Music festivals with a green vibe

Glastonbury is an undisputed leader among music festivals, and is now trying to be a sustainable leader. In an effort to reduce the more than 23,000 tons of waste produced by music festivals in the UK annually, Glastonbury food vendors only use wood and paper containers, which are then sent for composting. People are asked to make small efforts, such as taking their belongings home.

Taking part in Norway's Oyafestivalen is a little like living in a sustainable village for a few days. Many small details, from energy to transportation, help keep the carbon footprint of the some 20,000 participants small. The festival runs on renewable energy from the grid, over 90% of food served is organic and 98% of festival-goers travel to the venue on foot, by bike or via public transport.

You can dance non-stop at the Sziget festival in Hungary without worrying about single-use plastic. Drinks are served in reusable cups that are paid for once. The sale of plastic bags is banned at the festival, and food vendors are not allowed to distribute plastic plates or cutlery. For those who do somehow end up with plastic, there are also recycling points on site.

Rock in Rio is one of the largest festivals in the world and one of the few festivals that offsets its greenhouse gas emissions by planting trees. Since 2006, 93,000 trees have been planted as part of the project. Up to half of the emissions associated with the event are related to transportation, so the festival launched a campaign to encourage visitors to leave their cars at home.

The Coachella festival in California is a save-the-date for celebrities and trendy people, and it is now becoming more sustainable. Organizers encourage people to collect empty bottles, cups and cans in exchange for "awesome" prizes, as well as asking them to bring their own reusable bottles, although steel, metal, aluminum or glass bottles are not allowed.

Belgium's Tomorrowland festival team is trying to boost its green credentials by using low-energy power generators to reduce fossil fuel consumption. The organizers have also replaced chemical toilets with vacuum equivalents that require just 1.2 liters of water per use. Their chemical counterparts need around 9 liters.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals action campaign has joined forces with the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona to raise awareness about the importance of sustainable development. The festival's ecological measures include replacing single-use plastic cups with reusable alternatives, offering a plastic bottle recycling bank and donating food surplus to avoid food waste.

And then, there are festivals with sustainability as a core value. At the Fusion festival near Berlin, reusable cups, paper straws and vegan food are basic elements. Other festivals, such as the Boom in Portugal or the Woodford Folk Festival in Australia, were born with a respect for nature in mind. They aren't becoming green, but always have been.