The best sustainable festivals in the UK
Festivals are notorious for their poor environmental record, but many are striving to change the ethos, booking sustainability as their headline act, where good vibes never destroy the atmosphere!
Skiddle Staff
Last updated: 27th Jan 2025
Every time summer comes around, the choice of what festivals to attend always comes to the forefront of debates with your pals. With countless options available, a major variable in making the most informed decision is prioritising festivals with an eco-friendly ethos. Historically, music festivals have been notorious for excessive energy consumption and waste production. However, in recent years, a positive shift has occurred as organisers strive to minimize their environmental impact. From locally sourced food and low-emission transport to renewable energy usage, several UK festivals are leading the charge towards sustainability.
The scale of waste generated at music festivals is staggering, estimated at around 23,500 tonnes annually in the UK alone. Plastic cups, discarded tents, and glitter are just a few examples of the debris left behind after a weekend of revelry. Thankfully, many festivals have recognised the need for improvement and have actively taken steps to enhance their sustainability practices. With this in mind, we've decided to champion the green festivals that have embraced sustainability as their headline act, where good music and environmental consciousness merge harmoniously. Scroll down and check it out!
Image: Equinox Festival / Facebook.com
Where: Chalk Farm in Lincolnshire
Equinox Festival’s tagline is ‘For the people… Not the profit’, and this rings true throughout the festival, especially regarding its sustainability outlook. This lovely Lincolnshire festival applies a multitude of tactics to try to curb its emissions and carbon footprint, from its entirely solar-powered stage in the Soundscape Stage to the variety of green heritage arts and crafts. The eco friendly festival also boasts a massive range of vegan food options, workshops, drum circles and chainsaw carving, Staff making, a blacksmith’s forge, permaculture, and rich heritage/history. It truly has a solid grasp on its sustainability, and at the same time is a wicked festival with an incredible range of music.
Image: Knockengorroch Festival / Facebook.com
Where: Galloway, South West Scotland
Tucked away in the Scottish Highlands, this incredible festival has been going strong for over 25 years, with initiatives that are huge in terms of sustainability. Some of Knockengorroch’s initiatives include the Discee Centre, which equates local food production with music, art, and talks; working with Oceanallover on commissions chronicling at-risk species; and DIY Knock, which invites festival-goers to engage in outdoor conservation, building and creative work with like-minded people.
Throughout its rich history, Knockengorroch has stayed true to the land it inhabits, all while promoting sustainable ways to preserve and sustain the area with regular talks and art exhibitions. A real inspiration for more rural festival sites, and a green festival to bookmark.
Image: Kelburn Garden Party / Facebook.com
Where: Kelburn Country Centre in Largs
Kelburn Garden Party constantly strives to manage its operations with sound environmental policies at its core. The colourful Scottish fest aims to make a positive impact on climate change with an environmental minimum standard policy.
Some of Kelburn’s efforts include monitoring and measuring impacts, food concessions minimum standards, providing public transport options at a reasonable cost to the customer, a single-use plastics ban across all events, a waste management & recycling policy with an aim to recycle 100% of festival waste, as well as working to implement a tree-planting programme at the Kelburn Garden Party which will see several thousand trees planted across the Estate and other key locations in Scotland.
They are constantly improving and their commitment is more than admirable. It also helps that the festival is absolutely bouncing and a fantastic weekend.
Image: Shambala / Facebook.com
Where: Kelmarsh Hall in Northampton
Shambala is a true frontrunner in the eco-festival scene, completely and utterly committed to being sustainable, net positive, and future thinking – it’s in their DNA. Their green practices are considered truly pioneering worldwide, having reduced its carbon footprint by over 90%, achieved 100% renewable electricity, become meat fish & dairy-milk free, and eradicated single-use plastics.
Its place as one of the best sustainable festivals in the UK won’t go anytime soon, as they strive to become fully regenerative. From having a supply chain free from funding conflict, fossil fuels, or unethical practices, to designing and implementing a regenerative food sourcing system and a circular ‘materials economy’, Shambala creates zero waste from the build, the break, or the audience.
Shambala truly leads the way on sustainability and has policies that every single festival on the planet should try to implement.
Green Gathering
Image: Green Gathering / Facebook.com
Where: Piercefield Park in Chepstow
The Green Gathering is a festival that, since its inauguration, has championed low-impact alternatives. It goes beyond hedonism and offers a platform for creativity in tackling ecological and social issues, featuring campaign stalls, activist workshops, spoken word venues, and music stages showcasing emerging socially conscious talent and prioritising ethical sourcing.
