The Turku Music Festivals is one of the oldest and most highly respected music festivals in Finland. It is known for its high-quality programming, international outlook and wonderful venues in and around the city of Turku. In February, the Festival’s efforts towards sustainable travel were rewarded with the Sustainable Travel Finland emblem granted by Visit Finland.
Sustainable development and environmental responsibility are of constantly growing importance for event organisers and visitors around the world. In order for the travel industry to be able to respond to shifting demand and to secure its future, the development measures undertaken must be sustainable. It is to this end that Visit Finland introduced the Sustainable Travel Finland programme, under which travel businesses and regions can be granted the Sustainable Travel Finland (STF) emblem in recognition of their efforts in this field. The Turku Music Festival was granted the STF emblem on Valentine’s Day, 14 February 2024.
Being granted the STF emblem is a testimony to how committed the Turku Music Festival is to sustainable travel. The emblem indicates that the Festival has taken active measures to make its events more environmentally friendly. The Festival aims to be a pioneering organiser of sustainable classical music events and concerts.
“I consider the STF emblem a particularly important step on our way to increasingly sustainable events. We still have some way to go, but this award shows that we are on the right path. We want to do our bit to protect the Earth and to encourage other people to do the same. Responsibility is at the core of the operations of the Turku Music Festival,” says Eveliina Salminen, Sales and Marketing Manager and Environmental Officer of the Turku Music Festival.
Responsibility and international relations lay the groundwork for the future of the Festival
Sustainability, responsibility and international relations are essential factors in planning for the future of the Turku Music Festival. The Festival aims to be one of Europe’s leading classical music festivals, and sustainable development and sustainable travel are important elements in attaining this goal. The Festival believes that sustainable values and environmental responsibility are of key importance for ensuring the Festival’s continued success in the long term.
The Turku Music Festival has adopted an environmental pledge that is available on the Festival website. The Festival publicises its corporate responsibility actions particularly in its social media channels and also in press bulletins. So far, there have been several such actions: collaboration with local transport operator Föli, providing Turku Music Festival ticket holders with free bus rides; reducing the volume of printed matter produced; reusing materials; and procurement of responsible and environmentally certified products and services.
