Sustainability policies and attendee satisfaction in festivals: evaluating the impact of green practices

Purpose With environmental sustainability gaining importance in event management, green strategies are increasingly integrated into festival planning. While existing literature has emphasised the economic and social impacts of festivals, limited research addresses how sustainable practices influence attendee satisfaction. Prior research often treats festival sustainability as a broad, homogeneous construct, offering limited insight into how distinct initiatives are experienced and translated into satisfaction. This study aims to fill that gap by examining the relationship between sustainability initiatives and visitor satisfaction at the North Festival in Porto, Portugal. Design/methodology/approach Based on survey data from 951 participants, the study uses logistic regression to assess the perceived impact of specific interventions: selective waste collection, use of reusable cups, efforts to reduce food waste and implementation of cashless payment systems. Findings Results show that effective waste management, particularly through reusable cups and selective garbage collection, significantly enhances attendee satisfaction. Additional factors such as festival planning and food service quality also positively influence the overall experience. Conversely, the adoption of cashless payment methods is associated with lower satisfaction, possibly due to user acceptance challenges. These outcomes underscore the need for clear communication and thoughtful design of sustainability measures. Organisers should strive to align environmental goals with user-friendly solutions to ensure both ecological impact and participant approval. Originality/value This research advances the understanding of how green practices affect festival-goer satisfaction. Since the long-term success of sustainability strategies relies on both environmental performance and public support, insights from this study are valuable for organisers seeking to align environmental goals with attendee experience. Transferability is most plausible in comparable festival settings where similar initiatives are implemented under comparable conditions (e.g. usability and support for cashless systems, communication intensity and audience digital readiness).