SHIFT is all about the future. And what is the next big thing in the upcoming decades? Along with technological revolutions such as robots and artificial intelligence, one of the most important issues is sustainability. In the future, companies and events have to make sustainable decisions.

SHIFT focuses on making the event fun, cosy and responsible. Responsibility contains the idea of comprehensive recognition of the environment. We focused on this in many ways at SHIFT 2017 and EcoCompass helped us accomplish our goals in sustainability.

EcoCompass is an environmental management system designed for the use of SMEs and events. It’s based both on the respective Nordic environmental management systems and on international standards on environmental management. Currently SHIFT is an EcoCompass candidate, and the audition to get the certification will happen at the festival.

Sustainability is no longer a trend, it is a must

“Many people and companies want to make environmentally friendly choices. Recognition of the environment plays an important role when organizing a pleasant and responsible festival. Also, various other events – such as Slush, Flow Festival and Ruisrock – have been using EcoCompass”, says Laura Luukkonen, the sustainability chief of SHIFT.

Arriving to the venue usually causes the most emissions in an event. That is why SHIFT wants to encourage people to use public transportation. SHIFT 2017 and the Kakola after party happened near the city centre, so arriving by bike or public transportation was easy.

During the coming years, SHIFT is focusing on three main things: reducing the amount of waste and investing in recycling, encouraging people to arrive by public transport and also taking environmental issues into account in products and services acquired through subcontracting, for example through providing vegetarian and local food.

According to Luukkonen, sustainability is seen in SHIFT very concretely. “This year we will have volunteers helping our visitors to recycle their waste. For example, take the food truck area: If you’re not familiar with the biodegradable dishes, it may feel strange to throw plates and forks in biodegradable waste, but that’s how it works these days. Biodegradable dishes are a better choice because you don’t need oil to produce them, actually they are usually made from recycled materials which is great. Once the bio waste gets composted, the soil can later be used in non-agricultural gardening.”

SHIFT will also have the same toilets as last year: earth closets from Biomaja. Biomaja doesn’t use any artificial chemicals, so the sludge is easier to process. SHIFT also aims at hiring and borrowing most of its furniture to ensure that it will be used again later. “We will also have a proper parking space for bikes this year” adds Luukkonen.

Future goals

EcoCompass is helping SHIFT to develop sustainability every year. SHIFT wants to use better and more sustainable materials and recycle used materials. It is important to encourage companies to use sustainable service models and think about sustainability in every aspect of business.

Find out more here.

It’s all about making better choices for the future. We lead by example.

Text by Leena Skogström & Anna Pihlajamäki. Photo by Emmi Kiesvaara / SHIFT.