Sustainable Tourism Case Study: Cork International Film Festival

ABOUT THE COMPANY

The Cork International Film Festival (CIFF) is Ireland's first and largest film festival. In 2025, the Festival achieved a 20% increase in audience engagement, reaching 21k+ people across cinemas and online, while attracting 150k+ visitors to the Cork Film Trail.

ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES

• Green Team: In 2026, CIFF will establish a Green Team and venue-specific Sustainability Ambassadors to track energy and waste baselines across all festival sites.
• Waste & Plastic Reduction: The 2026 plan includes eliminating single-use plastics where viable, increasing plant-based food options, and reallocating internal printing to digital formats.
• Sustainable Travel: Partnerships with Iarnród Éireann and CityLink provide in-kind travel credits to encourage guests and staff to choose public transport over private vehicles.
• Sustainable Operations: As sole tenants in their new office space, CIFF now tracks 100% of waste and power usage to accurately monitor their carbon footprint.
• Net Zero Commitment: Strategic Plan 2023-2025 targets net zero by 2030 with ESG reporting on environmental impacts.

SOCIAL INITIATIVES

CIFF promotes social inclusion, accessibility, and community engagement through year-round programming, education, and outreach. Since 2025, the Festival has been affiliated with Hidden Disabilities Sunflower, offering sensory packs, descriptive captions, and screen-reader-friendly digital content. To support neurodivergent audiences, all family screenings are delivered as Relaxed Screenings.

CIFF's inclusive programming is built on partnerships with the Cork Migrant Centre—specifically the Look@Me youth project—alongside groups like Women in Film and TV and ADHD Ireland. In 2025, the Festival engaged 3,300+ young people via its Schools and Intinn Mental Health programs, supported by a dedicated network of 110+ volunteers committed to making world-class cinema accessible to every community.

GOVERNANCE INITIATIVES

Central to its governance is a formal Diversity & Inclusion Policy adopted in 2023 and a comprehensive Implementation Plan launched in 2024. These frameworks ensure that Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) are embedded across all operations, from festival selection criteria to internal staff culture and board training.

A primary outcome of this focus is the achievement of gender parity across the programming team since 2020, as well as on the Board and its subcommittees. In 2025, CIFF's commitment to gender equality was internationally recognised when it was selected as the only European festival to present the €30k Eurimages Audentia Award, significantly elevating the profile of female directors.

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

CIFF generates significant economic impact, attracting 21,000+ attendees (a 20% increase in 2025) and 150,000+ visitors to the Cork Film Trail. Based in the VQ, the Festival supports the local hospitality sector by booking 170+ bed nights directly through 10 accommodation partners for its 200+ guests. The Cork Film Trail—which has reached 240,000 total engagements since 2020—drives footfall to 30+ local venues and recently expanded to Kent Station and Cook Street.

CIFF's commitment to collaborating with eco-conscious businesses was recognised with the 2023 Best Small Sponsorship and the 2025 Judges Special Recognition Award at the Business to Arts Awards for partnerships with Future Planet, Tomar Trust, Murphy's, and The Arc Cinema.