Our Sustainability Commitment

ION recognises that we are facing a climate and ecological emergency in which we all share responsibility: event producers, artists, the music industry at large, and all who dance with us. 

Together with our event partner Mainstage, we are using our creativity, privilege and power to reduce our impact and invest in the environment, people and communities for future generations.  

Our initiatives include:

Carbon offsetting and nature conservation

• All tickets for ION come with a mandatory carbon offsetting fee.
• Following the first edition of ION in 2022, we donated a total of £14,744 to Cool Earth, supporting two communities in Peru’s Ashaninka and Awajun regions. These donations contribute to initiatives around rainforest monitoring, wildfire prevention, and sustainable food production - for example, fish, coffee and cacao farming - enabling these indigenous communities to be self-sufficient, preserving the rainforest and keeping carbon in the atmosphere. 
• For ION 2023, we will split the accumulated carbon offsetting fund equally between Cool Earth, supporting the same projects again, and EuroNatur, supporting their projects preserving green belt land, wildlife and habitats in the Balkans, campaigning against development, and working with local communities on sustainability projects.

Research

• We are working in partnership with expert third parties to measure and create a baseline for the environmental impact of ION events with the aim to reduce and improve year-on-year. 

Travel and transport

• We limit vehicles allowed on site; all staff, partners and artists use shared vehicles
• All guests are given the option to purchase shared transport to the event and encouraged to use the festival shuttle to reduce travel emissions
• We work with local crews and volunteers to reduce international travel

Waste

• We are working with the Albanian government to improve their recycling systems
• We implement a reusable cup system; reusable water bottles are permitted on site and Tetra Pak water is used at bars, with empties collected by the supplier to be recycled, reducing waste and single-use plastics
• We aim to share and reuse all materials across future ION editions, and other events held on the site.

Energy

• We are working closely with our power management contractor and teams across site to prioritise energy conservation, maximise efficiency, and monitor energy use
• Post-event monitoring reports will be used to help inform strategy to conserve energy, improving our systems year-on-year.

Vendors

• All festival food traders use locally sourced produce
• We work with onsite restaurants to educate them on the benefits of vegetarian and vegan dishes, and encourage them to offer a variety of options
• No plastic food serveware is permitted on site; permitted materials include wood, recycled paper/card or bamboo/vegeware.

Local impact

• Free and subsidised tickets are provided for residents of Albania and Kosovo, terms and conditions apply - see FAQs for details.

What you can do

• Use the bins provided. We recycle drinks cans, cups, tetrapak and glass into new products off site.
• Respect the local neighbourhood. Leave quietly and put any waste in bins.
• Do not bring any unnecessary plastic items to the festival - consider leaving your plastic packaging at home, or buying products in sustainable packaging. 

More about our nature conservation and carbon offset partners

Cool Earth 

Cool Earth back indigenous people and communities to conserve the rainforest, joining them to fight for climate justice, across projects in the Amazon, New Guinea and the Congo Basin. 

EuroNatur

EuroNatur’s nature and species conservation projects help preserve Europe’s nature in its beauty and diversity. The foundation protects large-scale natural landscapes as well as ecologically valuable cultural landscapes throughout Europe.

Have you got ideas around what else we should be doing?

Please send them to info@ionalbania.com