Tijl has worked for many years in the sustainable innovations and festival sector, including with Dutch festival, Into The Great Wide Open, from its very first edition. At Lab Vlieland, he – with a dedicated team – initiates and develops circular, climate-positive and regenerative solutions. His expertise lies in initiating practical ideas and connecting festival-based innovations to broader societal transitions. Read his answers to our 20 Event Industry Green Leader questions:
1. What is the proudest sustainability achievement or moment of your career?
Working at Into The Great Wide Open festival towards a circular, climate positive and regenerative festival and world.
2. What was your worst ever sustainability-related decision, project or initiative and why?
Hand separating two construction size containers of organic waste with a team of volunteers, to only find out later that one of the containers was misplaced during transport and ended up being incinerated instead of composted!!!
3. What are you excited about implementing this year?
De Bouwplaats van de Toekomst (The Construction Site of the Future) project, where the festival and construction sector help each other speed up their sustainability transitions.
4. Which environmental issue do you most care about?
Not one, I see the environmental issues as deeply interconnected. I think festivals are uniquely positioned to approach these issues from a systems perspective instead of separate challenges.
5. What sustainable change have you made in your personal life that you are most proud of?
That although I live in Oslo – past 4 years – and often visit the Netherlands for work and friends, I always travel by train.
6. What do you read, listen to or watch to stay in touch with green issues?
Low tech magazine, Our World in Data, Just have a Think, Ministry for the Future (book by Kim Stanley Robinson)
7. What is the most memorable live performance in your life?
8. Was there a moment you committed to taking action on climate change?
For me there was not one moment, it grew over time, a general feeling that I wanted to work on making the world more beautiful, fair and sustainable.
9. What is the most important issue to tackle at your events?
Visitor travel and transportation (most GHG emissions).
10. What do you think is the most significant challenge for the events industry becoming more sustainable?
Lack of clear, simple, long-term sustainability regulations. This would create real urgency for change for everybody equally and with that, the long-term investment horizon needed for changing the needed infrastructure.
11. Can you share something sustainable from another artist or event or company that inspired you to make a change?
The Green Travel Discount by Motel Mozaïc festival – since 2017 – which showed us that we actually can and should try to influence our visitors travel behaviour.
12. What is the secret to your sustainable success?!
Working with great people, a lot of resilience and a bit of creativity.
13. Tell us something you feel positive about right now that relates to the environment
Looking at the data it is clear that many environmental challenges globally are actually getting better! Not fast and inclusive enough, yet, but there is clear progress on important indicators and that is hugely important to get people moving faster.
14. Tell us a book, film or recent article you feel others should watch/read and why about positive change?
‘Not the End of the World’ by Hannah Ritchie & 2040 documentary/film by Damon Gameau, both show that change is actually already happening and that we just need to keep going and speed up in the right direction.
15. Can you give people new to sustainability in events a top tip?
Don’t wait. Just start projects that you are passionate about and solve challenges now …. and simultaneously develop ambitious long term shared goals that focus the output and increase long term impact.
16. What is the favourite festival moment of your career?
The euphoric moment when, at the end of every edition of the festival we come together with the whole team to – very briefly – enjoy the fruits of our shared labour.
17. What habit or practice has helped you most in your personal journey in life?
Stubborn-optimistic-inquisitive mindset.
18. Is there anything new or exciting you are planning or changing for the future that you can tell us about?
Building out the potential impact the event/festival sector has, to shape and speed up the large transitions we are in at the moment.
19. Will we save the world?
Yes, we can build a more beautiful, fair and sustainable society, but it needs work. Let’s go!
20. What would your sustainable super-power be?
Regenerator-power that rapidly restores ecosystems, regenerates barren soil, grows forests quickly, and captures GHG in the process.
Learn more about Labvlieland at: www.labvlieland.nl and Into the Great Wide Open.
This Q&A originally appeared in our December 2025 Vision for Sustainable Events newsletter. Sign up to receive monthly event sustainability news, case studies and guest blogs direct to your inbox.