Dark Season Blues is an environmentally approved event.
Following guidelines from the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), Dark Season Blues has been annually recertified as an environmentally approved event since we first received the certification in 2017.We will therefore encourage everyone involved in the festival, partners, audiences, artists and volunteers to contribute to the environmental work.
Hotels/Accommodation.
Our partners all work for a minimum environmental footprint. If you also want to be environmentally conscious in your choice of accommodation, we recommend our partners: Svalbard Hotel – The Vault, Svalbard Hotel – Polfareren and Basecamp Hotel Longyearbyen.
Transportation.
The festival events are mostly in the centre of Longyearbyen, and we advise everyone to make their way on foot, bike or kicksledge to the events.
We recommend the airport shuttle services when upon arrival and departure from Longyearbyen.
We advise everyone to use the scheduled transportation to the following events:
To Gruve3, the ticket includes a shuttle bus to and from the concert.
To the event at Huset Saturday night, bus transfer from the city centre to Huset before the concert start is included.
Do you have any need for transportation by taxi, we recommend our partner Svalbard Bus and Taxi.
Food.
Our partners’ menus are great, offering varied and delicious tasting experiences. You should indulge yourselves during the festival, but we urge everyone to think about reducing food waste. All our partners offer vegetarian options, and some also offer vegan options. Feel free to choose these options if you want to contribute even more to the environment. Our recommended partners are: Kroa, Svalbar Pub, Polfareren, Huset, Gruvelageret and Stationen.
Activities
Not everything is about music during the festival. There is also the possibility to go on boat trips, hikes, dog sled tours or bus guiding. Our recommended partners who have a good environmental profile are Svalbard Adventures and Basecamp Explorer. For bus guiding in Longyearbyen and the surrounding area, we recommend Svalbard Bus and Taxi.
The environmentally certified Svalbard Museum is a natural and cultural history museum for Svalbard and the Arctic, and we advise everyone to visit the museum to learn more about Svalbard.
Travel destination Svalbard.
Svalbard is a sustainable destination, and before you visit Longyearbyen you should familiarize yourself with Svalbard’s weather conditions, safety regulations and common rules to ensure that you act responsibly in the fragile Arctic desert. Stop by Visit Svalbard, the tourist information in Longyearbyen, where they can provide information and good advice.
Save energy.
Turn off the lights and turn down the heat when you leave your place of residence to attend concerts.
Turn down the brightness on your phone, and you don’t necessarily need to take pictures non stop. This way, you may not have to go looking for power outlets during the festival.
Waste
Waste should be sorted according to local instructions in Longyearbyen.
Water.
Drink tap water. We encourage the use of our own bottle and to avoid using disposable bottles. The DSB Thermal bottle for cold/hot drinks can be purchased at our Festival office. You can fill your thermo bottle at the venues, as there are water stations at every venue. If you do not have a reusable bottle, there are water glasses available at the water stations.
Printed material
All printed materials for Dark Season Blues are produced by Lundblad AS in Tromsø, which have the “Swan Eco label” and is certified as an “Environmental lighthouse”.
Textiles
The Dark Season Blues Fabrics, such as t-shirts and hoodies are manufactured by New Wave Mode which is certified and a member of OEKO-TEX, BSCI, Textile Exchange, the Kemikaliegruppen and the Clean Shipping Index.
Feedback.
If you notice something we have not done that can make the festival even more environmentally friendly, we would highly appreciate that you make us aware of this. This way, we can do an even better environmental work!
