New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Earns Evergreen Certification for Sustainability and Community Impact
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (“Jazz Fest”) presented by Shell USA, Inc. (“Shell”), has been awarded the Evergreen certification by the Council for Responsible Sport (“Council”). Jazz Fest, a 55year-old New Orleans institution known for its celebration of music, art, and culture, is the largest cultural festival to ever achieve Evergreen certification.
Jazz Fest welcomes around 500,000 visitors spanning eight days and features numerous artists and local vendors. Since 2022, Shell and the Jazz Fest team have worked together to continue to enhance a broad range of sustainability and community impact goals, incorporating these principles into daily operations that monitor and seek to minimize the festival’s environmental footprint.
The achievement of Evergreen certification recognizes these activities were assessed in adherence to the independent Council’s rigorous certification standards and verified by several environmental and social indicators. Jazz Fest earned this distinction by achieving more than 90% of the total best practices in the Council’s guidelines (PDF) for responsible events.
"Large scale events, like Jazz Fest, that meet enhanced criteria for social and environmental responsibility, show the way for other events to do the same. The Jazz Fest team, and their long-time partner Shell, executed plans to increase waste-diversion, offset the event’s carbon footprint, and implement community engagement programs, elevating the festival’s previous Gold Certification to Evergreen" shared Kat Phelan, Board Member of the Council.
"Big thanks to everyone who attended Jazz Fest and participated in the Shell Recycle Rewards program,” Quint Davis, Producer/Director of Jazz Fest, expressed his appreciation. “It’s a great honor for the Festival to receive the Evergreen certification. Our partnership with Shell and the community has allowed us to grow our sustainability program and continue our commitment to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of New Orleans."
2025 Jazz Fest Sustainability Program Highlights:
- Avoided 272.11 Metric tons of CO2 equivalents released to the air via waste diversion; that’s enough air capacity to fill about 12,634,934 regulation 29.5” basketballs
- 156.99 Metric tons of waste diverted from landfill (a 40.08% diversion rate of total waste collected)
- 16,929 gallons of water dispensed, eliminating 135,432 single-use bottles
- 155 local jobs created, and 245 volunteers deployed to support sustainability efforts
Shell & Jazz Fest Sustainability Program 2025
Avoided 272.11
Metric tons of CO2 equivalents released to the air via waste diversion
That’s enough air capacity to fill about 12,634,934 regulation 29.5” basketballs
Local non-profits benefited*
Pontchartrain Conservancy and Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program
Help improve water quality in SE Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast by removing invasive species and deploying trash-capture devices to remove floating trash and debris across various regional waterways.
*Shell funded community projects equal to the fair market value of the materials recycled at Jazz Fest 2025.
245
Volunteers
deployed
16.78
Metric tons of food waste composted*
*2025 program led by WWOZ
155 Jobs created*
- 47 sustainability program
- 108 hosting program
*2025 ~22 pre-production and 8 Festival days
27,050 lbs
of reclaimed cooking oil converted to fuel for shrimping boats
16,929
usedat refill stations
135,432
Single use 16oz bottles
156.99 Metric tons of waste diverted from landfill (a 40.08% diversion rate of total waste collected)
About the Council for Responsible Sport
The Council for Responsible Sport is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization with a vision of a world where responsibly produced sports and events are the norm. Since 2007, the Council has helped event organizers measure, manage, and verify their events' social and environmental impacts. The Council provides independent verification and certification for events, ensuring they meet high standards of environmental, social, and economic responsibility. Hundreds of certified events are among the world’s leading examples of responsible sport. In partnership with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the Council has digitized its certification process with the ReScore App, a platform that simplifies event reporting and enhances sustainability tracking. https://www.councilforresponsiblesport.org/
About the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell
Established in 1970, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival or Jazz Fest, annually celebrates the unique culture of New Orleans and Louisiana. It is considered one of the world’s greatest music festivals. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc., the non-profit organization that owns Jazz Fest, uses the proceeds from the event for year-round activities in education, economic development and cultural enrichment. For information visit, www.nojazzfest.com.
