Our goal is to be the most sustainable coffee festival in the world, not just talk about it. We believe that if we can’t produce an event without causing damage to the environment, people and community around it, then it’s not worth doing.   

But how are we actually doing it? 

REDUCE

Reducing our impact is the foundation for our sustainability platform.  We want to put our money where our mouth is and implement meaningful initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint.

1. Carbon Budget

   a. This year we have implemented a C02 budget for our production team. This means that they have to take into consideration not only the financial cost of a decision or activation, but also the carbon emission cost.  We hope this will be a more concrete way of ensuring we reduce our overall emissions, but also a way to more deeply integrate sustainably conscious decisions into our processes.

   b. The carbon budget for Nordic Coffee Fest 2025 is 25t.
      i. 3t -Internal
   ii. 10t - Exhibitors
   iii. 12t - Attendees

2. Vegetarian/Non-Dairy
   a. No meat products will be permitted on site.
   b. Only plant-based milk will be permitted on site.
   c. Plant-based milk from our event sponsor will be available for free for all exhibitors.
   d. Breaches of this policy will result in exclusion from future events.
   e. All exhibitors and suppliers must be able to offer plant-based options.

3. Waste Program
   a. All waste (recycling and general) will be weighed before being disposed of throughout the whole festival (including install and pack down).
   b. Exhibitors will be given a waste allowance of 1kg of General Waste per m2.  Producing and disposing of waste up to this amount will be free of charge.[1]
   c. For every additional kg over this allowance, there will be a charge of 200kr /kg.
   d. Properly sorted recycling will not be charged.
   e. All waste amounts will be publicly available information.
   f. In 2025, no trash bins or recycling will be provided automatically to exhibitors. There will be bins, containers and other supplies available at the Exhibitor Services at an additional cost.
   g. Trash can be disposed of at Exhibitor Services.

   h. Only clear trash bags are permitted in the venue.   These will be provided free of charge to all exhibitors.

   i.  Goal for 2025: Cut total amount of general waste from event to under 400kg.

4. No Single-Use
   a. No single-use items may be brought into the venue.
   b. This includes paper, plastic, or any other type of non-re-usable cup, sleeves, trays/holders, cutlery, straws, or mixers.
   c. Paper towels and serviettes are okay as long as they are biodegradable.
   d. Any breaches of this policy by exhibitors will result in a fee of 1500kr per incident + exclusion from future editions of the festival.
   e. Attendees will be given one 90ml ceramic cup upon entering the festival that they can use to sample coffee.
   f. Rinsing stations will be provided throughout the venue.
   g. Dishwashing services will be available in the venue.
   h. Note on Sampling: Any food or drink that is consumed on-site needs to be consumed without using single-use packaging or implements.

5. Accessible Venue
   a. Our venue must be accessible by public transport and be centrally located to ensure easy access.
   b. The choice of Gothenburg as a host city is strategically located in a central point between Norway and Denmark.

6. Re-usable signage & Event material
   a. We aim to produce ZERO single-use signage for the event. This excludes recyclable signage like cardboard and paper.

7. Recycled and low-impact printed marketing material
   a. All marketing material (flyers and posters) must be printed on recycled paper with consideration for how to design with the least amount of ink use possible.

[1] Total waste in 2024: 443kg for 465m2 of booth space.

1. BYO Cups
   a. We encourage everyone who attends the festival to bring their own cup to Nordic Coffee Fest. Not only is it great practice for day-to-day coffee purchases, but we will have rinsing stations throughout the festival for you to clean your cup between samples.

2. Electricity
   a. The electricity usage of each exhibitor will be measured during the festival. This information will be public and may be released.
   b. Exhibitors are encouraged to select electronic equipment with eco modes to ensure the most efficient use of energy as possible.
   c. Electricity will be fully shut off at the end of each day's event. If you require electricity overnight, this must be arranged in advance with the organizers.

3. Recycling/Trash Management
   a. We are going to almost completely remove trash bins from the event except for in two locations: the food court and exhibitor services.  This helps exhibitors and attendees alike to be more considered with what trash they receive and dispose of and allows us to offer a full range of recycling sorting solutions at each space.

4. Transport
   a. Our venue is located literally a stones throw from Central station, meaning that there is no excuse to not take a bus or tram to the event.  And while we know that Gothenburg is not known for its mild, predictable weather we have some plans to make your travel to the event easy, pleasant and fun regardless of the weather.

5. Measuring everything
   a. We already diligently track as many inputs into the event as possible.  For those enviro-nerds reading this, we measure between scope 2-3. Specifically, we define our impact as any emission or impact created that wouldn’t have been created had we not staged the event
   b. This data is collected and released as an Environmental Impact Statement publicly on our website after the event.

6. Freight
   a. To encourage more travel by train, we have extended the window for delivery and pick up of goods and equipment to and from Nordic Coffee Fest.
   b. Shipments will be accepted from Wednesday to Monday.

7. Merch and Give away
   a. While we value your promotional efforts, please consider reducing excess, throw-away giveaways to minimize environmental impact.  So, in simple words, don’t give away anything that will end up in the bin!

8. Suppliers
   a. We will ensure that all suppliers commit to sustainability demands of using organic and certified products and committing to sustainable practices of travel, sourcing and behaviour at the festival.
   b. All cleaning supplies used by suppliers must be organic and or certified.
   c. All Food and Drink suppliers must have a sustainability plan behind their choice of products.

9. Equality
   a. We will ensure our leaders and managers have competency in identifying and handling any situations of discrimination and there is clear communication about who these people are and the process to follow in any cases of discrimination.
   b. We will ensure we have attended discrimination training prior to the festival.
   c. We strive to keep a diverse representation among staff, speakers, panellists, and special guests, to reflect the perspectives and experiences of the attendees.

1. Food and drink:
   a. We want our choice of food and drink vendors to first and foremost impress you with the quality.  That is also happens to be local, sustainable and considered can be an added plus – because we love food and drink too much for it to be bland.

2. Seeing the impact of your choices
   a. We hope that by communicating as clearly as possible and attaching environmental costs to different aspects and actions within the festival we can inspire people to think a bit more carefully about the environmental impact of their choices. From their commute to the festival, to choice of hotel to choice of daily coffee – just a few small changes can make a big difference if we all start taking action.

3. Looking after people
   a. Sustainability isn’t just about carbon emissions – it is also about people.
   b. Ordna Event Agency pays a living wage to all employees, provides health and wellness benefits (friskvårdbidrag), pension payments (Tjänstepension), flexible work hours and location, and runs on a four-day work week.
   c. All volunteers and staff receive a proper meal when working the event.
   d. We pledge to not use and abuse people's time, energy or skills in pursuit of profit.

4. Learning
   a. A big part of our coffee festival is to create a space for people to learn more about one of the biggest commodities in the world – coffee.  If you come to the festival and learn just one small thing about how you can buy better sourced and produced coffee, then we will be so happy.  If you learn more than one thing – you get a gold star.

5. Sustainability Awards
   a. Starting in 2025 we will be measuring and evaluating the environmental impact per exhibitor.  This will allow us to award awards for exhibitors who go above and beyond with their sustainability actions.
   b. After the festival we will be publicly awarding exhibitors for their efforts in reducing their waste, travel emissions, general carbon emissions and for novel efforts in creating and communicating a sustainable presence at the festival.