Sustainability

Commitment to sustainability

At Azkena Rock Festival, we all share a love of music and care for the planet. We assume the mission to live rock to the fullest, reducing the environmental impact and enhancing the social impact. It is a collective commitment to make each edition a more sustainable and responsible event.

the 10 SUSTAINABLE ROCK COMMANDMENTS

01_

You will try to get there by public or shared transport

That’s how you reduce your carbon footprint and avoid the hassle of looking for parking.

02_

You’ll keep the Azkena sanctuary clean

Mendizabala is sacred.
Keep the venue clean and recycle!

03_

Toast with your reusable glass, and goodbye to single-use plastic!

You can return your glass or reuse it in future editions.
May your glass be with you!

04_

Water is life!
You won’t waste resources

Use the water stations at the festival to refill your reusable cup.

05_

“Respect” all your fellows, without exception.

In ARF we are all equal, make a “love” for equality and diversity!

06_

You will share the magic of rock with the new generations.

Bring your kids because…
ARF is the best school of rock!

07_

You will consume with a responsible rock ‘n’ roll attitude

Choose local and healthy food to enjoy the energy of the festival without missing a beat.

08_

You will support a critical and free society through rock music.

Rock is not only music, it is attitude. It questions, respects and transforms.

09_

You will add value in the BALORE space

Visit our sustainable and safe space to inform yourself and support social and environmental initiatives.
Rock is commitment!

10_

You’ll take the festival experience beyond Mendizabala

Make the spirit of ARF travel with you. Live with a rock and responsible attitude 365 days a year.
Sustainability is the new God of rock!

Positive impact:
Actions that make a difference

THE VENUE :

Mendizabala, the rock temple

Implementation of an efficient recycling system through a container management plan.
Every waste has its place!
The infrastructure is reused. So what we set up today, comes back next year.
Sustainable mobility for the staff: less CO2, more rock.

THE PEOPLE :

REAL PROTAGONISTS

Financial donations to the Alava Food Bank.
We invite Third Sector entities to raise visibility and awareness by supporting their work.
We collaborate with the Down’s Syndrome Foundation of the Basque Country for the social and occupational integration of people with functional diversity.
Purple Point, campaigns against sexist aggressions, protocols and training in collaboration with EMAKUNDE-Basque Women’s Institute.
Female presence in the line-up. Women on stage, always turning up the volume!
Rainbow Point, support and information about the movement and collectives fighting for LGTBIQ+ equality in collaboration with IKUSGUNE.
Improved accessibility, with raised platforms and adapted toilets.
Healthy, vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free food, because rock also takes care of your tummy!
Green and social purchasing policy in-house and with suppliers.
Cashless system for faster and cashless payment.
Staff training and public awareness on waste management – together for a clean festival!
Free drinking water fountains at the festival to reduce the use of plastic bottles.
Txiki ARF, with activities for the little ones, learning rock from the cradle!

THE TERRITORY : Álava and Euskadi,

a unique backdrop

Araba ARF Tour: we bring rock to different towns in Álava with free concerts.
During the days of the festival, the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca hosts free concerts open to the public.
Performances by local bands in each edition.
We promote employment in the territory, contributing to the local economic development.
We use suppliers from Alava and the Basque Country in the organisation of the festival, strengthening the local economy and minimising the environmental impact.

ONLY ONE PLANET :

taking care of the home

We activate a waste management plan with our Green Team in collaboration with the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council..
Training and awareness-raising on waste reduction and recycling for the whole team, staff and public included.
We have a system of reusable and recyclable cups that, at the end of their lifecycle, are transformed into high-quality plastic injection parts for the automotive industry.
We encourage the use of public and shared transport to minimise the use of private vehicles.
Reduction of CO2 emissions to reach a 0 emissions festival. We are serious about this!
We work edition by edition with the methodology of Erronka Garbia-Evento Sostenible to renew our seal with Ihobe of the Basque Government.

BALORE AREA

BALORE is the meeting point during the festival days to get information and contribute to the environmental and social causes of ARF. Here we tell you about our actions:

🟣VIOLETA Point: awareness-raising, prevention and care against sexist violence.

🌈RAINBOW Point: support for the LGTBIQ+ community.

🟢GREEN Point: environmental measures of the festival.

🧑🏽‍🦽ACCESSIBILITY and WELFARE Point: universal accessibility.

🧑🏻‍🤝‍🧑🏿INCLUSION Point: collaboration with the Third Sector for socio-labour inclusion and donations to the Áraba Food Bank to support people in exclusion.

📣 PARTNERSHIPS and COLLABORATIONS: development of multi-stakeholder projects to advance the purpose of LAST TOUR, promoting social transformation through culture with the backing of BCorp certification.

In 2024, BALORE came to stay!

Here are some testimonials from people who have loved the initiative:

"But... rock is sexist! You're doing an amazing job!"

"What do you do in a situation like this, when facing aggression? I’ve been through it already. Thank you. Thank you so much for your efforts; you're doing an incredible job, even if no one tells you."

‘In this rock environment it's especially good that these issues are being raised. My daughter is Bi- and I am starting to find out about these things. Thank you very much.’

‘This is new, I'm glad you decided to put it on.
I really like that there is this spot in Azkena’.

‘Kids are starting to receive talks about the violet point and it's great that you are promoting these messages’.

‘It's a very special festival, where there is a lot of respect. The festival has been evolving and this space is very cool. It's really cool what you're doing here’.

TRANSPARENCY AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

We work 365 days a year to maintain transparency and continuous improvement in our practices. We have certifications such as Erronka Garbia, and Last Tour, lthe organiser of the Azkena Rock Festival, has the BCorp,which endorses our commitment to a positive impact.

FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Thank you for being part of the commitment!

At Azkena Rock Festival, we are committed to a greener, more inclusive and socially responsible present and future. Rock and roll is not just music, it’s an attitude. And at ARF, we believe that taking care of the planet is the most rock ‘n’ roll attitude there is. See you at the next Azkena Rock Festival, more sustainable and real than ever!