The National Eisteddfod

The National Eisteddfod has risen to the sustainability challenge by calling on the expertise of the Synnwyr Busnes Business Sense team.

The Eisteddfod invited Synnwyr Busnes Business Sense to carry out an appraisal to assess its current performance in relation to sustainability, from waste and recycling issues, to wider social and economic considerations.

KEY FINDINGS

More than 150,000 visitors turn up at the Eisteddfod annually, over 90% of them in 7,000 or more cars per day. To satisfy their needs the Eisteddfod uses 300,000 gallons of water during the week and they all contribute to the 400,000 gallons of sewerage produced.  They also contribute to the 66 or so tonnes of rubbish collected. It’s not surprising therefore that the Eisteddfod pops up on the radar of environmental pressure groups.

But what of the other elements of sustainability? In response to the environmental challenge an appraisal covering the three elements of sustainable development (people, planet, profit) was carried out and a report produced by April 2007

The Eisteddfod scored very highly on the social and cultural side of its activities and the positive benefits of the community actions extend way beyond the Eisteddfod week. We concluded that it’s very unlikely that anyone has the complete picture of the value of this. Take for example the old lady who hadn’t been out of her home for years for fear of crime, who joined a knitting group to raise money for the Eisteddfod. Such groups often enjoy themselves so much that they continue meeting after the Eisteddfod’s long gone.

The financial crisis of 2004 motivated the Eisteddfod to adopt changes which have led to improved stability and longer term planning. On the purchasing side there is formal documentation and the Eisteddfod takes action on most of the issues discussed such as sourcing fair trade products, encouraging caterers to use of biodegradable cups and redirecting the acres of used carpets from landfill to be recycled into pellets. There is of course room for improvement but they are on the right track.

Transport and energy use are the two elements which have the greatest impact on the environment. However, although the environmental impact of transport has attracted negative publicity the Eisteddfod has taken action on most topics covered. They are aware of that cars are a problem but a formal management system is in place, with aims and targets, and performance is certainly improving. Many people consider the Eisteddfod to be their summer holiday – and therefore without it they might choose to travel much further, possibly by air.

A low score was achieved for energy since performance in relation to energy consumption and CO2 emission has declined. The reason for this is that the energy demand of stallholders and the expectations of campers/ caravaners increase each year. However, plans are now afoot to use bio-fuels in the generators in 2008 to improve performance and this year there will be a wind turbine present to raise awareness of alternative options.

Performance with regard to recycling has been very much dependent on the level of cooperation on the part of the relevant Local Authority. The reality is more complex than one might expect – during one Eisteddfod, for example, the recycling facilities provided were excellent but this turned out to be very much at the expense of regular services throughout the host county.

As a nomadic festival, the Eisteddfod is confident that it leaves its sites in a better state than when it arrives, be it agricultural land or a former industrial site, such as in Swansea, 2006. Over the last five years it has had a positive effect on biodiversity at each of the sites.