Glastonbury Festivals and It’s Employment of Sustainable Marketing Practices

The Festival’s focus seems to be orientated towards Environmental Marketing: which is practiced when industries favor recycling, energy saving and other environmentally conscious activities. Environmental marketing can go a step further when creating a new environmental consciousness that promotes preservation and conservation in the future

The American Marketing Association, does not specifically define environmental marketing, but establishes that an “Environmental Impact Analysis is the assessment of the impact of a strategy or the decision on the environment, especially the ecological consequences of the strategy or decision” which emphasizes that it is the responsibility of the marketer to do no harm environmentally.  (Jamrozy 2007, 123).

According to Jamrozy (2007, 124), there are three dimensions of marketing sustainability that need to be considered. Derived from Jamrozy sustainable tourism marketing model below, the explanations state how the Glastonbury Festival has successfully employed these three dimensions.

Sustainable Marketing Model (Jamrozy 2007, 124)

Society & Economy:


This is defined a recognizing that although the traditional economic paradigm is followed, with profit as an ultimate goal, it also promotes a societal goal, to provide benefits to all residents.

The Glanstobury Festival promotes a more societal goal, as stated by the following quotes by Michael Evais, Founder of the Glastonbury Festival.

‘The 2010 festival should bring in about £25 million, but almost all that will be swallowed up in staging, bands, security, facilities and other costs. We only make about £2 million profit. This is shared between Oxfam, WaterAid and Greenpeace. The festival is a sell-out. We could charge more but it would spoil the atmosphere and goodwill.” Michael Eavis – 2010

“I am proud that Glastonbury contributes over £100 million annually to the economy, and a substantial proportion of that, £52 million, is spent in Somerset and the south west” – Michael Eavis, Founder, Glastonbury Festival 2011 (Toby 2010).  

Environment:

According to Jamrozy (2007) the objectives of this are promoting healthy connected environments, based on protecting the natural and cultural resources. Marketing would not promote the “use” of resources, but preservation and pro-environmental behaviors.

Within the Festival, this is done through extensive messages and promotion of sustainability initiatives, such as waste management initiatives employed by the festival as described earlier on.