Sustainability

Drag performer in a leopard print outfit with flowing hair on a festive boat decorated with rainbow flags.

Sustainability

Sustainability has become an increasingly important priority for the global LGBTQ+ community, and York Pride is committed to aligning with these values.

We focus on three key areas to ensure sustainability is embedded in everything we do:

Financial Sustainability

Community Engagement and Growth

Environmental Awareness, from Planning to Delivery

Current Impact

York Pride is proud to be North Yorkshire’s largest LGBTQ+ celebration and the biggest one-day free festival in York. This incredible achievement has been made possible by years of dedication from a small team of volunteers who have grown the event from just 150 attendees 15 years ago to 17,500 in 2024. As a free event, we are committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of financial means, can participate and enjoy the celebration. York Pride aims to bring the community together, making sure that people from all races, religions, ages, and backgrounds feel safe, included, and welcome.

Over time, we have reached a point where we can generate sufficient income from each year’s event to help sustain and support future festivals. This milestone reflects the hard work of our volunteers and the implementation of sustainable practices.

Environmental Awareness

At York Pride, we take environmental responsibility seriously. From event planning to delivery, we incorporate several measures to reduce our environmental impact, including:

Carbon Footprint Reduction: We partner with transport providers to minimize the carbon footprint of our event.

Waste Management: We collaborate with St Nicholas Fields to ensure all waste from the event is properly collected and sorted for recycling. Additional marshals are deployed to assist with waste collection during and after the event.

Digital Information: We produce the event guide digitally to reduce paper waste.

Future Goals

As part of York’s climate emergency declaration in 2019, York Pride is committed to becoming zero waste and net-zero carbon by 2030. We are also aiming to become a proud ambassador of ‘One Planet York,’ an initiative promoting sustainable practices across the city.

To further these goals, York Pride plans to:

Promote Sustainability: We will showcase the positive work we are doing with our partners, sponsors, and attendees to highlight the collective effort toward sustainability.

Use Renewable Energy: We will explore opportunities to power the event with renewable energy sources whenever possible.

Encourage Reuse and Recycling: We will work with suppliers to build structures using sustainable, long-lasting materials that can be reused each year.

Minimise Waste: We will reduce the printing of marketing materials, opting for digital platforms instead. We also aim to reduce the use of promotional items and offer opt-out options for attendees and participants who don’t wish to receive freebies.

York Pride is dedicated to making every event greener, and we’re excited to continue growing our impact in the years to come.