Corona Capital’s Recycling Push Undercut by Diesel Use

Corona Capital is expanding its environmental sustainability measures during the 2025 edition of the festival in Mexico City, renewing its ISO 20121 certification and strengthening its alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals as part of OCESA’s broader strategy. However, experts caution that recycling alone cannot offset the emissions generated by major music festivals as long as they rely on highly polluting diesel generators.

Held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Corona Capital attracts more than 100,000 attendees per day. To manage the waste produced on-site, the festival deploys a dedicated Waste Management System that separates organic and inorganic materials through on-site sorting stations, promotes compostable packaging, and eliminates single-use plastics. According to environmental partners, organic waste is converted into compost through Hagamos Composta, while recyclable materials such as glass, PET, aluminum, and stage decorations are reintegrated into industrial production cycles. As a result, more than one ton of organic waste from last year’s event was processed into compost, avoiding 11 tons of CO₂ emissions.

The festival also operates Ticket2Ride, a collective transportation system managed by Ticketmaster offering bus routes from Santa Fe, Perisur, Parque España and Interlomas. Organizers note that one passenger traveling by bus emits five times less CO₂ than a passenger in a private vehicle, reducing both congestion around the venue and the festival’s carbon footprint.

Still, Seaside Sustainability, a UK-based think tank, emphasizes that while recycling stations, refill points, and transit improvements matter, more transformative action is required. A typical three-day festival emits around 500 tons of CO₂—the equivalent of driving around Australia 125 times—yet Corona Capital’s 2024 recycling efforts offset less than 2% of that amount.

Industry experts point to a shift away from diesel generators and toward lithium-ion battery systems as the most impactful path to decarbonizing large-scale events. Diesel generators, long relied upon due to limited grid access at venues, remain among the largest sources of emissions in the live-events sector—second only to air travel.

Some festivals have already begun adopting cleaner alternatives. Chicago’s Lollapalooza is transitioning to stages powered by hybrid lithium-ion battery systems charged with B14 biodiesel. Although only one of its nine stages operated on this system in 2025, organizers reported a 67% reduction in both greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption, avoiding 26 metric tons of CO₂. Scaling the system across all stages could offset at least half of total festival emissions, even with biodiesel-charged batteries.

Lollapalooza's efforts followed a number of smaller pioneer festivals who also experimented with renewable power generation. In 2023, non-profit REVERB helped Texas’ Luck Reunion power all four stages with solar-charged batteries; by 2024, no recharging was required, eliminating diesel use entirely. Larger festivals such as SXSW and Coachella have also incorporated battery systems for lighter loads, including lighting and public areas.