As the southern hemisphere’s largest festival of Light, Music, Ideas and Food, Vivid Sydney aims to lead the way in sustainability. Championing creativity, innovation and cutting-edge applications of technology doesn’t end with our program but influences all elements of the festival including operations, environmental impact, marketing and many other areas.
To produce our festival, we engage an entire ecosystem of local and international businesses, artists and visitors. Each year, we aim to work collaboratively to embed sustainable practices across all levels of Vivid Sydney and encourage positive behaviours and practices that resonate long after the lights are switched off.
Our goals:
- Become climate positive and regenerate resources where possible, while growing Vivid Sydney.
- Create a positive social impact for everyone across all levels of Vivid Sydney.
- Continue collecting data on Vivid Sydney’s environmental impact to enable us to move forward smarter and greener each year.
Vivid Sydney 2025
Refill, not landfill
We’re continuing our mission to reduce the need for purchasing plastic water bottles by encouraging our visitors to bring their own water bottle.
More green power
We’re green-powering even more of our light installations, aiming to increase from last year’s 93% rate of installations grid-connected to 100% green power. Similarly, we’ll continue increasing our use of LED fixtures, which consume less power than other lighting options. And by measuring our energy usage, we will offset any carbon emissions with the purchase of accredited carbon offset credits.
Drastic on plastic
No more single-use plastic bags: we’re aiming to remove them from Vivid Sydney’s sites where possible. We are also removing plastic water dispensers at staff site locations, replacing them with a sustainable-material alternative.
War on waste
Vivid Sydney recycles corflute signage in collaboration with CleanVibes. By continuing to move away from single-use and non-recyclable materials wherever we can. Vivid Sydney is lessening its impact on the Earth.
Improving public transport options
Vivid Sydney offers bookable and complimentary accessible mini-bus parking to aged-care facilities and community groups. In addition, our website's trip planning guide is filled with tips for off-peak visits, making planning your trip to Vivid Sydney easier than ever.
How you can make a difference
When visiting Vivid Sydney, here's how you can help to support sustainability.
- Minimise your footprint – use public transport or carpool.
- Bring a reusable water bottle or coffee cup.
- Follow the signage at our recycling and waste stations.
- Avoid single-use plastics.
- Go digital – switching to mobile ticketing removes the need for unnecessary printing.
- Turn off water taps after washing your hands.
- Avoid plastic straws in favour of recyclable paper straws.
- Carry your rubbish – if bins are full, take you rubbish home or to the next waste station to ensure proper disposal.
- Consider carbon-offsetting flights or travel.
- Consider donating to Vivid Sydney’s Official Charity Partner, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation. The funds we raise go straight to the frontline of kids’ health, supporting the 159,000 sick kids who pass through the Sydney Children’s Hospitals network each year.
Sustainability wins from Vivid Sydney 2024
At the beginning of each new year, as we prepare for the next festival, we look to the previous year to analyse and draw conclusions about our sustainability performance. This helps inform our strategy for the next year and beyond.
Carbon conscious: Offsetting 710 Tonnes of CO2
Vivid Sydney supports a NSW-based carbon offset project registered under the Emissions Reduction Fund, offsetting 710 tonnes of CO₂—including all flights for front-line Vivid Light, Vivid Ideas, and Vivid Music artists
Lighting the way with renewable energy
93% of lighting installations used energy-efficient LEDs, while 95% relied on 100% green-power accredited renewable energy sources.
Flushing smarter
Six-star WELS-certified vacuum toilets saved over 2.7 million litres of water with ultra-efficient 0.35-litre flushes.
Eliminating plastic bottles: Hydration for a greener future
Water taps saved 12,058 plastic bottles from landfill, preventing 92kg of plastic waste and reducing plastic consumption.
Eco-friendly fencing: Cutting plastic waste
Switching to eco-friendly fencing saved 9.6kg of plastic cable ties during the festival.
Vivid Light lives on
Vivid Light artists are strongly encouraged to reuse and recycle their materials, and most installations continue to be shown elsewhere and have a new life after the festival.
Public transport powers the festival
With 4.34 million public transport trips made to the CBD during the festival, Vivid Sydney demonstrates its commitment to reducing congestion and promoting accessibility.
Our charity partner
Sydney Children's Hospitals Foundation
Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation (SCHF) is one of Australia’s largest and most trusted children’s hospital charities. Since 1986, SCHF has proudly supported sick kids across Sydney and NSW, raising millions to ensure they have access to the best possible healthcare, whenever and wherever they need it.
The funds they raise go straight to the frontline of kids’ health, supporting the 159,000 sick kids who pass through the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network each year, comprising
Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Kids Research, The Newborn & paediatric Emergency Transport Service (NETS) and Bear Cottage.
SCHF are proud to be the official charity partner for Vivid Sydney 2025. This partnership will help to press play on the childhood of sick kids in the community, immersing them in new experiences and inspiring them to dream without boundaries.
