Wine Festival on track for climate neutrality

The Limassol Wine Festival, which closed on Sunday after attracting thousands of visitors, was the first to implement a zero-waste event certification process, in line with its commitment to reduce environmental impact, Friends of the Earth Cyprus announced on Monday.

Limassol municipality partnered with FoE Cyprus to pursue the Mission Zero Academy (MiZA) certification, aiming to transform the festival into a model of sustainability.

The festival, which ran from September 28 to October 6, aspired to be zero-waste, in an effort to reduce its environmental footprint and support the municipality’s goals for climate neutrality by the year 2030.

Key initiatives included the installation of a water refill station at the festival’s venue – the Municipal Garden – providing visitors with filtered cold water at all times, recycling bins and separate waste sorting areas and enhanced signage to guide festival visitors on how to properly dispose of waste.

“By setting the foundation for this transformation, Limassol Wine Festival is leading by example. The goal is to significantly reduce waste production, foster a culture of reusing and support the municipality’s broader sustainability efforts for climate neutrality by 2030,” Friends of the Earth Cyprus said.

“This is the first organisation in Cyprus to take waste management on with ambition,” MiZA director Kaisa Karjalainen said.

“Conducting our waste baseline assessment on the ground has been a rewarding use of our time because we now have a clear path forward with Limassol Wine Festival to create an example for future events in Cyprus,” she added.

The certification’s long-term goals include introducing reusable cups and cutlery, promoting sustainable vendor packaging, reducing food waste and implementing bio-waste management.