TO PROTECT THE PLANETthe Festival de Cannes is taking action

In 2023, 100% of the official car fleet is comprised of electric vehicles.

Just like the accredited visitors, the vast majority of whom get around on foot thanks to how close-by the Festival’s many spaces are, the artistic teams that travel to Cannes to showcase their films are also encouraged to walk wherever possible.

All participants enjoy free access to the City of Cannes’ public transport network thanks to their own dedicated pass, available online in their “MyCannes” space. Since 2021, more than 70,000 journeys have been taken this way during the Festival.

Between 2019 and 2021, the Festival slashed its usual volumes of printed materials by 79% (already Imprim’Vert PEFC-certified) by continuing efforts to digitalise publications and tickets and cut back on print runs.

Film promotional materials for the press are now fully digitalised, too.

The red carpet replacement rate has been halved since 2021, thereby saving close to 1,400 kilos of material every edition – a mere 59% of the traditional volume of carpet used.

The volume of carpet used in the Village International areas was also reduced by 24% in 2021. This optimisation effort continues each year (650m² of carpeting from the red carpet eliminated in 2023).

The Festival’s caterers complied with an ‘eco-responsible’ set of specifications, including commitments to prioritise fresh, seasonal produce and short circuits, to offer vegetarian options, to tackle food wastage, and to reduce waste.

Plastic water bottles (over 22,000 units in 2019) have been completely eliminated. Alongside this, water fountains are set up across the Festival’s various spaces.

The origin of Festival merchandise and products from the official boutique was reassessed with a view to systematically looking into alternatives sourced from France and Europe. French and European items are now prioritised for each new product added to the collection. In 2022, 42% of all sales were French-made items, while sales of European-made products jumped from 11% to 23% between 2021 and 2022.

In 2021, recycling was set up across the Palais des Festivals spaces to allow accredited visitors to better recycle waste at source.

Furthermore, thanks to the environmentally-friendly policies implemented by the Palais des Festivals, the City of Cannes, and the Festival’s teams, a waste recovery rate of 99% was maintained, while the percentage of materials recovered increased from 77% in 2019 to 79% in 2022.

UPCYCLING

For the past ten years or so, the Festival’s red carpet has been upcycled after the event, reused in the car, construction and agri-food industries.

In 2021, the Festival trialled ways it could be recycled. It is now collected by an association that specialises in developing the circular economy and upcycling materials in the SOUTH region’s cultural and educational sectors. The red carpet is cleaned and refurbished before being reused locally. This saves several tonnes of fabric from becoming waste, and helps the association’s members in turn. Over the past two years, it has been put to use for multiple set designs and as a backdrop for graduation ceremonies, and used to make upcycled items. This emblem of the Festival is a shining embodiment of a zero-waste approach that seeks to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

The tarpaulin on the Palais’ pediments has been upcycled since 2021, too. In 2023, the Festival began experimenting with recycling the International Village’s brackets and the Cinéma de la Plage’s screen, ensuring these materials are given a new lease of life.

Over €2,200,000  raised to help save the planet.

Since 2012, the Festival has been committed to a voluntary carbon contribution scheme, which has been systematized in 2021 with the introduction of an eco-contribution of €20 exclusive of tax for all accredited guests, with emissions attributable to their travel to Cannes and their accommodation accounting for over 80% of the event’s carbon footprint each year (excluding the 2021 edition). For its part, the Festival has also pledged to support environmental projects to the tune of €100,000 per year.

This unprecedented initiative resulted in over €2,200,000 in funds raised since 2021, of which €200,000 are direct contributions from the Festival.

In the lead-up to the Festival, and to ensure the funds were allocated to relevant and reliable programmes chosen from 20 different environmental projects, a committee of independent experts was set up, comprising the following specialists:

• Jean-François Camilleri, founder and CEO of Echo Studio
• Anna Creti, professor of economics at the Université Paris Dauphine, director of the Chaire Economie du Climat and chair of the Association Bilan Carbone
• Jean-Pierre Gattuso, research director at CNRS, Sorbonne University and Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations
• Anne Girault, cofounder of mission focused expert group, and energy and climate expert

The funds raised are donated in full to environmental contribution and sponsorship projects. These projects span the globe, from within striking distance of Cannes to France and further afield (South America, Asia and Africa). 

More info ► ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS