Roskilde Festival sustainability lab for students

Roskilde Festival has always been one of the world’s most visionary festivals, not least when it comes to sustainability. The festival works hard to reduce the impact on climate and environment from operations and the 130,000 guests.

Since 2010, DTU students have participated in this work by, e.g., developing new solutions for waste management and making the electricity consumption more sustainable. The student projects also include new technologies that are aimed directly at the experience of the festival-goers, because the students base their projects on what they think Roskilde Festival should be.

“The collaboration with DTU is a really good example of what Roskilde Festival is really all about: making a sustainable difference in the world,” says spokesperson for the festival Christina Bilde.

“Not only do the DTU students understand how a festival like ours can be the starting point for tackling the challenges in our world, they also have a good understanding of the technologies that can contribute to this work, both at Roskilde Festival and in the outside world. And each year, they bring inspiring new projects to the festival site. Projects that continue to evolve and grow afterwards—here at the festival and beyond. The collaboration is also an excellent example of how sustainability is also about to paving the way for new generations and creating the space for talented people to grow. This is deeply rooted in our DNA, and we’re super proud to be part of it.”

Roskilde Festival and DTU entered into a partnership after several DTU students in the years up to 2010 had improved their own campsites and had small collaboration projects, e.g. the development of phone charging via bicycles. When this year’s festival is over, more than 700 students in more than 150 projects have participated at the festival and contributed with a wide range of solutions along the way.

This year, festival-goers can meet students who are reducing the use of diesel generators and others who are testing new ways of reducing food waste and increasing waste sorting. There is a proposal for a portable wind turbine, a simple solution for creating a stronger sense of community in refugee camps, and a study to find out how much carbon the festival emits.

“The collaboration with Roskilde Festival gives our students a unique opportunity to test engineering theory in practice. They gain invaluable knowledge in meeting both the high demands of the festival environment and a festival with a serious sustainability agenda. And in a time where everyone is talking about the UN Sustainable Development Goals, it’s great to be able to look back on a collaboration that was moving things in the direction long before the goals were written,” says Lars D. Christoffersen, Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Student Affairs at DTU.