkland in the area but also within two minutes walk of the Metro and the central bus stations.
• We are 100% free to attend. No tickets, no barriers and no need to buy food and drink from us (picnics are very welcome). Anyone and everyone is welcome to attend and stay for as long or as little as you like. This means we are accessible to many people in the community who wouldn’t usually go to a 'festival'.
• We check up on ourselves. Last year, we commissioned an environmental audit to critically appraise our green credentials against European Standards and our own claims. When we get things wrong we need to know about it!