Tested at DGTL ADE: three innovations making the festival sector more sustainable and inclusive
A trash can that automatically sorts waste, an app that makes festivals safer and more accessible, and reusable meal packaging: three promising innovations will be tested over the next few days at Amsterdam's dance festival DGTL (Oct. 19-21). The test cases are part of a two-year project by DGTL, Revolution Foundation, Innofest and Oerol to make the festival sector more sustainable and inclusive. By testing their innovations early on in a festival setting, participating startups can improve their products faster and increase their ultimate impact.
The festival sector, like the rest of society, has significant sustainability and inclusion challenges. Festival organizations across the country are faced with the task of making their events more sustainable, focusing on issues such as logistics, energy use, water management and waste management. There is also a strong desire to appeal to broader and more diverse audiences, both in terms of visitors, staff and concerns, making the industry more accessible and inclusive.
With their collaboration, DGTL, Revolution Foundation, Innofest and Oerol want to set an example and inspire and show not only the festival sector, but also the rest of society what steps are possible in terms of sustainability and inclusion. Linda Vermaat, director of Innofest: "We believe that innovation can play a crucial role in making the festival sector more sustainable and inclusive. Unfortunately, nine out of ten innovations fail, often because the prototype has not been sufficiently tested. We are very happy that together with DGTL, Revolution Foundation and Oerol we can offer seven promising companies, social projects and students the opportunity to test their solutions in practice over the next few years."
During DGTL ADE, the focus will be on sustainability; at the spring edition (March 29 to 31)there will be a greater focus on inclusion and diversity. The entrepreneurs will then have the opportunity to further improve their innovations based on the data collected and test them in practice again at Oerol (June 7 to 16).
The following innovations have been selected for DGTL ADE:
PLAEX
Wanneer afval niet optimaal wordt gesorteerd, komt het terecht in stortplaatsen, verbrandingsovens of waterlichamen. Dit is kwalijk en onnodig. PLAEX ontwikkelde daarom de Garby, een automatische afvalsorteerbak die het ingezamelde afval direct sorteert. Garby kan restafval met wel 70% verminderen en de kosten voor het ophalen van afval met 68% verlagen. Op het terrein van DGTL staan twee prototype Garby’s om de werking van de bakken te testen, waarbij bezoekers worden gestimuleerd ze zoveel mogelijk te gebruiken.
Skik
Startup Skik wil festivals en evenementen veiliger en toegankelijker maken dankzij slim gebruik van data. Zo moet hun app het bijvoorbeeld mogelijk maken om tijdens een evenement gepersonaliseerde routes te adviseren voor rolstoelgebruikers of mensen die slecht ter been zijn of het ontstaan van lange wachtrijen te voorkomen. Op DGTL testen ze de app door bezoekers te vragen of ze hun locatiegegevens geanonimiseerd mogen volgen terwijl ze zich over het festivalterrein bewegen. Met deze waardevolle data kan de app een volgende ontwikkelstap maken.
Ozarka
Ozarka rents reusable food containers to catering customers. At DGTL, food trucks use Ozarka's products to serve meals in. The more often the food containers are used, the more sustainable they are. Looking for ways to further increase the sustainability of their product, the startup is currently testing an off-grid system using the two-way battery of a Nissan LEAF. This way, the food containers only travel a very short distance and a small amount of reusable items can be redistributed multiple times during the event. Ozarka is measuring at DGTL how long a commercial dishwasher can run on one battery charge.
The tests at DGTL are supervised by Innofest and made possible by DGTL,Revolution Foundation, Oerol, Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie and CLICKNL.
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About Innofest - Festival Driven Innovation
In a time of challenges that transcend borders and generations, companies are needed that go for profit as well as for purpose. As an incentive program, Innofest is a welcome springboard for innovative entrepreneurs looking to make an impact. By testing in the most realistic setting possible, entrepreneurs pick up crucial feedback to further develop their products. This is why Innofest gives startups the opportunity to test their prototypes: both at festivals and living labs and online. This is how we help entrepreneurs successfully take the step to the market. innofest.co
About DGTL
DGTL is an international electronic music festival known for its focus on sustainability and innovation, in addition to providing high-quality electronic music acts. DGTL strives to have a positive impact on the environment and has implemented several sustainability initiatives, such as reducing waste, using green energy and promoting awareness among festival visitors. dgtl.nl
About Oerol
Oerol is an annual art and theater festival that takes place on Terschelling. The festival is a unique combination of nature, culture and artistic creativity. The natural environment of the island is used as a stage for special location performances. Oerol's ambition is to achieve a 90% fossil-free production of the festival by 2024. Together with the makers, scientists, the public and the island, the organization is working to achieve the smallest possible impact. oerol.nl
