Sustainability & Environment · Indicator 1
Festivals with sustainability commitments
What this indicator asks
How many of the largest nighttime culture events in the São Paulo region publish a specific environmental commitment, and do they ask their audience to take part?
39.0/ 100 · São Paulo
Four of the ten largest events publish a specific environmental commitment in full: The Town, Coala Festival, Carnaval de Rua and Virada Cultural. Every commitment is about waste. The Town used 472,000 reusable cups over five days in 2025, and is the only event that asks the audience to act.
At Carnaval and Virada Cultural, the city works with waste pickers’ co-operatives. At Virada Cultural 2026 it paid 165 waste pickers R$250 a day. An expert stated that most venues that recycle use private companies, and “do not know” there are waste pickers’ co-operatives they could deal with directly.
We looked at three elements: the share of events that publish a commitment, how many environmental areas they cover, and whether they ask the audience to act.