Op weg naar een circulair en klimaatpositief festival

The sustainable mission of Into The Great Wide Open

Projects

Content

A social and circular society is the future. To achieve this, a sustainable transition is necessary. Into The Great Wide Open and Lab Vlieland view festivals as the ideal testing ground, driver, and platform for this transition. The urgency is high, and Into The Great Wide Open is eager to take on the challenge with the ambition of becoming a fully circular and climate-positive festival.

What does circular and climate-positive mean for ITGWO?

Circular: no waste burning or dumping; all materials must be reused, recycled, or composted. Purchased products must be second-hand, refurbished, biobased, or made from recycled materials.
Climate-positive: net capturing more CO₂ than emitted, both in scopes 1, 2, and 3, as well as for historical emissions.

Achieving this ambition is a huge task that ITGWO wants to accomplish together with artists, volunteers, staff, partners, suppliers, and visitors. The approach consists of four clear steps:

Prevent and reduce: organize energy and material use as efficiently as possible.
Switching: use renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy and employ waste-free materials.
Cleaning up residual emissions: store unavoidable emissions in stable carbon storage.
Cleaning up historical emissions: compensate for all greenhouse gas emissions from previous editions.

By collecting data about its footprint for years, ITGWO has a clear picture of the current situation. The most recent data shows that the festival is getting closer to its goals.

Progress and results

CLIMATE EMISSION AND CLEANUP

Energy: in 2023, ITGWO operated 85% on the solar power from Vlieland. In 2024, this increased to 95%, partly due to Greener batteries and a green hydrogen generator from Watermeln, which provided power to an entire festival location.
In 2025, ITGWO will continue on its chosen path and aims for 100% Vlieland sun and NL wind energy; this year it should succeed.
Construction: in 2024, the entire festival switched to emission-free construction equipment. Electric forklifts, gators, and vans replaced all fossil alternatives. This led to nearly zero CO₂ emissions, nitrogen deposition, fine dust, and construction noise.
In 2025, ITGWO will continue building on this by organizing the majority of the logistical system - both on the island and on the mainland - in a fossil and sometimes even emission-free manner.
Travel: thanks to the Good Travel program, the emissions from visitors already decreased further. In 2025, for the first time, less than half of the visitors (51%) traveled fossil-free to the festival. This is a 20% decrease compared to 2018. The Good Travel Surcharge will therefore remain €15 in 2026, making fossil travel options relatively more expensive and the incentive to come fossil-free to the festival stronger. Add to this the Fossil-Free Important People (FIP) campaign and the many fossil-free travel options, and sustainable travel becomes the most logical, affordable, and enjoyable way to travel.

Transition Fund: sustainable financing

The budget created through the Good Travel program goes to the Transition Fund. The Transition Fund is an innovative financial model that enables ITGWO to accelerate its own sustainable transition by introducing an internal carbon price of €90 per ton and making a sustainable transition budget available.

In 2025, the Transition Fund has concretely contributed to three things:

1. Cleanup of unavoidable emissions
The emissions that could not be prevented from the festival in 2025 (approximately 311 tons CO₂e) have been completely offset. This was achieved through GoodShipping's 42 tons - fuel replacement for all ferry crossings of people and goods - and through Scature / ONCRA certified regenerative nature projects in the Netherlands - 270 tons. These projects permanently sequester CO₂ and contribute to soil restoration and biodiversity at the same time.

2. Cleanup of historical emissions
In addition to current emissions, ITGWO also addresses its emissions from the past. In 2025, the emissions from the 2011 edition (approximately 610 tons CO₂e) were offset through the regenerative Festival Forest project in Iceland. This marked another step in clearing the total historical emissions since the first edition in 2009. In total, this amounted to about 6000 tons, of which approximately 4715 tons remain after 3 years of cleanup.

3. Investing in sustainable transition projects
A part of the fund has been allocated for innovation within the festival and the supply chain. In 2025, this included investment in emission-free energy, clean transport and construction equipment, further development of Good Travel, more sustainable travel for artists, responsible hospitality procurement, the Construction Site of the Future, and research into more sustainable textiles.

What does this yield?
Thanks to the Transition Fund, sustainable choices are accelerated, what happens with the Good Travel Surcharges remains visible, and ITGWO is gradually working towards a festival that not only causes less harm but also actively contributes to a regenerative future.

The key figures and projects are clearly summarized in the infographic of the Transition Fund Report 2025.

ON THE WAY TO CIRCULAR

On the way to 0 waste, ITGWO set new records again. The use of 100% reusable tableware, absence of waste bins (collection points and post-separation), and rigorous waste management led to a reduction of residual waste to just 50 grams per visitor per day in 2024. This is one of the lowest figures in the sector and only 14% of the national average. In 2025, ITGWO aims for at least an equal achievement.

ITGWO AS A PLATFORM FOR SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION

This year, all emissions-free energy, emissions-free transport & construction equipment, and biobased building materials projects have been consolidated in the brand new Construction Site of the Future. With an extensive program featuring major construction partners and the Doen Foundation, ITGWO this year can not only pursue its own ambitions but also contribute even more to the sustainability of the construction sector. Active collaboration with pioneers and companies shows how festivals can serve as drivers of innovation and as an inspiring example for others.

With a clear vision, innovative solutions, and joint efforts, ITGWO is making great strides towards a circular and climate-positive future.