The Paradise Garden Festival sets pioneering sustainability standards on a global scale

The Electronic Music Festival returns to the breathtaking venue in front of Prugg Castle in Bruck a.d. Leitha from August 2 to 4, 2024. As in the previous year, the organizers publish the carbon footprint of the past event and proudly present their results, which show a 21% reduction in overall emissions. In addition, the organizers announce further steps to reduce their ecological footprint.

As Austria's first CO2-neutral festival, the Paradies Garden Festival continues to set standards in terms of environmental protection and sustainability and proudly presents the results of its CO2 balance for the past year.

By implementing innovative technologies, using 100% renewable energy and working with environmentally conscious suppliers and partners, the festival was once again able to improve its environmental performance last year and thus remains one of the most environmentally sustainable major events in the country.

Despite the increase in the number of event days, visitors and activities, the carbon footprint per person and day was reduced from 15.8 kg to 12.2 kg CO2e.

New partnerships for a sustainable future

In order to achieve its ambitious environmental goals, the Paradies Garten Festival is entering into new innovative partnerships. In cooperation with the local Energiepark Bruck an der Leitha, the festival will be the first event of its kind in Austria to obtain its electricity from 100% renewable energy sources for the duration of the event. This pioneering step will enable the festival to completely dispense with fossil fuels during the event, saving over 7,000 liters of diesel.

Michael Hannesschläger, Managing Director of Energiepark Bruck/Leitha, explains:

"We produce clean, green and CO2-free electricity for the festival very close by. On the one hand, it comes from one of our wind farms around the corner and on the other from our Sonnenfeld agrivoltaic plant - both just a few kilometers away as the crow flies - produced locally and consumed at the festival. It could hardly be more regional and sustainable!"

 

Focus on green mobility: successful partnership with ÖBB and pioneering Cashless initiative characterize sustainable festival experience

The arrival and departure of visitors is the focus of every major event. Current studies show that around 80% of CO2 emissions from such events are usually caused by the public's journey to the event. Paradies Garten is therefore all the more pleased about the continued close cooperation with ÖBB as an official "Green Mobility Partner" to reduce the CO2 footprint. By doubling the number of visitors who used ÖBB to travel to and from the event last year to 88%, the proportion of CO2 emissions has fallen to only around 20%, which is only a quarter of the amount normally expected.

"Emissions from public transportation fell from 36.9 t CO2e to 18.93 t CO2e, which is almost 49% less, even though we had 50% more visitors. This result is a milestone for our carbon footprint and is almost unparalleled in Europe, which is why we are once again offering free night trains from Bruck an der Leitha to Vienna together with ÖBB this year ," explains Felix Mayr-Melnhof, Co-Founder of Paradies Garten Festival, adding: "Our goal is to be a pioneer for sustainable major events in Austria and to bring about a positive change in the event industry and among our visitors through our joint efforts with ÖBB . "

After two successful years, the organizer also announces that the cooperation with Mastercard and Global Payments will be extended, making it the only cashless festival in Austria with an open payment system.

Festival visitors can once again pay conveniently at all bars and snack stands using their debit or credit card and smartphone - in other words, "open-loop" cashless. In this way, the organizers not only reduce the environmental impact of using paper money, but also minimize the consumption of resources for the production and disposal of cash.

In addition, cashless festivals help to increase efficiency, as visitors do not have to queue to top up their cashless wristband or lose track of their top-up balance. Thanks to the cooperation with Mastercard and Global Payments, the organizers are another step closer to their sustainability goals: according to studies, payments with ATM or credit cards have lower carbon emissions overall. The ecological footprint of cash payments is 36% higher than that of card payments due to the supply chain.