Committed to Sustainability

Sustainability and our Green Commitment

‘Sustainability’ is a popular term today, however, it is not new for us. The Soča Outdoor Festival and sustainability have been intertwined since the first performances of the event at Sotočje. We develop the festival according to the principles of responsible, sustainable business conduct, we strive to reduce the negative impact on the natural and social environment while preserving and highlighting the specifics, the identity of the environment in which the festival takes place.

Our sustainable practices are being upgraded every year. We are committed to continuously improving the sustainability of our event, and we also encourage our visitors to do so. In addition to preserving the natural environment, we promote the development of a healthy, inclusive society and support the local community and economy.

Sustainable is much more than just “green”. When organizing a sustainable event, we strive to minimize negative impacts and best contribute to the well-being of the community, visitors and others involved. Our goal is to achieve an optimal balance between environmental, social, and economic responsibility.

Sustainable development continues to be the priority of Soča Outdoor Festival. We strive to minimize negative impacts and contribute as much as possible to the well-being of the community, visitors and others involved. When planning and implementing our event, we follow the Guidelines for Green Events of the Slovenian Tourist Board.

We do not use disposable plastics. In 2016, we eliminated plastic pots and then in 2017 and 2018 we used paper ones. In 2019, all participants got reusable pots, which was a key step towards the elimination of single-use pots and a significant reduction in the amount of waste. We encouraged the participants to use these pots or their water bottles at further performances of the festival.
We use tap water, which is delivered to refreshment stations in barrels and served with jugs – there is no bottled water.
Food is served in containers made of degradable materials and with wooden cutlery already since 2017.
From the very beginning, we have been trying to create as little waste as possible and separate it appropriately, so we make sure that separate waste collection is well organized at the festival venue.
The competition rules emphasize zero tolerance and immediate disqualification in case of intentional dumping of waste in nature.
We share and co-use all organizational resources with other events within the Alpe Adria Trail Cup (marking - flags, barrels, etc.).
We promote sustainable mobility. In addition to encouraging visitors to use public transport and sharing transport to the event, the organizing team uses electric bicycles (and legs) to mark the routes and cross the festival venue.
We always offer a choice of meat and vegan menu. In 2022 we have increased the order of vegan menus to 40%.
The adidas sports T-shirt, which all participants receive, is made of 100% recycled polyester.
For the first time in 2022 we organized a free bus transport from Ljubljana and Zagreb to the venue in Tolmin in collaboration with Continental.
In 2022 we have introduced the "virtual goody bag" for participants, to reduce the amount of printed flyers and consequently the amount of waste. In future editions, participants will access the promotional materials from our sponsors via QR code.
In 2023, we supported the initiative Skupaj za Kras/Drevo za Cerje and collected contributions for the purchase of trees for afforestation in the Karst after the fires. Competitors had the opportunity to donate 1 € upon registration - we collected a total of 583 €. We doubled the collected funds and donated them to the Vrabček Upanja Foundation, which takes care of this initiative.
In collaboration with our timing service, we moved the onsite registration process to tablets. The new system sped up the registration process and also enabled us to track how many start numbers were taken in certain periods of time.
We’ve divided the running program over three days to reduce and more evenly distribute the pressure on key points crossed by most routes (such as the castle and Tolmin Gorges). At the same time, this change responds to runners’ feedback about crowding at these crucial spots.
We have introduced a special pregnancy policy that allows pregnant participants and their partners to either receive a refund or defer their registration for up to two years.
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Whenever possible, local people are involved in the implementation of the event - 90% of partners and subcontractors are local. Local exhibitors can set up stands free of charge.
Together with the company Continental, we marked the 10 km Tolminka trail, which we also maintain.
In 2020, we purchased and installed 2 bicycle repair stations that can be used by both locals and visitors.
Every year we organize a special campaign for the maintenance of hiking and biking trails - these are trails that serve us during the event and are available to locals and visitors throughout the year. All participants can take part in the campaign and help by volunteering.
50% of the participants in the event are women, which is much higher than in similar events.
We encourage the participants of the event to stay in the destination for more days. We promote local accommodations, inform participants about the activities and experiences offered by local providers, and encourage them to visit local restaurants.
We make sure that the surplus food is distributed among the organizers and donated to the Tolmin Retirement Home.
We always make sure that the venue is accessible to people with reduced mobility.
With our initiatives we aim to spread green consciousness and educate participants of our event . All participants and partners receive special green guidelines, while runners and cyclists also accept the Green pledge of our festival upon registration.
In 2022 we introduced a special Facebook for sharing transportation.
Parafestival, sports event for people with disabilities became part of Soča Outdoor Festival.
We joined the initiative ITRA Green Charter, which stimulates the trail running community to reduce negative impacts on the environment and towards sustainable development of our sport.
In cooperation with the social enterprise Smetumet, we designed special shoe bags - from old Soča Outdoor t-shirts! With such activities, we want to encourage creativity and show our visitors and supporters how "used" things can get a new useful value.
We offer a few free race entries to local institutions we work with during the event preparation, so they can share them with their employees.
In 2024, we collected donations for the repair of the road leading to the Zatolmin mountain pastures. In addition to the donation, our team also decided to help out on the ground. So, in early November 2024, we joined a volunteer work action at the Sleme pasture and assisted the Sleme-Medrje grazing community in clearing the pastures to prepare them for livestock in the coming spring.
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Initiative ITRA Green Charter