The festival also focuses on passing over heritage craft and renewable technology skills. Various areas like Permaculture, Nature's Way, Trad Village, and Radical Flank provide opportunities for connection, grieving, and rebellion, with attendees often leaving inspired to change their outlook, habits, and lifestyle to make a positive impact on the world.
Image: Isle of Wight Festival / Facebook.com
Where: Seaclose Park in Newport
For its massive size, being one of the biggest on this list, the myriad initiatives at Isle Of Wight Fest are insanely admirable, and a testament to what can be done at the larger festivals in terms of sustainability and low footprint.
Isle Of Wight aims to be the most sustainable festival in the UK, using methods like no waste from the festival being sent to landfill; having sustainable travel encouraged via key ticketing partnerships; Strict Environment Requirements document issued to food and beverage suppliers with clear rules around plastic, waste and renewable materials e.g. only compostable serve ware and cutlery are allowed to be used; A deposit return scheme for cups and bottles to encourage re-use; Water reduction measures such as the use of push taps across the site – with all water piping then donated to local farms at the end of the festival for use in irrigation; and a goal of a 50% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Additionally, Solo Agency struck a groundbreaking deal with an Isle of Wight biogas firm to generate more than 950,000 kWh of electricity using grass from the Isle of Wight Festival site, almost twice the amount of energy used during the festival.
They are truly paving the way forward for bigger festivals and long may it continue!
Image: Green Man Festival / Facebook.com
Where: Glanusk Park in Glanusk
Set amidst the Brecon Beacons, Green Man offers a week of nature and eco-friendly bliss completely committed to sustainability. At Green Man you can expect to see no plastic straws or single-use cups and compostable food packaging and cutlery, alongside a medley of environmentally conscious objectives.
The sustainable festival has moved from portaloos to compost toilets (saving thousands of litres of water and avoiding any chemical use), uses an entirely solar powered stage, with the rest of the festival powered entirely by hydrogen), and solar or hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), a fossil-free alternative to diesel that results in a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
The lineup also includes workshops on foraging, herbal medicine, natural paint making, and saving the planet. Get hands-on with mud pies and soil conservation too. Plenty for the eco-conscious and curious!
Image: Wilderness Festival / Facebook.com
Where: Cornbury Park in Oxford
Wilderness Festival takes an active approach to measuring and reducing its carbon footprint. With a dedicated sustainability team, the festival develops a sustainability action plan and supports climate-positive initiatives in the music industry, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.
Energy consumption is a major contributor to emissions, and Wilderness focuses on reducing usage and transitioning to renewable sources. They have already achieved significant milestones, such as using 100% renewable hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) in 2022. The festival also utilizes LED lights and encourages efficient power distribution by suppliers.
It is truly doing its part in trying to become carbon neutral, and long may it continue.
Image: Latitude Festival / Facebook.com
Where: Henham Park in Beccles
Latitude, a fantastic festival, offers a beautiful location and always has an impressive lineup. But something that often goes unmentioned regarding the festival is its commitment to the environment, and its focus on reducing carbon emissions from travel. They provide a lift-share site, partner with Big Green Coach, and encourage public transport usage, even offering a cycling option in collaboration with Red Fox Cycling.
Latitude's dedication to sustainability extends to recycling, composting, and waste management, as well as using compostable wares for food. They have a volunteer-run 'Green Team' and collaborate with NiftyBins for effective recycling. Discarded tents and camping equipment are donated to refugee charities. Latitude was awarded Best Family Festival at the UK Festival Awards, making it an ideal choice for eco-conscious families.
Hebridean Celtic Festival
Image: Green Gathering / Facebook.com
Where: Lews Castle Green in Stornoway
Set on the picturesque Isle of Lewis, Hebridean Celtic Festival never fails to provide an unforgettable multi-day experience every summer. Its lineup over the years have spanned genres and cultures, ranging from traditional rock to celtic fusion and everything in between.
What sets this festival apart from the rest is its commitment to sustainability and environmental consciousness. In a conscious effort to reduce carbon emissions, zero-carbon alternatives are prioritized over generators, resulting in the elimination of emissions equivalent to 27 return car journeys to Edinburgh. Moreover, the organizers have implemented measures to minimize equipment transportation and have successfully eliminated single-use plastic from the festival since 2018. Eco friendly festivals don’t get better than this.
So if you're after some more eco-friendly festivals that give back to the planet a little, any of these cracking green festivals will suffice. For groovy festival recommendations, check out our picks for the best dance & EDM, house & techno, and trance festivals to get your boogie on!
Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.
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