The highly praised Ultra Music Festival is back with a powerful sustainability plan.
Ultra Music Festival has a mission and it’s called “Mission: Home.” Since the program’s debut in 2019, “Mission: Home” achieved a number of remarkable feats when it comes to sustainability. Among them are an incredible 100% acceptance rate for recycling loads at local facilities, a successful implementation of 20 initiatives, as well as reaching more than 2.7 million people worldwide. Reaching such sustainability goals is a team effort.
Hence, Ultra Music Festival has implemented significant measures for vendors, staff, crew, employees, and attendees, leading to a measurable reduction of environmental impact, not only on the festival itself, but also beyond. 2024’s program reached the incredible milestone of a 50% diversion of waste. It proves once again that Ultra’s “Mission: Home” sets new standards while rescuing, repurposing and recycling materials wherever they can. In its inaugural year, 2019 alone, “Mission: Home” has diverted more than 293,000 pounds of waste from landfills. In 2024, “Mission: Home” has introduced or expanded multiple waste diversion streams.
The latest addition to the program is an innovative effort to recycle and rescue wood. Saving 19,900 pounds of post-construction material to be reused elsewhere, it is already a success. Once again, these achievements could not be made alone and teamwork is the name of the game. Hence, the creative reuse network called Recreate Miami played a substantial role. It connects artists and artisans with materials, using the Recreate Miami App.
“Mission: Home’s” efforts to create sustainable events go far beyond recycling only. It actively saves and donates more than 19,400 pounds of food and beverages to the homeless. A homeless outreach center called “The Caring Place,” provides shelter and meals to the homeless in Miami and Broward.
Miami Rescue Mission’s Food Service Manager, Anthony Perrone states,
“The food and beverages rescued from this event allow us to serve the men, women and children of the Miami area, who struggle to find their next meal – on average we serve 1,200 meals a day.”
~ Anthony Perrone
Expanding on the culinary aspects of the festival, Ultra reinstated expanded water refill stations, bans on Styrofoam, and single-use plastic-free food and general admission bar service. Furthermore, food vendors and event bar operations together have reached an 88% reduction in single-use plastic cups, straws, plates, cutlery and more.
Moreover, Ultra put efforts into pollution prevention and nature preservation as well. Its Leave No Trace campaign reaches from educating attendees via online messages beforehand, to staff and crew training, physical, as well as digital signage, responsible cigarette disposal, wildlife and vegetation protection, on-site wildlife experts, spillage and runoff protocols, bans on confetti and loose glitter and more.
Beyond the festival, “Mission: Home” encourages strong community engagement efforts, helping audiences to take measures and empower future leaders. Together with eighteen student volunteers and thirty-one partners, Ultra participates in multiple program initiatives. 165,000 people attended Ultra’s Eco Village, offering educational activations from local environmental organizations present onsite.
“Mission: Home” states that their vision is to
~ Mission: Home
Together with partners and initiatives, specialized in the corresponding fields, “Mission: Home” actively supports many more causes. Among them climate health and the reduction of power generators with the help of power suppliers and experts. It also enhances the event’s baseline carbon emission assessment protocol guiding its climate action strategy with its annual internal reports.
Confirming the program’s effectiveness, it was dubbed “the most extensive sustainability program across America’s leading electronic music festivals” in 2022. Growing in reach and impact, “Mission: Home” is set to return in celebration of Ultra Music Festival’s 25th anniversary.
Furthermore, Sustainability Director at Ultra Music Festival, Vivian Belzaguy Hunter states,
“Each year, we see this message come to life in lights on our stages in front of 55,000 attendees and millions watching online. While its importance is obvious, the fact that it exists at all speaks volumes, as the power of Ultra’s platform sets an example not only for the entire music festival industry, but for our audiences across the globe.”
~ Vivian Belzaguy Hunter