Respect for the environment

Sónar has pledged to reduce the festival’s environmental impact and in recent years has implemented a series of targeted measures and actions in collaboration with its staff, equipment managers, service providers and partners.

Every year, the festival takes steps to continually improve its performance in the following areas:

WASTE AND RESOURCES
 

Celebrar eventos multitudinarios es algo positivo, tanto para el bienestar de los ciudadanos, como para la continuidad de una industria, tan sensible a crisis económicas o sanitarias como la que hemos vivido.

Llenar un recinto de miles de personas que están consumiendo al mismo tiempo, es seña de identidad de esta actividad.

En la planificación y diseño del evento, los organizadores son los que tienen las primeras claves a su alcance. Lo ideal sería evitar que se generen residuos en un evento, pero es inevitable que, a la mañana siguiente, aparezcan los recintos llenos de residuos. Dado que no siempre es posible evitar su generación, debemos tratar de promover su recuperación o reciclado.

No podemos seguir dejando residuos allá por donde pasamos.

La solución pasa por organizar eventos de una forma más respetuosa con el entorno. Algo que nos compete a todos y que debe hacerse en cada fase en la organización del evento.

• Seleccionando proveedores que garanticen un uso correcto de los materiales y que tengan un plan para la recogida de los residuos que generen.

• Seleccionando materiales con menor impacto medioambiental en su producción y que permitan la circularidad de los mismos

• Disponer de food trucks que ofrezcan comida en envases biodegradables o utilizar vasos reutilizables (que cumplan los criterios anteriores)

Es básico para el organizador conocer y tipificar los tipos de residuos que se va a encontrar para poder gestionarlos correctamente. Y eso solo podemos hacerlo si limitamos los envases que acceden desde el exterior.

In collaboration with Fira Barcelona, Sónar has implemented a comprehensive waste management strategy, with all waste sorted into four categories (paper and cardboard, glass, recyclable packaging, and general waste) at all venues. In addition, since 2024, the festival is extending this strategy to cover the days when Sónar is being set up and taken down.

For Sónar 2025, we have renewed our partnership with Abono Km0 to manage the festival’s organic waste (more details below, under Circularity).

Sónar reuses over 90% of the materials used to put the festival together and decorate its venues: from carpets and furniture to signage and the artificial turf at SonarVillage by Estrella Damm.

Sónar has essentially eliminated the use of paper tickets (cloakroom, food and drink, guest list, etc.) by incorporating these functions into the festival wristband using the SonarCashless system.

In hospitality areas, water is provided in cans made from aluminium, a fully recyclable material that plays a key role in the circular economy.

This year, Sónar has teamed up again with Okollective design studio to give merchandising stock from past editions a new lease of life by repurposing existing materials to create new products (more details below, under Upcycling).

ENERGY

Thanks to Fira Barcelona, all energy used during the festival comes from renewable sources. The 135,000 m² roof over the venue for Sónar by Night is covered with 25,947 photovoltaic panels, making it one of the largest rooftop solar energy installations in the world.

All air-conditioned spaces at the festival are managed with IoT (Internet of Things) technology to optimise energy consumption at all times.

TRANSPORT

Over 90% of Sónar’s service providers are based within the Barcelona metropolitan area, which minimises transport distances and helps support local businesses.

Both Sónar by Day and Sónar by Night are easily accessible by public transport, by bicycle or on foot and are connected by a door-to-door shuttle bus service (SonarBus).

In addition, all ticketholders can get a 20% discount on the Hola Barcelona! Travel Card, which can be used on public transport across the Barcelona metropolitan area.

FOOD AND DRINK

All the plates, cutlery and napkins used at Sónar will once again carry OK Home Compost certification, which means they can be recycled and turned into compost thanks to the festival’s partnership with Abono Km0 (more details below, under Circularity).

All drinks served at the bars, including water, are delivered to the festival in returnable glass bottles.

Drinks are served in reusable cups. The Sónar cup can be recycled to produce new ones (more details below, under Circularity).

These measures have reduced single-use plastics at the festival by over 90%.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Sónar strives to apply a circular business model to all its materials.

