Dundee Design Festival's Sustainability Journey
EventScotland
As part of VisitScotland, we work to make Scotland the Perfect Stage for events.
Scotland’s Climate Week (23 – 29 September) encourages organisations to come together to share their stories on climate action, so with this in mind, we thought Dundee Design Festival (DDF) would be a prime candidate for our Q&A.
#DDF24 which will take place at Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) and its dates coincide exactly with #ScotClimateWeek. In addition to championing Scottish and international design with an ambitious programme of exhibitions, events, talks and workshops, it is also leading the way in its commitment to sustainable development.
We spoke with Dr Stacey Hunter , Creative Director at Dundee Design Festival to find out more.
What are the key principles driving the festival’s focus on sustainability?
We are surrounded by a strong and successful design community here in Dundee. One of the reasons Dundee was designated a UNESCO City of Design is the city’s commitment to design and innovation driving our commitment to sustainable development. It’s natural for us to want to create one of the world’s most sustainable design festivals and ensure that the best in design is showcased to as many people as possible. We are developing partnerships with a variety of organisations who share our values around sustainability and the value of design. It's been an exciting phase, as a team, we push ourselves to minimise waste and maximise opportunities. As details have emerged about our amazing site at MSIP and our sustainability goals, design-centred organisations like V&A Dundee and Bard reached out to us with generous offers of materials and infrastructure. For me as a designer and a curator this is a natural way of doing things in Scotland. We are a tight-knit community and Scotland has always been known around the world for its capacity for frugality! Any kind of waste is something that most people working in design are always keen to eliminate and the partnerships we are developing are symbolic of that urge to be efficient.
Are there any other festivals or organisations you take inspiration from?
Our partners MSIP and V&A Dundee have played a big role in showing how generosity, openness and partnership working are the first steps in delivering sustainable projects. Our decision to hold the festival all under one roof at Scotland's biggest innovation parc was the first step; underpinning all activities at MSIP is a collaborative approach to achieve the goal of net zero so it's the perfect environment for us to learn and grow. We are working with designers who are pushing the boundaries of their own practice and through conversations we're able to strengthen our own knowledge.
One of the moments that reaffirmed the value of our approach was an excellent event hosted by Custom Lane in Edinburgh in November 2023. Loreta and Ben Bosence of Local Works Studio spoke about how they creatively utilise site-based resources and processes to plan, make or repair the landscapes and communities they work with. What was so inspiring was this very common-sense methodical approach that really appealed to me and confirmed we were on the right path for how we planned to deliver the festival. Taking resourcefulness as a designer and pushing it to extremes. They spoke about sourcing materials from the shortest distance as possible, sorting them and grading them which mirrored our own plans.
In terms of visiting other design festivals, what struck me the most was how unsustainable the status quo is. It is no longer a valid approach in a climate emergency to commission bespoke displays and installations covered in branding that renders them useless the day after the festival ends. Our approach at DDF will become the standard way to deliver similar design events. I hope it happens sooner rather than later.
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How did your partnership with Ember, your sustainable travel partner, come about?
Partnering with MSIP as a hub for sustainable and green innovation businesses gave us the opportunity to connect with companies like Ember who are based on site. Ember charge their bus fleet from the same renewable energy source that will power the festival. Their commitment to green travel and their ability to provide transport from not just the centre of Dundee but Glasgow and Edinburgh too made them a perfect fit for the festival.
In planning and developing a sustainable festival what have you learnt on your journey so far?
One of the biggest insights I have taken away from working with designers who are tackling sustainability through all sorts of lenses - from toxicity to circularity - is that sustainability is a journey. Eco-shaming is holding people back from trying to improve and taking risks. It's important to think about a project holistically and stay flexible. I have been mapping potential materials and manufacturers in Dundee to determine the most viable materials, in terms of availability, infrastructure, and the lowest carbon options for constructing our festival infrastructure. Transforming low value available materials into something beautiful sometimes takes longer but thanks to MSIP I have the longest install period for a show I've ever had! Material choices and production will be as sustainable and non-polluting as possible – including designing for deconstruction and onward reuse. That means we will be designing in a way that maximises the possibility for us to reuse our displays at future festivals. Festivals are the ideal platform to experiment with more sustainable approaches. I feel confident that our visitors will fully support the decisions we have made. Hopefully, they will feel empowered to make more sustainable choices for themselves whether it's DIY at home or a gardening project.
Are there plans to measure both the environmental and social impact of the festival?
As part of our ambition to host the world's most sustainable design festivals we have committed to using less than 30% virgin materials. As well as a drive to re-use as much material as possible, we have developed a materials palette guiding the festival’s overall aesthetic from items which can be borrowed or reused. For example, breeze-blocks, heras fencing, scrap timber and bricks. For all decisions the team has had to ask "What is the most sustainable way to do this?" What we've found is that if you parse every conversation through a sustainability lens, it cuts out all the noise and prevarication. Ultimately, everyone's on the same page, they get what the values are, and it just speeds up the process. The complexity is removed by taking a common-sense approach. Choosing that which was used, renewable or recyclable. We are not delving deep into the data comparing statistics on carbon emissions, water use or toxicity. We're not experts in sustainability. We're not scientists. We're on a journey.
Describe DDF in 10 words?
An unforgettable celebration of Scottish design all under one roof.