Ultra becomes largest U.S. festival in over a decade to earn “Greener Festival” certification

Ultra Music Festival proudly ushers in the fifth anniversary of its multi-award-winning sustainability program, ‘Mission: Home,’ marking a major milestone of environmental responsibility and industry leadership. Since its inception in 2019, ‘Mission: Home’ has educated 8.2 million people, diverted nearly 400K pounds of waste and donated more than 84K pounds of resources back to the community – all while driving lasting operational change across vendors, partners, staff, crew, and attendees. The program’s continued growth reached new heights in 2025, executing a record 61 initiatives at Ultra’s sold-out 25th anniversary and earning multiple new sustainability honors. Now, Ultra Music Festival has achieved A Greener Future’s prestigious “Greener Festival” certification, marking the first time in 13 years that a U.S. festival of Ultra’s scale has secured its standing through this rigorous, internationally-respected assessment program. A Greener Future is a recognized industry leader, dedicated to improving sustainability practices across the entire live events sector. They have certified over 800 festivals across 32 countries since 2007. Ultra’s certification signifies a new stride forward for U.S. festivals, being the first domestic festival of this scale to meet heightened certification requirements, which have evolved numerous times to keep up with global sustainability standards. It also marks the eleventh sustainability recognition that Ultra has received in ‘Mission: Home’s’ 5-year lifespan. ‘Mission: Home’ was once again honored with the 1st Place SUNsational Award in the Sustainability Program category at the 31st annual Florida Festivals and Events Association (FFEA) Convention & Expo in Orlando, Florida. This marked the third time in five years that Ultra Music Festival was celebrated statewide for its commitment to environmental responsibility. With a network of over 5,500 events, the FFEA recognized 48 organizations as SUNsational Award winners out of over 200 applicants. Ultra Music Festival was also honored as part of IQ Magazine’s 2025 Green Guardians, an annual list recognizing 20 organizations, events, artists, or suppliers who are driving sustainability in the live entertainment sector. ‘Mission: Home’ earned its place amongst several powerhouse artists, including Coldplay and Massive Attack. This recognition builds on a growing list of global accolades for Ultra’s sustainability leadership, including being verified as “the most extensive sustainability program across leading U.S. electronic music festivals” by environmental non-profit Debris Free Oceans and winning the Sustainability Team Award at the 2023 World Sustainability Awards ceremony. In 2024, ‘Mission: Home’ was further distinguished as a finalist for the World Sustainability Awards’ for its Sustainability Excellence Award, which recognizes organizations setting new international standards in environmental and social responsibility. This year’s program demonstrated Ultra’s continued commitment to waste reduction, achieving a significant milestone of 45% waste diversion across ‘Mission: Home’s five-year lifetime, and showcasing Ultra‘s dedication to rescuing, repurposing, and recycling these valuable resources. Over the past five years, ‘Mission: Home’ has diverted nearly 400,000 pounds of waste from landfills – equivalent to the weight of over 30 adult African elephants. Alongside their returning recycling, composting, and donation efforts, ‘Mission: Home’ introduced a new glass recovery program in partnership with Glass for Life, bringing the total number of unique waste diversion streams to nine. Ultra‘s waste management partner Clean Vibes, a nationally recognized expert in festival waste diversion, once again achieved 100% recyclables acceptance at the local facility while also successfully managing a majority of the nine waste streams. Additionally, they expanded the compost program in partnership with Renuable and maintained exceptionally clean festival grounds, even despite heavy rain and flooding. ‘Mission: Home’ also sustained its cooking oil and soft plastic waste diversion initiatives. Soft plastics were recycled in collaboration with local material recovery experts, Lady Green Recycling. ‘Mission: Home’ continued its long-standing partnership with The Caring Place, a homeless outreach center that has provided services, meals, and shelter in South Florida since 1922. Many of Ultra’s programs are rooted in supporting the local community, including their food rescue program, which has donated over 14,000 pounds of food – the equivalent of nearly 12,000 meals – and over 50,000 pounds of beverages to community partners over the past three years. According to The Caring Place’s Food Service Manager, Anthony Perrone, “The food and beverages rescued from this event allow us to serve the men, women and children of the Miami area, who struggle to find their next meal – on average we serve 1,200 meals a day.” Through its partnersh