Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them. — Leaving No Trace Principle
Read and download the 2026 Sustainability Update.
As you make your journey to the desert this year, consider ways YOU can join this effort and contribute to a more sustainable and regenerative Black Rock City.
- Bringing a camp? Build sustainable infrastructure, assign a sustainability lead, play the Green Radius game, and register for the Black Rock Compost program. In addition, track your camp’s fuel consumption and fill out the BRC Emissions Survey, which will be emailed to your camp organizer and sustainability lead after the event.
- Bringing an e-bike or electric mutant vehicle? Many camps, such as SOLARPUNKS and Bao Chika Wow Wow, gift renewable-energy charging.
- Want to learn how to green your Burn? Explore the Green Corridors where camps teach, learn, and experiment with new ideas around sustainable infrastructure and regenerative practices. Learn about solar from groups like the Renewables For Artists Team or Alternative Energy Zone.
- Inspired after the event? Apply for the $30,000 Green Regionals Grant and build a sustainability project at a Burning Man Regional Event in 2027. Participate in a campout or nature walk at Fly Ranch to learn about regenerative projects having an impact on Black Rock City and beyond. Around the world, Burners Without Borders groups and chapters are nurturing grassroots regeneration projects — get involved!
Burning Man Project and the community are working to carry the ideas, solutions, and sense of possibility created here in Black Rock City out into the world. The innovations required to produce a more sustainable Black Rock City have already shaped how events and gatherings are produced and operated. This 2026 Sustainability Update captures these achievements as well as the challenges ahead.
Read the full 2026 Sustainability Update for a comprehensive breakdown and learn how the Burning Man nonprofit and community are moving forward.
Since Black Rock City 2025
The Burning Man community made considerable progress toward the goals of the 2030 Environmental Sustainability Roadmap, thanks to the ongoing innovation and Communal Effort of the community, support from generous donors, and the year-round work of the Burning Man Project nonprofit.
Nearly half of Burning Man Project’s operational fossil fuel emissions were avoided or displaced through solar, batteries, and renewable fuels in Black Rock City 2025. Energy generation is shifting fast as well: the majority of placed camps deployed solar panels (59%), many completely ditched generators (19%), most art installations utilized solar (63%), and a significant number of mutant vehicles were electric (27%).
Waste is being handled more responsibly, with over 50 cubic yards of food scraps composted through the DPW Organics Collection Crew and the participant-led Black Rock Compost program.
Regeneration efforts are returning value to the land and people, with 80 cubic yards of compost — primarily generated from Black Rock City — sent back to Fly Ranch to grow food for the local community and future camps in Black Rock City. In addition, a new $30,000 Green Regionals Grant was launched, funding sustainability projects at Burning Man events worldwide.
Where we go from here
The work here isn’t simply to change how Black Rock City is built or operated. By design, Black Rock City is a relatively low-impact city: it fully operates for only eight days, and most participants live in tents, ride bikes, and share resources. The question that drives this work is deeper. What can we do here, and what applications does it have out in the world?
Over the next five Black Rock City events, Burning Man Project will continue working toward each goal, sharing what we learn so that others can apply this knowledge to initiatives such as sustainable event production, disaster relief infrastructure, or simply one participant returning home to serve their community. But none of this is possible without the participants who lead, an organization that clears the path, and the creatives willing to test their boldest ideas on the playa. Fostering that collaboration is the most important part of this work, and that’s what the roadmap is meant to grow.
In a time when collective action can feel impossible, the Burning Man community continues to prove otherwise. Let’s show the world what’s possible and build Black Rock City better, together.
Stay connected: sign up for email updates or contact us at sustainability@burningman.org.
Cover image: “Thomas Dambo turns trash into treasure with his giant troll sculptures, all made from recycled wood.” Rose Wonders by Thomas Dambo, 2025 (Photo by Lara Crespo Davo)
