Green Guardians 2025:
Sunny Hill Festival

Since launching in 2018, Sunny Hill Festival has been building its sustainability credentials, but ramped up efforts in 2022 when it moved to its current location in the Bernica village suburb of Pristina.

By IQ | 8 September 2025

Since launching in 2018, Sunny Hill Festival has been building its sustainability credentials, but ramped up efforts in 2022 when it moved to its current location in the Bernica village suburb of Pristina.

Owned by Dua Lipa and her father and manager, Dukagjin, Sunny Hill spent ten months clearing thousands of tons of debris to transform 17 hectares of industrial land into a public park. A large electricity transformer was installed onsite, allowing the festival to draw power from the grid, while solar panels and small-scale wind turbines are being added to provide greener power. The site is connected to the city’s water system and, starting from the 2026 edition, will provide free refreshment points with safe drinking water. In the future, rainwater harvesting is planned, thanks…

Looking for full access?

Enjoy unlimited access to all digital content by subscribing to IQ

Subscribe

Share this

GREEN GUARDIANS 2025:

Into The Great Wide Open

Into The Great Wide Open's ambition is to become fully circular and climate-positive.

Co-op Live

Co-op Live was designed and constructed to provide the best-possible live music experience by combining the latest in performance technology, sustainability, and multifunctionality

Coldplay

After pledging in 2019 that they would not return to touring unless they could do so in a more sustainable way, Coldplay have lived up to that pledge and have been trailblazing for the industry/

Eat to the Beat

Eat to the Beat’s Sustain-ABLE strategy is all about implementing forward-thinking, sustainable food choices within its everyday operations and delivery.

RÖDER

RÖDER UK is a leading supplier of temporary structures to the live events, music, and sports industries. The company is passionately working to minimise its impact on the planet.

LIDO

Created and run by AEG Presents’ European festival division, LIDO Festival set a new standard for sustainability in live events.

TRUCKINGBY

TRUCKINGBY is one of the leading names in live event transport and operates under the CARGOBY brand.

Boom Festival

Boom Festival has garnered a reputation as one of the most forward-thinking events on the planet when it comes to its far-ranging sustainability programmes.

BM Park Live

BM Park Live, who operate Junction 2 and Paradise in the City festivals, is implementing a NetZero by 2025 strategy to accelerate its drive toward carbon-positive events.

The Rock Factory

For three years The Rock Factory has run solely on rechargeable batteries and solar power, allowing organiser to drastically reduce its carbon footprint by eliminating the use of diesel and petrol generators.

Wilderness Festival

The team at Audi presents Wilderness Festival, were keen to take on and tackle decarbonising one of the most challenging aspects of festival operations: small-scale distributed power for brand activations.

PreZero Arena Gliwice

PreZero Arena Gliwice has proven that even a large, multifunctional venue can become a model for sustainable operations and industrial waste management.

OCESA

OCESA applies rigorous sustainability standards, eliminating single-use plastics, implementing reusable cups, & replacing 18m physical tickets with digital alternatives through Ticketmaster’s SafeTix programme

Massive Attack

“A blueprint for the way live music can be produced,” stated Robert Del Naja after Massive Attack achieved what has been hailed as a world record for a festival with the lowest-ever carbon emissions.

Elisa Toffoli

In 2022, Toffoli became the first artist to be formally named a United Nations ally for promoting the 17 sustainable development goals of their 2030 Agenda.

GOAllAreas

Ginger Owl’s GOAllAreas (GOAA) initiative was built with sustainability in mind. The system is effectively an online event management and data collection tool designed to refine live event operations.

Ultra Music Festival

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2025, Miami’s Ultra Music Festival also commemorated a significant milestone with the fifth anniversary of its sustainability programme – Mission: Home.

Weezevent

Weezevent and Aucxis have joined forces to develop a fully automated system for managing reusable cup returns at events.

Ascendance Sustainable Events

Ascendance claims to be Miami’s “first sustainable event consultancy” and is transforming the way events are planned by infusing purpose, accountability, and measurable impact into every stage of production.

MOST POPULAR

Related Content

Green Guardians 2025: Elisa Toffoli, Sunny Hill Festival

The fourth instalment of IQ’s annual eco-warrior roundup also features The Rock Factory and RÖDER UK

News 10 October, 2025

Best of 2025: Dua Lipa levitates to stadium level

At the mid-way point of the Radical Optimism world tour, IQ charts the British/Kosovan superstar's ascent to the next level

Feature 31 December, 2025

Greener grounds: Sustainability at stadium level

From solar roofs to smart turf, venues worldwide are embracing greener practices. But systemic change remains a work in progress

Feature 17 October, 2025

Back to top