We believe that trail running and other outdoor activities can contribute positively to the preservation of the environment and educate the public about the need to take into account the impact of our activities on the planet. Our sport has a unique power to stimulate wider social change that prioritizes sustainable development and reducing our carbon footprint, so that the beauty of our planet, our nature, can be enjoyed by future generations. This is precisely why the Soča Outdoor Festival joined the ITRA Green Charter initiative, which encourages the organizers of trail running events to introduce sustainable and responsible practices and reduce the impact of our sport on the environment.

To learn more about the commitment and initiative, visit International Trail Running Association’s website: https://www.itra.run/About/Eco-Responsibility

 

Action plan 2025

Hosting a sustainable event is a responsible task that requires important planning and coordination to achieve the set goals. Every year we prepare a special Action plan with measures and actions that would help us to reduce negative impacts on the environment and strengthen positive effects on the local community. In the Action plan for Soča Outdoor Festival 2025, we have set the following goals: 

  • Route changes on Saturday to improve flow through the Tolmin Gorges – reversing the routes for the 25km, 35km, and 50km distances.
  • Obtaining the Good Events sustainability certificate.
  • Implementing a policy for athletes with disabilities (offering a free race entry for their companion).
  • Raising funds to support the local community.
  • Donation station – a gear swap initiative for well-preserved sports equipment and clothing.
  • Procurement optimization – based on food and drink consumption analyses at refreshment stations, we’ll fine-tune purchasing to minimize leftovers.
  • Monitoring participant satisfaction and the festival’s economic impact on the destination (via survey), and encouraging longer stays in the Soča Valley (with a guide, tips, and an extended side program in the week leading up to Soča Outdoor Festival).
  • Improving the campsite – setting up an eco-island and providing more detailed guidelines and info regarding arrivals, waste management, etc.

In addition to our goal to remain the leading outdoor festival in Slovenia and beyond, we also aim to remain a leading event and an example of good practice in the field of sustainable development. Through our activities, we want to encourage the organisation of events based on sustainability principles and show other organisers how they can incorporate sustainable practices into their events.

 

Green guidelines

Each of us can contribute to making the festival friendly to the environment in which it takes place, therefore it is our mission to spread green awareness and be an example of good practice. That is why it is important that everyone involved, visitors, the local community and partners engage in our efforts.
Take a look on how you can help with that.

The achievements and the fulfillment of the activities set out in the plan for 2024 are collected in the sustainability report, which can be viewed in full here: SOF Sustainability Report 2024.

Due to the potential negative impacts on the environment brought by the organization and implementation of the event with a larger number of participants, we decided to assess the environmental impacts. The analysis, prepared by experts from the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology from the University of Maribor showed that the total carbon footprint of the Soča Outdoor Festival 2019 was 104,257 kg, which means 74.2 kg of CO2 per visitor. We believe that we can reduce this, so we are actively designing new initiatives that will help us do so.