Sustainable Future Festival: engaging 6,000+ residents to drive real behaviour change
Key takeaways
- The Sustainable Future Festival brought together residents, businesses and community organisations across the Central Coast to explore practical ways to live and operate more sustainably.
- Designed as an interactive, large-scale community event, the festival connected attendees with local providers, hands-on demonstrations and real-world solutions.
- More than 6,000 people attended, creating a high-impact platform for sustainability education and behaviour change across the region.
Project snapshot
| Timeline: | Planning commenced January 2025. Event: 15th November 2025. Post event analysis: December 2025 |
| Customer: | Central Coast Council (CCC) |
| Location: | Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia. |
| Services provided: | Delivery of a large-scale community event focused on sustainability education, engagement, and showcasing local sustainability businesses and initiatives, in accordance with the municipal contract with CCC as part of the broader community behaviour change strategy. |
| Contract length / project duration: | Planning and delivery over 12 months culminating in the festival held on Saturday 15th November 2025. |
The challenge: making sustainability practical for the community
Many communities face ongoing confusion around how to adopt sustainable practices in everyday life. Recycling requirements, waste separation and broader sustainability actions are often seen as complex or difficult to implement.
Residents and local businesses also lack accessible opportunities to engage directly with practical solutions and local providers.
The challenge was to create a format that simplifies sustainability, makes it tangible, and encourages real behavioural change at scale.
Our solution: a community sustainability festival that drives action
A large-scale, interactive community festival was delivered to provide practical, engaging and accessible sustainability education.
The program was designed to meet the needs of diverse audiences, from households to local businesses, while maintaining strong operational, safety and environmental standards.
The event combined:
Interactive workshops and demonstrations
Local sustainability vendors and organisations
Hands-on learning experiences
A low-waste event model showcasing circular practices
How it worked: how the festival was planned, delivered and measured
The event was delivered over a 12-month period, incorporating stakeholder engagement, program design, vendor coordination and operational planning.
Attendees engaged in workshops, demonstrations and exhibitions, supported by carefully managed event operations, accessibility measures and safety protocols.
Reusable food and beverage containers were washed and recirculated on-site, supported by waste tracking and reporting systems to minimise landfill impact.
Post-event evaluation captured data, feedback and insights to inform future delivery and improve outcomes.
Results: Measurable outcomes and lessons for future community
The outcomes show how a well-planned, data-driven community engagement program can deliver measurable environmental performance while increasing public participation and confidence in sustainable practices. By combining operational waste management with education and stakeholder collaboration, the program provides a scalable model that can be adapted for councils, major events, businesses and community organisations seeking to improve sustainability outcomes.
| Measured outcome | Evidence from the event | What this means for other customers |
| Community engagement | 6,000+ attendees participated across the festival. | Demonstrates the ability to engage large audiences and deliver sustainability messaging at scale. |
| Stakeholder participation | 63 vendors and sustainability partners collaborated in the event. | Shows how cross-sector partnerships can strengthen participation and improve sustainability outcomes. |
| Waste generation | The event generated only 1.1 m³ of waste. | Effective waste planning and operational controls can significantly reduce waste produced at public events. |
| Resource recovery | 57.76% of materials were diverted from landfill. | Practical waste separation and recovery strategies can increase diversion rates and reduce landfill disposal. |
| Behaviour change | 93% of attendees reported greater confidence to adopt sustainable behaviours. | Education and hands-on engagement can create lasting behaviour change beyond the event itself. |
| Participant satisfaction | 88% of attendees rated the event 5 stars. | Positive participant experiences help build trust, encourage repeat attendance and strengthen community support for sustainability initiatives. |
What Central Coast residents are saying
about the Sustainable Future Festival
“Congratulations on a wonderful event. The day went so well, jam packed full of wonderful offerings, great information and fabulous fun. It was bigger and better than ever before and it really seemed that running the event as part of the Lakes Festival brought in even more people. Every time I looked around there were consistent crowds, throughout the whole day. Finishing with a great panel discussion, with the wonderful Costa joining us, really helped keep the energy right until the end. A huge thank you to you and the team for a job well done.”
“I can’t fault anything the organisers did to prepare for this event. It was the best one I’ve been to in the year I’ve been doing markets.”
“The festival was really incredible, you had a huge turnout and everyone was having the best time. You must be so pleased that all your hard work paid off, I hope you at least got a couple of days off this week! I felt so proud that we had such a great sustainability event on the coast, it was way better than the living smart one this year!”
“Really loved the festival! It was so much fun, the community was a really engaged asked great questions and got involved with the activations. Having us close to the 1Coast stand was great and a corner spot meant people could engage from all angles. Cleanaway staff were helpful and friendly.”
Safety, compliance and ESG outcomes
No reportable safety incidents
Full compliance with council and event regulations
Low-waste event delivery model implemented
Circular economy practices embedded through reusable systems
Strong alignment with ESG and sustainability objectives
Next steps
The festival has established a scalable model for community engagement and sustainability education.
Future opportunities include:
- Expanding event scale and reach
- Targeting a broader range of waste behaviours/streams
- Strengthening partnerships with councils and organisations
- Enhancing data tracking for long-term impact measurement