For the next four years, we’ve formulated a plan for (increasing our) sustainability, and by doing so, decreasing our carbon footprint. We’ve consciously kept it a ‘short and sexy’ plan, because we believe that sustainability, the climate, the environment are best helped with: just start somewhere and do ‘it’.

Our cunning plan: the Noorderzon way on sustainability 2009-2012: Noorderzon Cares.
Period: 2009-2012
Results & Parameters: noticeable and measurable differences in the following areas: our (carbon) footprint, like our electricity consumption, our carbage production, our water consumption, production of publicity materials, but also increase awareness etc.
Goals: on all levels of the Noorderzon organization as well as the festival, strive for sustainable solutions and implementations. All this within a feasible (financial and logistically) context and within the set period. And – with the help and inspiration of partners. 

How? 
Education: Groningen is a young city, with many, many students. We will keep close relationships with the university and high schools for research, internships. Children have the future, so with our Kidsactivities during the festival, we will educate and inform the younger generation. And of course, we need to educate ourselves as well! We will try to keep ahead of the crowd with specialized knowledge in our field. 
Awareness: communication plays a major part in our sustainability plan. To create awareness – and get people to act – we will need to point people in the right direction, remind them to think with us and help us. And: most effective is usually to address the problem, and immediately offer a solution.
Getting Involved: we cannot (and we don’t want to, by the way…) implement our plan alone. We feel sustainability is also a collective issue. So we will get our audience, our volunteers and staff and all our partners, involved over the coming years.
Making Choices: some choices are made as we speak and we will continue making those choices necessary for our plan. And, the most important decision, we’ve all ready taken: that we care.