Paradiso Sustainability Summit: proving sustainable mixology is possible!

Sustainability Summit – the Paradiso event that debuted in 2022 and quickly established itself as a hub for exchanging experiences and tools aimed at making the industry more sustainable – is now in its third edition. A two-day event organised by Giacomo Giannotti, founder and owner of Paradiso, and his team, it will be held in the city of Barcelona on Sunday 17th and Monday 18th of March, 2024.

The first Sustainability Summit was held in April 2022 and hosted three international bartenders pioneering green initiatives, and its second edition, in March 2023, welcomed five international bars.

Thanks to the success of the first two editions this year the format will be repeated, improved and extended. Get ready for two immersive days of events full of many surprises: pop-up bars, seminars, panel discussions, partnerships and activities focused on promoting sustainability within the industry and the local community. Paradiso will invite the best bars in the world, all with a robust approach towards sustainability, to share their insights and experiences, and to inspire the industry.

The event will take place in a unique location in Barcelona: Palo Alto. This indoor and outdoor place has been chosen for its approach to helping the local communities. The venue enables the creation of different spaces and atmospheres, including two stages for masterclasses, seminars and workshops; an outdoor area with food trucks and the pop-ups of the international and local bars serving cocktails all day long; designated chilling and lounge areas, with DJ set; and a sustainable market section where partners and local sustainable organisations will showcase projects and host interactive activities.

Each bar participant will create a selection of two cocktails that will be available for the entire event. This will include one low-ABV drink to allow all cocktail lovers to taste the delicious creations of some of the best mixologists in the industry.

Paradiso Sustainability Summit in Barcelona wants to be a hub for the industry worldwide – a space to exchange ideas, tools, experiences and knowledge about the possibility and importance of incorporating sustainable practices in the bar industry. The event aims to inspire and open a dialogue, capable of generating awareness and change, raising consciousness in the bar industry toward a more sustainable world. Paradiso’s goal is to showcase that sustainable mixology is not just a concept, but a tangible and achievable reality. This edition of Paradiso Sustainability Summit 24 will cover themes like zero waste, water use, mental health, upskilling within the sector, equality, upcycling, recycling and more.

“For me, sustainability means trying to waste as little as possible and transforming residues into materials that can be re-used at the bar. But also creating a strong community of people who want to keep improving and helping each other. In an industry like ours, this might seem like an unattainable goal, but with the right mindset and the right people, there is always a way," says Giacomo Giannotti, owner and founder of Paradiso.

The entire event will be open to the public and cocktail lovers who want to learn more and discover the possibilities of sustainable mixology, have a good time and discover the delicious drinks created for the event.

Tickets are available now at the Paradiso website, on their Instagram page and on Eventbrite. Places are limited so make sure you book yours quickly!

Read on for more details of this two-day event...

During the two days, some of the world’s leading bars will share their experiences and approach to sustainability.

International bars: Alquimico, Cartagena (winners of the 50 Best Bars Sustainable Bar Award); Carnaval, Lima; Freni e Frizioni, Rome; Himkok, Oslo (winners of the 50 Best Bars Sustainable Bar Award); Line, Athens; The Bar in Front of The Bar, Athens; Tres Monos, Buenos Aires.

Spanish bars: Angelita, Madrid; Creps al Born, Barcelona; Dr. Stravinsky, Barcelona; Monk, Barcelona; Paradiso, Barcelona.

The event programme is available and continuously updated on the Eventbrite page.

Additionally, from Thursday 14th until Wednesday 20th, a few selected cocktail bars in Barcelona will create and add to their menu one exclusive Ketel One ‘Garnished with Good’ cocktail crafted specifically for Paradiso Sustainability Summit 2024.

All the Garnished with Good cocktails sold by the selected bars of the city and by Paradiso during the Sustainability Summit will contribute to an initiative designed to create jobs and provide income for those in need around Barcelona. The Cocktails with Ketel One Vodka will include a bespoke syrup produced and bottled by local people seeking employment in the hospitality industry who have faced barriers to education and employment in their lives. Supported by Ketel One, these people will be trained by Paradiso in the advanced techniques needed to make these syrups using ingredients grown by small local producers.

Giacomo and Ketel One agree that the experience of enjoying a cocktail becomes even more satisfying knowing that the commitment taken by the bar is a step towards doing good in communities around the world. The Ketel One Garnished with Good initiative brings bars and bartenders together to create a positive impact on the community through innovative concepts, ingredient choices, cocktail methods and social projects that uplift and support people. Throughout this year’s Sustainability Summit and in selected bars around the city of Barcelona, each Ketel One cocktail will not just taste good, but also positively contribute to the city’s community.

Paradiso and Ketel One Vodka are bringing to life their shared vision of cocktails that not only taste good, but also do good.

Paradiso is located in Barcelona's historic Born district. Opened in 2015, it was crowned the best bar in the world by the 2022 50 Best Bar ranking.

Since the opening, Giacomo Giannotti and his team have embarked on a path of constant development and innovation, investing a lot of energy in researching methods and techniques to improve and optimise the use of each ingredient, in all its parts. The ultimate goal is to be as sustainable a bar as possible. It's challenging, but certainly not impossible.

Over the years, the use of plastic inside the bar has been eliminated almost completely: plastic straws have been replaced with biodegradable and eco-friendly straws, and transparent film and warehouse wrappers abolished in favour of sheets of reusable waxed paper. Currently, Paradiso produces around 30kg of plastic waste per month, which is processed and transformed into objects like bottle openers, trays, boxes, plates and coasters, ashtrays and straw holders – anything that can be created to optimise every resource and reduce waste.

In 2023, Paradiso officially opened the new Paradiso Waste Lab, a physical space where the team can experiment and recycle first hand. The Lab aims to reduce the impact on the environment, but also to raise awareness and show that it only takes a few small steps to help our planet, opening the doors to all those bars and venues that want to embrace the no-waste philosophy.

'We try to optimise every resource and reduce waste. All the coasters, straws and trays were created by recycling waste from the bar,' says Giacomo.