· Cups

The Sónar 2025 cup is reusable and fully recyclable. It is made out of surplus rice husks from rice fields in the Ebro Delta, here in Catalonia, thus helping reuse resources without the need to plant or produce anything new. The manufacturing process, possible thanks to the collaboration of Estrella Damm, cuts CO emissions by 72% compared with standard processes, since it consumes less energy and uses existing resources.

But it doesn’t stop there: we also give cups a second life. At the end of the festival, we’ll collect used cups for the next stage in the circular process. Thanks to their specially designed composition, they can be treated and then turned into new cups.

If you don’t want to take your cup home with you, simply leave it in one of the containers on your way out and help us complete the circle.

The cup will cost €1.50 at any of the festival bars. This nonrefundable amount helps cover part of the cost of this circular business model.

 
· Plates

Sónar has worked with the festival’s catering and food providers to ensure that all plates are made out of the same biodegradable material with OK Home Compost certification, which means they can be used to make compost as part of a circular process managed by Abono Km0.

Abono Km0 takes these plates and food waste from the festival’s catering and food providers and turns these materials into compost to be used in city allotments in Barcelona.

SUPPORTING LOCAL CAUSES

At Sónar, we work not only to be a cultural and technological benchmark, but also a social benchmark. We feel responsible towards our society and we want to take advantage of our capacity to innovate, encourage diversity, generate economic impact and promote sustainability to also be a loudspeaker and a driving force for change for people. Therefore, we not only focus on the correct management of waste, the circularity of materials and the inclusiveness of all people, but we also enjoy discovering projects that provide an educational component to our public and to our suppliers and collaborators.

With this aim in mind, Sónar has introduced a minimum price for guest-list tickets and will donate the proceeds to es im-perfect, un proyecto de la Fundació Espigoladors que pretende combatir el desperdicio alimentario con el aprovechamiento de frutas y verduras comestibles que son descartadas para el circuito comercial.

Más información sobre es im-perfect:

Para entender por qué im-perfect existe, hay que entender primero el contexto en el que nace: un contexto en el que el un tercio de los alimentos producidos a escala mundial y que son aptos para el consumo humano se descartan, ya sea por motivos de imperfección estética, por excedentes de producción o por caídas de precio que hacen que sea más barato no recogerlos que venderlos.

Este alarmante desperdicio conlleva un fuerte impacto ambiental (se desperdician el agua y las emisiones generadas con el conreo de estos alimentos y los alimentos desechados también emiten gases de efecto invernadero incluso más potentes que el CO), económico (grandes pérdidas para los países productores y consumidores, así como para los supermercados, lo que les obliga a subir precios, afectando así también a los hogares) y social (reducir el desperdicio permitiría liberar recursos para mitigar la inseguridad alimentaria y mejorar la distribución en áreas necesitadas).

es im-perfect es la empresa de inserción de la Fundación Espigoladors: transforman en conservas 100% vegetales y naturales las frutas y verduras descartadas del circuito comercial. De este modo, trabajan para reducir el desperdicio alimentario con un modelo basado en la economía circular y comprometido con la sostenibilidad ambiental y la justicia social. 

Al mismo tiempo, en su obrador de El Prat de Llobregat, ofrecen oportunidades formativas y laborales a personas en situación de vulnerabilidad o riesgo de exclusión social.  

Todas las frutas y verduras de sus conservas provienen de productores y productoras locales. Consumiendo productos locales y de temporada, apuestan por una alimentación más sostenible.

Su lema: les persones boniques aprofiten les fruites i verdures lletges! (¡las personas bonitas aprovechan las frutas y verduras feas!)

Upcycling:

This year, Sónar has partnered again with Okollective, a design studio based in the Poblenou district of Barcelona, to give stock from past editions a new lease of life by repurposing materials to create limited-edition, individually handmade pieces of merchandising. By reusing existing materials, this upcycling process helps reduce our ecological footprint.

Respect for all festivalgoers

Sónar prides itself on bringing together people with a wide range of different backgrounds, experiences, cultures and identities. Every year, a kaleidoscope of lifestyles, interests and ideas converge to bring the festival to life. An inclusive Sónar is at the very heart of what we do.

The Sónar team strives to make all of the events at the festival safe for people of all genders, cultures, ages, classes and abilities.

ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSION

Sónar works year on year to become a more accessible festival where everyone is welcome.

