At Les Ardentes, we want every festival-goer to have the best possible experience during the four days of the festival. We are committed to taking responsibility for combating all forms of discrimination, harassment and violence, and we are determined to minimise our environmental impact. By visiting the Les Ardentes site, you are aware of the values of the festival and you undertake to respect this charter of good conduct.

Let's work together to ensure that Les Ardentes remains a caring, inclusive, safe and environmentally-friendly venue! Les Ardentes also attaches particular importance to limiting its impact on the environment. The whole festival team is committed to a collective responsible approach and to persevering year after year.

It's with all these small actions that, together, we'll be able to achieve our big commitments and make our festival a better place.

FESTIVAL CHARTER.

CELEBRATING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY 

At Les Ardentes, you have the right to be who you want to be and to enjoy your festival feeling valued, respected and safe. The festival forbids all types of sexist and sexual violence and harassment, as well as any incident or violence of a discriminatory nature (racism, LGBTQI sexism+phobia, classism, ageism, validism, etc). The entire festival team is aware of the resources available on the site and, above all, is trained to react appropriately and redirect you to the appropriate people.

CONSENT: LET'S TALK ABOUT IT!

If it's not a big YES, then it's a NO! Consent must be enthusiastic, specific, reversible and given in a free and informed manner. Remember that excessive consumption of alcohol or drugs in no way allows you to give informed consent.

CONSUME IN MODERATION 

Alcohol use or abuse in no way justifies inappropriate behaviour! Knowing your limits also means knowing how to enjoy yourself without going overboard! For your health, watch your alcohol consumption, especially strong alcohol. You should also be aware of the alcohol consumption of the people you're with, and NEVER encourage anyone to drink. A number of associations and awareness-raising stands will be present at Les Ardentes, so don't hesitate to contact them if you feel the need.

LET'S BE ACTIVE WITNESSES

To ensure that the festival remains a caring, inclusive and safe place, we invite you to pay particular attention to respecting everyone. If you witness discrimination, harassment, violence, alcohol abuse or any other problematic situation, don't hesitate to inform members of security and/or members of the organisation. You can also contact the SYNKA first aid and safety zones.

BE RESPECTFUL

When you speak to a festival-goer, a volunteer, a security guard, a barman or any other person on the site, no abusive language or aggressive behaviour will be tolerated. Everyone present at Les Ardentes deserves to be respected.

LET'S TAKE CARE OF LES ARDENTES

Enjoying Les Ardentes also means respecting the site and the infrastructures at your disposal. If you want to enjoy your festival year after year, don't start dirtying and damaging it.

LET'S LIVE TOGETHER WITH OUR NEIGHBOURS

Every effort has been made to cause as little inconvenience as possible to the people living near the festival. We're also counting on you to respect our neighbours, their peace and quiet and their property. When you go out, please follow the signs and boundaries. Don't shout, don't urinate and don't litter. 
 

LET'S BE ECO-RESPONSIBLE

The environmental impact of festivals is undeniable. Our commitments must be shared in order to reduce the ecological cost of the Ardentes. In keeping with our values of sustainability, we encourage you to think consciously about how you travel, what you consume and what you do at Les Ardentes. Waste and cigarette butt sorting facilities will be available on site and at the campsite. Litter-picking competitions will also be organised.

LET'S CAMP CLEAN

Leaving your pitch clean means respecting the work of the whole team after the festival. Don't forget to collect your camping equipment and other items when you leave. If you really need to get rid of it, take advantage of the equipment donation and recycling facilities on the campsite.

We're counting on you to respect this charter so that everyone's experience is the best it can be.

OUR COMMITMENTS.

ENCOURAGE SOFT MEANS OF TRANSPORT

Mobility is the main source of pollution in the organisation of a festival. The transport linked to the logistics of the event, the arrival of the festival-goers and the artists on the site have a considerable impact on the environment.

For festival-goers, we have set up a large alternative transport system: free bus shuttles, a car-sharing platform, discounts on train tickets, parking for bikes and scooters in the immediate vicinity of the festival, etc. Moreover, if you come by bike, Decathlon will give you a voucher worth €5!

Go to the mobility tab to find the soft means of transport that suits you!

Since soft mobility applies to everyone, the Ardentes staff also prefer to travel by bike. Before, during and after the event, Decathlon will be lending out bicycles that have been bought back from customers as part of its second life scheme.

MANAGING AND SORTING WASTE

No more excuses for not sorting your waste! To keep the site clean and to manage the waste flows as well as possible, we have reinforced the sorting system in 2023 with the help of our partner Intradel. In concrete terms, this is what it means:

• In all, there will be 500 sorting islands, i.e. 500 PMC bins and 500 OM bins.
• You will also find 8 recycling cup stands : Bring your cups to one of the 8 recycling stands at the festival or campsite and leave with Cashless: 15 cups brought in = €1 cashless & 50 cups brought in = €3.50 cashless! Every day, the 5 festival-goers who bring back the most cups will receive prizes!
• In the backstage, we are taking sorting even further with 10 waste fractions: waste, PMC, cardboard, glass, metals, food / compostable, edible oils, wood, paint / aerosols, WEEE!
• Food bins on site for caterers and foodtrucks and others on the campsite in the BBQ areas
• In the streets surrounding the festival, dozens of waste bins are placed along the road to avoid littering. The streets around the festival and the car parks are cleaned at night. 
• Behind the scenes, an green-team of 550 people is mobilised for the festival. This green-team is trained in waste sorting via a visit to a factory to understand the necessity and the process of waste sorting. 
• To go further, we have established a charter to involve our partners so that they commit to respecting the cleanliness of the site and the management of waste generated by their activity. It also raises awareness of food and water waste and respect for equipment.

