Flow Festival as a Pioneer in Sustainability Work

Flow Festival has established itself as a sustainability leader whose determined efforts have not only improved its own practices but also produced tools and insights for the broader events industry, helping to accelerate cultural change in society.

For over a decade, Flow Festival has been actively working to improve the sustainability of both its own operations and the events sector at large. In collaboration with sustainability consultancy D-mat and software company Tietoevry, Flow has developed a natural resource budgeting and calculation tool that allows the environmental impact of decisions to be considered more effectively from the planning stage onward. Once finalized, the tool will be made available to other event organisers.

Audience travel accounts for nearly 70 percent of Flow’s carbon and material footprint. As there are very few parking spaces near the Suvilahti event area, few attendees attempt to arrive by private car. Flow encourages its audience to use public transportation, walk, or cycle to the festival. To support this, large free bicycle parking areas have been set up.

The fixed electricity grid in the Suvilahti event area only covers a small portion of the site, and the available electricity is not sufficient to meet the festival’s needs. A significant share of Flow’s emissions comes from generator use, even though they run on biodiesel. Flow is working with the City of Helsinki and hopes the city will invest in improving the area’s infrastructure. A comprehensive fixed electricity grid would significantly reduce the environmental impact of all events held at Suvilahti.

Food and drink represent Flow’s third-largest emission source. In 2022, the festival removed red meat and poultry from its food offerings, significantly lowering environmental impact. In 2025, the focus will shift further toward plant-based food, and only domestic fish will be used. Flow plans to gradually transition to a fully vegan food and beverage offering in the near future.

Flow sorts and recycles all waste generated during the event. Its production practices follow circular economy principles, prioritizing sustainable, long-lasting solutions, avoiding new purchases, and favouring recycled materials, reuse, and local production. Surplus construction materials are donated whenever possible for further use.

Since 2022, Flow has also participated directly in nature conservation. Based on its annual footprint calculations, the festival donates each year to the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation to compensate for its ecological debt. Protecting old-growth forests helps combat both the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. In addition, festivalgoers can support the Baltic Sea by making a small donation to the John Nurminen Foundation when purchasing their tickets.

More information:
https://www.flowfestival.com/sustainable-flow/