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

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, in 2024 the festival is extending this strategy to cover the days when Sónar is being set up and taken down.

For Sónar 2024, 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, for the first time, Sónar has teamed up 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

Sónar partners with restaurants and catering services that use locally sourced, seasonal produce, with an increasing percentage of plant-based foods available every year.

All the plates, cutlery and napkins used at Sónar 2024 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 2024 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 two local causes: the Poble-sec Neighbourhood Association, a local community organisation that runs a range of activities and initiatives in the Poble-sec district of Barcelona, where Sónar by Day is held; and Ramats de Foc (Fire Herds), an agroforestry project run by the Pau Costa Foundation that uses grazing livestock to reduce the risk of forest fires.

 
More information on Ramats de Foc:

In 2007, as forest fires became increasingly severe and widespread—often the result of neglected woodland and increasing drought caused by the climate crisis—the Pau Costa Foundation launched the Ramats de Foc project. It aims to involve livestock farming in the mission to help prevent and manage the risk of forest fires by using grazing herds of animals to reduce the amount of combustible biomass.

The project has two unique features:

• Herds are grazed in strategic woodland areas close to the cities of Girona and Tarragona that have been singled out by firefighters, with the approval of local authorities, as critical spaces for fire management.
  
   
• The dairy and meat products produced by the herds are given the Ramats de Foc seal, marking them out as a product that has helped prevent and manage the risk of forest fires, while also empowering citizens as consumers.

Ramats de Foc currently employs 60 shepherds, and products bearing its seal are on sale in around 50 establishments. The project also includes non-commercial herds that play an equally important role in reducing combustible biomass.

The menu at the restaurant in SonarVip by Red Bull at Sónar by Day at Sónar 2024 will include a selection of farmstead cheeses produced from milk from herds in this project.

You can watch Marta Carola and Tomàs Plana talk about this important project in greater detail in these videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6WPjR6xo7s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPj9bcFI2QM

Upcycling:

This year, Sónar has partnered 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 2024 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.