our vision

We aspire to become the most sustainable festival in the country. But we can’t do it alone. Part of the cost of every festival pass will directly support these goals and initiatives, creating an experience that celebrates outdoor culture and champions our planet. So thank you!

Here are the three things you can do as a friend of the festival (and planet) to help support our programs this year:

*BYOB (empty, of course) and take advantage of the free water onsite

*Carpool, walk, or bike to the festival

We’re looking forward to seeing you onsite…with your reusable bottle in hand!

MADE POSSIBLE WITH: Green Disco

Outside Festival & Summit 2025 Impact Report

We’re proud to share the 2025 Outside Festival Impact Report, a comprehensive view of all that we accomplished and, importantly, where we can improve.

Vendor aGREENments

We work closely with each of our vendors to ensure they are committed to our overall environmental goals through our vendor aGREENments.

Outside Festival 2024 Impact Report

We’re proud to share the 2024 Outside Festival Impact Report, a comprehensive view of all that we accomplished and, importantly, where we can improve.

Green Team

Our Green Team members, posted at waste stations throughout the grounds, guide fans on the proper disposal of cups, compostable servingware, unwanted food, recyclables, and trash. Stop by and engage with them about all things sustainability!

Audience Transportation

Audience transportation makes up an overwhelming majority of an event's carbon footprint - up to 90% in some cases!

How you travel to our festival matters! Please consider riding your bike (we’ll have plenty of bike parking) or taking public transportation to save money and lessen your festival footprint. Auraria Campus is easily accessible via RTD light rail and bus lines. Click here to plan your route.

‍Fans who take our transportation survey will receive a personal report that shows them the impacts of their travel to and from the event and be entered into a drawing to win an amazing $500 prize package.

SURVEY LINK coming soon!

Food

We work with food vendors who prioritize sustainability:

We prioritize plant-based, locally sourced delectables and serve them on plastic-free, compostable servingware, which we collect and deliver to local compost facilities.
Our waste management plan ensures that all recyclable, compostable materials are measured and captured and that we send the bare minimum to the landfill.

Waste & Materials

We are committed to eliminating the use of single-use plastic at our festival, diverting as much waste as possible, and tracking our efforts through data collection:

We will require all food and beverage vendors order from a pre-approved list of CMA-certified compostable materials and ensure they are properly composed after the event, along with all food waste.
We have partnered with local company Scraps to help make our event trash-free, keep compostables (and recyclables) out of the landfill, and ensure that what’s collected at our festival completes the cycle and becomes soil-nurturing finished compost.
Ample three stream waste diversion stations throughout the grounds will make proper disposal easy and intuitive.
Our Green Team volunteers will always be nearby to help fans sort their waste and chat about sustainability!

Carbon & Energy

We’re committed to tracking and reducing our carbon footprint where possible and supporting the most credible offsets to neutralize unavoidable emissions:

We track and measure the carbon emissions produced by our event to identify any areas for reduction
But we don’t just buy any old carbon credits.To eliminate emissions equal to Outside Days, we work with Cooler to purchase and retire carbon permits from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a government consortium that regulates pollution in the Northeast.
For every permit we purchase at RGGI’s quarterly auctions, we reduce the permits available to polluters.
This immediately prevents pollution that would happen otherwise and invests in greening the energy grid.

water

Outside Days welcomes all people with disabilities. We are continuously striving to enhance our efforts to ensure access to event amenities without limitations based on abilities.

We are a #BYOBottle festival committed to reducing plastic waste:

Bring your own bottle or hydration bladder (just make sure it’s empty upon arrival).
Free refills are available at the Colorado Tourism Office Do Colorado Right water refill stations. Do Colorado Right is committed to protecting the state’s natural resources for generations to come.

Please also consider bringing your own tote bag and zero-waste meal kit to further reduce your impact and waste.