We are constantly looking for ways to remove, or at least reduce, barriers in the festival environment, be they physical, attitudinal or communicative, in keeping with our belief that every single person should be able to play their part in society independently and under the same conditions as everyone else.

This work is ongoing and we strive to improve with each edition. We have created an Accessibility Plan in conjunction with the Music for All Foundation, based on an accessibility analysis carried out last year to identify ways to improve accessibility. Sónar has now made the following improvements:
 

• a form on sonar.es to help us accommodate festivalgoers’ individual needs;
• accessibility measures available on request: preferential seating at Sónar+D talks, vibrating backpacks, NaviLens codes, festival programmes in braille, etc.;
• fast-track access lanes;
• priority check-in, wristband-charging and information points for people with special needs, including lower information desks for wheelchair users;
• priority tables for people with special needs in food courts;
• accessible toilets;
• five bars at a height accessible to wheelchair users at Sónar by Day and seven at Sónar by Night;
• SonarBus shuttle bus adapted for people with reduced mobility;
• trained staff at information points;
• fully equipped and clearly marked raised platforms with clear sight lines at all stages, exclusively for people with special needs;
• a free ticket for anyone accompanying a person with a certified degree of disability of 65% or more.

In addition, Sónar 2025 has partnered with Dinder, the first dating and planning app for people with disabilities, so that every single festivalgoer can access all that Sónar has to offer under the same conditions as everyone else.

DIVERSITY, EQUALITY AND SAFETY

Sónar is committed to equality and will not tolerate any form of discrimination on grounds of race, gender, age, nationality, culture, religion, sexual orientation or any other reason.

We work with the Observatori contra l’LGTBI-fòbia (Observatory on Attacks on the LGBTQ+ Community) to ensure that all lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, nonbinary and intersex people can express themselves freely at Sónar. We will not tolerate any anti-LGBTQ+ attitudes or behaviour.

The festival has a ZERO TOLERANCE policy when it comes to any form of discrimination, harassment or abuse. We strive to ensure that all performers, staff and festivalgoers feel safe and welcome at the festival.

The Sónar team and all staff working on the festival site have received professional training on how to respond to any cases of discrimination or any form of violence. We might not handle each and every situation perfectly, but we seek to learn from any incident, comment and mistake to help prevent such situations recurring. Our team never stops learning, through both external and internal feedback.

More information on No callem:
Sónar is a proud member of Barcelona City Council’s No callem (We Won’t Keep Quiet) initiative, working together with other institutions and organisations from the city’s cultural and nightlife industries. This initiative aims to combat sexual assault or harassment and anti-LGBTQ+ attitudes or behaviour in nightlife venues. Everyone employed by Sónar has been instructed about its aims and been trained to identify cases when it should be applied.

ZERO TOLERANCE TO ANY HOSTILE BEHAVIOUR. We want Sónar to be a safe and enjoyable space for everyone. If you are subject to or witness any aggressive or hostile behaviour towards anyone because of their gender or sexual identity, head to a Punt Lila (Purple) LGBTQ+ Safe Space stand, where specially trained staff are on hand to assist you.

More information on Energy Control:
Festivalgoers’ wellbeing is one of our top priorities, and once again Energy Control will be running a stand at Sónar by Night to offer risk prevention and harm reduction services relating to substance use.

More information on Q de Festa!:
Since 2012, Sónar has been awarded a Q de Festa! seal of approval, granted by the Catalan Public Health Agency, which is a member of Party+ (The European Network for Safer Party Labels). This seal of approval certifies that Sónar is committed to offering festivalgoers a range of services designed to promote their wellbeing.

Sónar and Q de Festa! offer festivalgoers the following advice:

• Use sun cream and wear sunglasses during the day to protect your skin and eyes. Wear earplugs to protect your ears.
• Stay hydrated: there are taps with free drinking water located throughout the venues.
• Take breaks.
• Eat: there is a wide range of sweet and savoury options available.
• Agree on a meeting place with friends in case you get separated.
• Enjoy yourself but respect other people’s boundaries. If you are subject to or witness any form of sexual harassment, head to a Punt Lila (Purple) LGBTQ+ Safe Space stand.
• If you feel unwell, ask for help.
• Some substances are stronger than others. Ask for information at the Energy Control stand at Sónar by Night.
• Don’t drink and drive. Use public transport.
• Take care of yourself and look out for your friends.