Values and commitments
Environment
We all share a responsibility in addressing ecological challenges. Acknowledging that organizing the Hadra Trance Festival has a significant environmental impact, we are committed to an eco-responsible transition, rethinking our festival practices to minimize our footprint.
CARBON FOOTPRINT STUDY
This document is a preliminary assessment of our festival’s overall environmental impact. We have analyzed as many activities as possible, but some areas remain unstudied due to a lack of CO₂ equivalent data or analytical capacity.
The largest contributor to our carbon footprint is transportation, as our rural location and niche musical aesthetic mean attendees travel from across France to reach Vieure. On average, festivalgoers travel 665 km round trip by car and 743 km by truck. This impact is mainly due to high car usage and low carpooling rates (2.6 people per vehicle on average).
To reduce this impact, we encourage festivalgoers to opt for biking, hitchhiking, or trains—20 people on a train equate to just one car in emissions!
WASTE MANAGEMENT, REDUCTION & RECYCLING
The Hadra Trance Festival stopped selling plastic bottles at the bar in 2019! As we strive to further reduce our environmental impact, minimizing plastic waste remains a key priority.
Bring your own reusable water bottle, eco-cup, or plastic bottle (glass bottles are not allowed on-site). Free drinking water is available at the bar for those with their own containers, and multiple water points are spread across the festival grounds!
Bonus tip: To reduce single-use waste, we encourage festivalgoers to bring their own reusable plates, forks, and spoons (sharp objects are not permitted).
Each year, in collaboration with our partner AREMACS, we offer a fun way to encourage waste management. Bring a full trash or recycling bag to the AREMACS collection stand and spin the Green Roulette for a chance to win Hadra prizes (posters, CDs, t-shirts, etc.). Waste collection is available only during the daytime.
Trash bags and portable ashtrays will be distributed upon arrival—feel free to request extras at the AREMACS stand. Keeping the site as clean as when we arrived is crucial, and we count on you to properly sort and return all waste (household trash or recyclables).
AREMACS is an association dedicated to reducing the environmental impact of social, cultural, and sports events, raising ecological awareness, and providing event organizers with the resources to limit their footprint.
This energetic, dedicated team is an essential partner in our efforts to reduce waste and promote sustainability at the festival.
In 2019, over 28.6 tons of waste were generated, with 45% successfully recycled. Thanks to extended waste sorting guidelines, 100% of plastic, cardboard, and metal packaging are now recyclable.
Since 2019, Hadra has developed the Agama Team in collaboration with AREMACS, our long-standing partner in waste management.
This 40-person team is responsible for continuous waste collection, distributing trash bags and ashtrays, and raising public awareness about environmental issues.
By integrating this team internally, Hadra has enhanced long-term sustainability and volunteer engagement. The Agama Team makes waste management fun and engaging through interactive public interactions, creative costumes, dancefloor clean-ups during the day, and roaming performances across the festival grounds.
SANITATION & HYGIENE
Being located in a natural area with a body of water, wastewater treatment is a key concern. We ensure that all wastewater is properly processed through a combination of permanent and temporary sanitary facilities.
- In 2019, we had 175 toilets and urinals, including 151 composting units and 24 permanent facilities.
- All fixed installations are connected to an on-site lagoon system, which stores and treats wastewater before gradually releasing it into the lake after the festival, ensuring no harm to the ecosystem.
- Additional showers are managed by our partner Symbiose, which handles off-site wastewater treatment at the Vieure village lagoon.
The festival camping area is certified “Pavillon Bleu”, guaranteeing that our wastewater discharge does not harm aquatic ecosystems.
For dry toilets, Les Gandousiers, a specialist in ecological sanitation, ensures proper waste management for maximum comfort and sustainability.
This dedicated team goes one step further, separating urine from solid waste and repurposing it as fertilizer for local farmers.
In 2019, they collected and recycled 40m³ of solid waste and 44,000 liters of urine—turning waste into a valuable agricultural resource.
A GREENER FESTIVAL AWARD
Hadra Trance Festival was the first French festival to receive the Greener Festival Award, winning five consecutive years from 2010 to 2015 in Lans-en-Vercors. Since moving to Vieure, we have been awarded three more times in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
This award recognizes our environmental and social transition efforts and allows us to analyze and improve our impact each year.
Our sustainable commitments include:
✅ Waste reduction initiatives: recycling programs, food truck composting, dry toilets, and wastewater treatment—managed by AREMACS, Les Gandousiers, and our internal teams.
✅ Local and ethical economy: establishing an on-site local grocery store, promoting local agriculture and short supply chains, and collaborating with Culture du Cœur to support social inclusion.
✅ Lowering environmental impact: promoting eco-friendly transportation (trains, buses, bicycles), optimizing energy use, and supporting environmental and social compensation projects.
While the Greener Festival Award is a valuable certification, it is also costly. Since 2022, we have chosen to redirect these funds towards new environmental actions, prioritizing tangible sustainability efforts over external audits.