A Greener Future has revealed the 2025 International AGF Award Winners at the Green Events & Innovations Conference, highlighting the world’s greenest events from music festivals to football clubs.
The 17th edition of the 2025 International AGF Awards supported by Skydiamond and hosted by Madame Gandhi and AGF CEO Claire O’Neill, celebrated the most innovative and outstanding festivals, events, venues, organisations, and individuals from worldwide events over the last 12 months at the Royal Lancaster London on 25th February.
Finalists of the awards included 34 events, venues and innovators from 14 countries with awards being presented across nine important sustainability categories, including power, water, food, and travel and the top accolade of the International Greener Festival Award and International Greener Arena Award 2025. Winning festivals and venues were from France, India, Norway, UK, Germany, Switzerland and Hungary.
During this special edition, in an alchemical union of earth and sky, each winner was issued with not only a trophy handcrafted of reclaimed wood by the organiser’s father Steve O’Neill, but an actual 0.7 carat “mined from the sky” diamond certified by the International Gemological Institute and generously gifted by the “bling without the sting” award sponsors Skydiamond.
One of the top accolades – the International Greener Festival Award 2025 – went to Norway’s Øyafestivalen who also scooped the Greener Transport Award. Oyafestivalen show love and care for their host inner-city park and for their local community, which shines through in all their decisions and actions. In 2024 the festival went meat-free and gained the highest level of organic food certification available in Norway. Social and environmental sustainability are truly at Øyafestivalen’s core.
Upon receiving the award, the festival’s head of sustainability Marie Furseth said “It’s a massive pleasure, sustainability has been part of the holistic mindset for at least 20 years, probably more. It’s very important and we love what we do. We hope other festivals will follow. Thank you very much. New for this year was the introduction of the International Greener Arena Award, which was won by Forest Green Rovers FC – the New Lawn, showing that sustainability and football can go hand in hand. From their local community work including Community Cookalongs, Soccer Camps and venue Eco Tours to their organic pitch with no use of pesticides or chemical fertilisers, and of course, their 100% plant based menu for all!
Forest Green Rovers Chairman Dale Vince said “Thank you. Thanks to all the team at Forest Green Rovers you do an amazing job.”
Echoes of Earth received the Circular Event Award, a first time win for India. Another first time winner was Waking Life in Portugal, who took home the Water & Sanitation Award.
The UK took home two awards, with Greenbelt Festival winning the Pied Piper award for their inspiring and thought-provoking programming and Green Gathering once again winning the Greener Power Award with 100% renewable energy powering their festival.
We Love Green in France won the Greener Catering Award with their plant based-menu, and the Community Action Award was won by the Paléo Festival Nyon in Switzerland for their extensive work with the community. The Greener Innovations Award went to Sziget Festival in Hungary for their innovative Green Sziget Passport Games activation.
Full list of 2025 International AGF Award winners:
International Greener Festival Award – Øyafestivalen (NO)
International Greener Arena Award – Forest Green Rovers FC – the New Lawn (UK)
Greener Transport Award (Supported by KB Event) – Øyafestivalen (NO)
Circular Event Award (Supported by Ryans Cleaning) – Echoes of Earth (IN)
Community Action Award – Paléo Festival Nyon (CH)
Greener Catering Award (Supported by Peppermint Events) – We Love Green (FR)
Pied Piper Award – Greenbelt Festival (UK)
Greener Power Award – Green Gathering (UK)
Water & Sanitation Award – Waking Life (PT)
Greener Innovations Award – Green Sziget Passport Games @ Sziget Festival (HU)
Finalists are selected from all AGF certified Greener Events, Festivals and Arenas over the past year, with top scores across key sustainability criteria. Applicants undergo a detailed assessment, site visits, and analysis by AGF auditors. To be eligible to enter the awards it is necessary to apply for certification and provide evidence such as energy source and usage, water consumption, waste transfer notes, transport measurements, material traceability, and survey data. Additionally, green innovations from festivals and events have been selected and are judged by an independent jury.
Sponsored by Skydiamond, The International AGF Award ceremony took place during GEI, organised by AGF in partnership with the ILMC (International Live Music Conference).
Notes to Editors:
About A Greener Future
AGF is a not-for-profit company committed to helping events, festivals, and venues around the world towards sustainability. AGF provides certification, education and training, consultancy, resources and green riders, facilitating the exchange and implementation of good ideas. They share information about how environmentally efficient methods are currently being employed at events and how the impact on the environment can be limited at future events. They offer independent assessment and verification of sustainability claims through the AGF Certification for festivals, venues, tours, and events; plus sustainability diagnosis and detailed carbon footprinting. www.agreenerfuture.com
Category descriptions
International Greener Festival Award
The highest scoring festival worldwide in the Greener Festival certification assessments.
International Greener Arena Award
The highest scoring venue worldwide in the Greener Arena certification assessments.
Greener Transport Award
One of the biggest impacts of many temporary events. Audience, production, crew and artists with our transport sector still staggeringly carbon heavy, who’s reducing their carbon footprint, facilitating green travel, and still delivering the party.
Circular Event Award
This one goes to the event that has demonstrated a firm grasp of the need to close the loop on their resources flow. Every item that comes into the event or venue ultimately has a plan above disposal. Preventing waste, reusing, recycling and demonstrating the full traceability of all materials coming in and out of the event.
Community Action Award
A strong connection with the local community and sense of community within the event or venue is celebrated here. This award recognises those demonstrating outstanding social inclusion, action for unity and acceptance between people, and positive projects that provide benefit to others beyond the event itself.
Greener Catering Award
Food is such a significant issue for sustainability for its ethical and environmental impacts both globally and locally. By consciously crafting our consumption choices and what we support with our bellies, we can make some huge strides toward a more sustainable relationship between one another and our planet.
Pied Piper Award (Greener Communications)
Who has the silver tongue and skips along like the pied piper, luring unsuspecting victims to a greener way?! This award goes to the event that has had an excellent communication and PR plan which has resulted in significant cultural or behavioural changes for the greener good within and beyond their event!
Greener Power Award
Event power is a hot topic in the realm of sustainability, and costs, and is also a hotbed for innovation. This award goes to the event that has successfully maximised their energy efficiency and adopted a power source that has the lowest impact on the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.
Water & Sanitation Award
The winner of this award has shown clear environmental consideration in their water usage and sanitation provisions, by reducing water usage and waste, minimising production and poo mileage, eliminating unnecessary chemicals and separating liquid waste streams to allow natural biological processes to harness valuable nutrients and conserve water.
Greener Innovation Award
This goes to the outstanding innovation, initiative or invention that has been a game changer in the green event space, that has disrupted business as usual or has given a new solution to help turn something problematic into something good. This award can go to either an event, venue, individual or supplier that has stood out the most in the last 12 months.