COLLECTING AND SORTING CIGARETTE BUTTS

In 2022, we amassed a huge number of cigarette butts, and this year we will be redoubling our efforts to reduce the problem and step up the system for collecting and sorting cigarette butts.

Throwing a cigarette butt on the ground may seem like nothing, but the damage is frightening! Cigarette butts are difficult to pick up and are thrown onto land used for haying cows. To make these areas clean and safe for the cows:

• The Butt Busters team will be collecting butts every day. 
• Intradel and Fruitz will be distributing a large number of pocket ashtrays. 

• Fixed ashtrays will be placed around the site and campsite. 
• The WeCircular association will be collecting the butts and recycling them.

INVOLVING CAMPERS IN AN ECO-RESPONSIBLE APPROACH

Just like last year, banned items confiscated on the campsite will be recovered and redistributed to a number of associations. Make sure you read the campsite rules carefully if you want to be allowed in with all your belongings!

Intradel provides bin bags for your rubbish.

If your mattress deflates, Decathlon is there to save your night! On their stand, you can take advantage of their democratic prices to repair your equipment and avoid buying new. For €1 to €15, you can take advantage of their repair service.

Operation Seconde Vie, organised by Decathlon, is a project to recover, recondition and distribute camping equipment.

Don't leave your tent or camping equipment behind! If you really need to get rid of them, there are several options available to you.

When you leave the campsite, you can :

• Donate your equipment in good condition to a charity. The list of associations to which abandoned equipment will be distributed will be announced shortly.
• Drop off your equipment at the Decathlon stand. Decathlon will buy it back from you in exchange for a voucher valid for 2 years in Decathlon shops in Belgium and France. Your tent, table and chairs will be reconditioned and sold for a second life in Decathlon shops in order to find new owners for them.

The Decathlon buy-back point will be :

• Sunday 9 July: in front of the Decathlon shop from 10 a.m.
• Monday 10 July: at the info point from 9am to midday

ENCOURAGE FESTIVAL-GOERS TO ADOPT GOOD PRACTICES 

On the campsite, go to one of the 4 recycling points and collect your points for the "Déchet-nez vous!" competition: collect as much rubbish as you can, sort it correctly and bring it back. Try to win lots of prizes. We look forward to seeing you in 2023 at the campsite!

Recycling Cup competition

Thanks to Coca Cola, bring your cups to one of the 8 recycling stands at the festival or campsite and leave with Cashless:

• 15 cups returned = €1 cashless
• 50 cups returned = €3.50 cashless

Every day, the 5 festival-goers who bring back the most cups will receive prizes!

Great recycling plan!

Proximus offers cashless for old phones! Did you know that by recycling your old phone, you can considerably reduce the negative impact of mining on our planet? You're helping to recycle raw materials and avoid extracting new ones. Bring your old phone to the Proximus stand at Les Ardentes and get €10 cashless on your wristband, to spend on food & drinks! These phones will be recovered and recycled!

Come and get your free cap made from 100% recycled plastic at the Proximus stand!

Proximus is testing a greener solution for rolling out its temporary mobile network on the Ardentes, combining solar panels, batteries and biofuel. An ideal solution for reducing our CO2 emissions by up to 80%!🌍

EATING ETHICALLY

In terms of catering, we favour restaurateurs from Liege and Wallonia as well as local, seasonal and organic products (production excludes the use of chemicals, GMOs, limits the use of fertilisers, insecticides, etc.). Thus, we create label stickers to be displayed next to the stands so that festival-goers can orient their choice of catering.

The foodtrucks present at the festival are obliged to offer at least one vegetarian option on their menu.

The use of plastic containers is also prohibited.

CONTRIBUTING TO THE PLANTING OF TREES IN WALLONIA

In order to participate in the development of sustainable projects in Belgium, Les Ardentes has developed a partnership with PlantC, an association that acts in favour of the climate and biodiversity by allowing the territory to adapt to global changes. A system of voluntary donations from the cashless remaining on the wristbands of festival-goers has been set up.

In 2022, 1033 trees were planted, which represents 148.23 tons of CO2 sequestered over 30 years. We are convinced that this year we can do even better!

For more information on the association: PlantC

COMMUNICATE MORE RESPONSIBLY

We want to continue the dematerialisation of communication materials to avoid producing single-use materials. We have drastically reduced paper posters and stopped printing programmes in favour of screen-based communication. We also favour digital channels: social networks, newsletters, mobile applications, etc.

Flyering on the site and in the surrounding area is forbidden, and we are reducing the amount of goodies offered by partners.