On Earth Day, A Greener Future (AGF), the not-for-profit company dedicated to making the live event sector sustainable, highlights how festivals are leading the way on green initiatives with innovative solutions that are cost-effective and reduce emissions.

While Earth Day is a time for reflection, the global events industry is already taking action and making progress. From energy and food to infrastructure and travel, festivals around the world are implementing strategies to reduce their environmental impact. Smashing the narrative that being green costs more and that plant-based menus won’t work, festivals are the catalyst for the transition that is much needed in the events industry and the world at large.

According to Claire O’Neill, festival sustainability expert and co-founder of AGF: “Festivals are a great place to experience and explore new (and old) ways of doing things. From water to energy to biodiversity restoration, when done well, festivals showcase more sustainable alternatives.”

Festivals proving that being green works…

Primavera Sound, Spain – Improving energy efficiency at scale
Maximising energy efficiency and using a power source that has the lowest impact on the environment is something many events aim to achieve. Primavera Sound is focused on improving its energy efficiency by reinforcing electrification and optimising battery use and fuel consumption in generator sets.

To achieve this, they will expand the areas and/or equipment supplied by the main electricity grid; limit the power supplied to catering outlets, ensuring it is truly aligned with actual consumption needs; review the design of the generator installation to standardise usage; and review the design of the battery installation to maximise its effectiveness and efficiency.

Paradise City, Belgium – Shifting food culture towards lower-impact choices
What we eat and drink is significant when it comes to sustainability, with a third of global emissions coming from food and agriculture, as well as the biodiversity and human health impacts, not to mention animal cruelty.

One of the most talked about sessions at the recent Green Events & Innovations Conference was Beyond The Burger Van: How Festivals Like Paradise City are Serving Sustainable Futures, where the food curator for Paradise City Group, Petra Daniëls, gave insights into providing plant-based menus at festivals.

“As science proves, we should all eat more plant-based foods, both for the planet and for our own health. Unfortunately, these options are not easy to find at events. There are often not many vegetarian or vegan options, or they are presented incorrectly,” says Petra. “To implement a sustainable policy as a food manager, you need the support of your team and your boss. Events are still organisations that need to make a profit. So it is also important to demonstrate that sustainable options are still profitable.”

 Petra’s five top tips

1) Require caterers to include at least 1 vegetarian or vegan option on each menu.
2) This dish should be at the top of the menu, with the meat dish at the bottom.
3) The meat dish should always be more expensive.
4) Drastically reduce your carbon footprint by no longer offering beef and lamb. Chicken and pork have a much smaller impact.
5) Communication is key: avoid using the words “vegetarian” or “vegan” in the description of the dish. Be creative. “Field-grown lasagna al forno” sounds much sexier than “vegan lasagna.” By normalising these dishes, they won’t seem unusual or extreme.

Seeing healthy and environmentally friendly dishes become the norm, rather than being offered as a “strange” alternative, would be a game-changer at festivals this summer.

“We must not forget that we, as the events sector, can have a major impact,” Petra adds. “After all, we reach thousands of people in a short space of time. And we can introduce them to good food in a positive way, encouraging them to choose less meat. And with Paradise City festival, we are proving that you can go completely plant-based without shouting about it, and the public will love it.”

DGTL, The Netherlands – Putting travel & mobility at the heart of festival planning
Transport is one of the biggest culprits for many temporary events. With the transportation of audiences, production crew, artists, and the production itself still staggeringly carbon-heavy, event managers are adopting practices that reduce their carbon footprint while still delivering the party.

DGTL, a recent AGF International awards winner, has a detailed mobility plan, clear KPIs, and robust monitoring, backed by a strategically central location that enables most attendees to arrive by public transport (including extra ferries), by bike, or on foot, with no dedicated visitor parking.

From booking more local artists and contributing to Sustainable Aviation Fuel to consolidating freight and shifting on-site vehicles towards electric and renewable fuels, DGTL proves that an ambitious mobility transformation is possible without compromising the experience for the audience.

Ultra Festival, USA – Rethinking how stages are powered
Event power is a hot topic in the realm of sustainability and also a hotbed for innovation. Ultra Music Festival’s award-winning sustainability programme, Mission: Home, made history this year by being the first major electronic music festival in the US to power a large-scale stage with zero-emission batteries.

As electronic music continues to shape global festival culture, Ultra’s move signals an important evolution for the genre’s largest events – demonstrating that high-energy production and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand.

Mission: Home teamed up with REVERB’s Music Decarbonization Project, Showpower, and CES Power to use a SmartGrid battery system on the RESISTANCE Cove Stage. Showpower’s SmartGrid™ Battery System is charged using existing grid infrastructure, creating no on-site emissions. 

“Each year, we push ourselves to think bigger, and this next chapter reflects how collaboration, innovation, and culture are coming together to create lasting impact,” reports Vivian Belzaguy Hunter, Ultra’s sustainability director.

The expansion of emission-free stages at Ultra arrives as a welcome driver of Mission: Home’s unstoppable momentum. Last year, the festival became the first US-based event of its scale in more than a decade to earn A Greener Future’s prestigious Greener Festival certification and was the only US festival nominated for an International AGF Award.


All Points East, UK – Improving waste management through on-site sorting
All Points East has implemented a dedicated on-site waste-sorting facility designed to better understand and improve how waste is managed at events.

Constructed using repurposed materials found onsite, the facility allowed teams to efficiently sort waste collected from across the festival. Front-of-house bins captured mixed waste,  recycling, and vapes, while back-of-house processes ensured the separation of glass and food waste from traders, who used strictly 100% compostable serveware.

The festival also powered their stage using Grid Faeries x Ecotricity 3 MWh battery system powered by grid energy from the wind and the sun.

Green Gathering, UK – Embedding permaculture into festival life
Green Gathering has been championing green events and sustainability practices for years and is at the forefront of innovations.


Through its long-running Field Families area, the festival brings permaculture principles to life, showing how sustainable living can be practical, creative, and community-driven. Permaculture offers a framework for designing low-impact systems that work with nature, supporting how we produce food, use energy, and build shared spaces. At Green Gathering, this is translated into real, hands-on experience for its audience.

Since 1998, Field Families has been a core part of the festival, sharing knowledge and skills through dedicated workshop spaces. From growing food and preserving it, to exploring community models and low-impact living, the programme demonstrates how these ideas can be applied in everyday life.

The event now features three permaculture workshop spaces: Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Shares. There’s an area dedicated to building with earth; Dr Bike myth-busts bike maintenance; plus the now famous Free Shop – where clothes, bedding, and other random items are offered for free.

This is a valuable reminder that festivals can go beyond reducing impact to become spaces where entirely different ways of living are explored and experienced. Travel, food, and materials are among the most impactful areas when it comes to event sustainability, and these examples reflect a wider shift across the industry, where sustainability is becoming standard practice.


Contact
Nikki McNeill | Global Publicity
Nikki@globalpublicity.co.uk