Sustainable fuel company SkyNRG has struck a groundbreaking partnership with Dutch festival brand DGTL to ferry artists to its eight international events on flights using sustainable aviation fuel.
 

Flights are unavoidable for huge international artists, especially for those on tour. With this partnership, artists can reduce their CO2 emissions by replacing fossil fuels with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Sustainable aviation fuel is produced from organic resources like biogenic feedstocks instead of fuel refined from petroleum.
 

Whilst SAF isn’t new (it’s been around since 2011), it hasn’t permeated into commercial air travel, only accounting for about 1% of commercial travel. Some companies liked DHL and United Airlines favour carbon-neutral air options, but with this partnership, DTGL checks off another milestone on their sustainability checklist.
 

The festival has always been committed to making its events as environmentally conscious as possible; ensuring that its events are run on renewable energy, offering 100% plant-based menus at the food court, and even setting up a circular sanitation system to extract nutrients from urine and feces to be used as fertilizers. Their initiatives has managed to reduce residual waste per visitor from 23kg to 0kg, and the air travel mobility is the final piece in what the organisers call its “overall sustainability puzzle”.
 

“We feel a responsibility to continuously improve and maintain our social and environmental impact on the globe and we are committed to leaving the world a bit better than we found it,” says DGTL’s sustainability coordinator Mitchell van Dooijeweerd.
 

“That’s why we are always researching and implementing innovative measures to progressively reduce emissions. But we’re looking beyond our own emissions too. Through this partnership with SkyNRG, we reduce CO2 emissions together with our artists and ensure that what we do inspires our surroundings."
 

“Replacing fossil kerosine with SAF is a huge step forward for unavoidable flights. Furthermore, it is a scalable solution that can reduce air travel emissions for other events too where air travel may be unavoidable. DGTL’s festivals have a huge reach, which is why it is important we lead by example and plant the seed for change.”

DGTL’s next edition will be happening alongside Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) on 14 – 16 October. Tickets to the ADE events are currently all sold out, and will see headlining sets from Disclosure, Honey Dijon, Sven Väth, The Blessed Madonna, Kölsch, KiNK Live, Dixon, Paula Temple, Jon Hopkins, Dax J alongside rising local Dutch talent. Other DTGL events are also scheduled for Tel Aviv on 21 September, with sets from Kino Todo, Liane, Mita Gami, and Roy Rosenfield.
 

DJs have also been hopping onto the sustainable and circular economy trend of festivals, of which the Bye Bye Plastic initiative by BLOND:ISH sees the most traction in its mission of wiping out single-use plastic in the music industry. The eco-collective provides guidance for DJs on how to craft out ec-friendly riders, as well as encouraging DJs to request venues to provide single-use plastic-free DJ booths. The collective also works with venues and events to recommend suitable alternative plastic suggestions on a request basis.