Description
The high-brow sustainability festival Springtij has traditionally been sponsored by the oil and gas industry. In Januari 2023, Springtij dropped Element NL (former Nogepa), the organisation representing Dutch gas industry.
History of activism
Before activist groups got actively involved with a visible protest, invited speakers like Marjan Minnesma from Urgenda refused to visit Springtij. Also, people wrote critical pieces in news papers.
In 2021, several groups including Reclame Fossielvrij, Fossielvrij NL and Milieudefensie, together with keynote speakers of the festival, made a statement on Springtij's gas sponsors. Participants were asked to sign a petition, demanding Springtij to drop the gas sponsors, or else a boycott would follow. This petition was signed by many prominent participants, academics, artists and entrepreneurs.
In 2022, Springtij still didn’t drop the gas sponsors. Again, multiple prominent speakers boycotted the event. Seven action groups came together to stage a creative protest at the festival, asking participants whether they would like to be greenwashed and exposing Springtij with huge banners.