How the Music Industry Can Help Create a Climate-Conscious Culture
Taking the Stage for Positive Environmental Impact
The music industry is a cultural force with the power to shape attitudes, behaviors, and societal norms. Music artists are some of the most visible influencers worldwide. They have an outsized ability to engage and influence the lifestyles of people, especially those in younger generations. They also have the opportunity to use this influence as advocates for sustainability and a more environmentally conscious culture.
Through connections with other entertainment industries such as fashion, audiovisual, and sports, the music industry can amplify its advocacy and action. Collaborations between musicians and sustainability-minded fashion companies present an opportunity to merge artistry with environmental advocacy. By partnering with eco-conscious companies, artists can promote products and initiatives that align with sustainable values and bring them into the mainstream.
Ways to Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Music Events
While musicians can play a role in influencing culture, they also can influence environmental practices in their own industry. It is important to acknowledge that events, concerts, tours, and festivals are a vital part of the music industry, and represent a major part of its carbon footprint. Not just the artists, but the venues and events promoter companies can evaluate and adjust practices to make the industry more responsible. Below are some practical ways that the industry can reduce its carbon footprint.
Concert energy: Most major music events require large amounts of energy, due to visual effects. The concert venues themselves can also play an important role in terms of sustainability. Several venues around the world are completely powered by renewable energy sources.
Tour travel: Avoiding air transportation can make a big difference in emissions. Choosing tour buses that use biofuels can significantly reduce polluting emissions. For the Carbon Neutral World Tour, the band Radiohead transported its equipment by ship from Europe to the U.S. and used biodiesel on tour buses to lower the carbon footprint.
Concert-goers: As Adam Gardner, frontman for Guster and co-founder of environmental organization REVERB, noted in an interview, about 75% of a concert’s carbon footprint is from fans traveling to and from the venue. They can do their part for the environment by opting for public transportation, carpools, or other lower-impact modes of travel — and bring refillable water bottles to the show.
Concert waste: Venues and festivals are shifting practices to reduce or eliminate plastic waste. Offering alternatives such as reusable cups and biodegradable food packaging instead of single-use plastic items is one of the most recent changes in the industry.
Catering: Catering also plays an important role in music in terms of sustainability. At best, it should be regional, seasonal, and plant-based, as local farm food. At larger music events, not just backstage, the fans also can opt for vegan or regional/local cuisine that is friendlier for the climate.
Tickets: Minimizing the number of printed tickets matters. The experience of having a printed ticket for the concert can be replaced by its online purchase.
Offsetting tours: Combined with efforts to lower emissions, offsetting emissions through carbon credits is another step to help reduce impact. Some artists plant trees for every concert ticket they sell as part of reforestation efforts.
Musicians Lead by Example on Stage and on Tour
Billie Eilish is an example of an artist who is using her influence to promote a more sustainable lifestyle and bring more attention to climate action. Eilish aims to lead by example by not flying private, prioritizing plant-based food and renewable energy at her concerts, banning plastic straws, and encouraging fans to bring refillable water bottles. In her 2021 collaboration with Nike, she chose to use the campaign to amplify the conversation about climate change with marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.
In 2022, Eilish launched the climate action event Overheated, bringing together youth activists, musicians, and designers on panels discussing how to tackle the climate crisis. In the same year, she joined nonprofit Reverb.org for the Music Decarbonization Project, which allowed her to use solar-charged intelligent batteries to power her set at Lollapalooza.
Eilish was among the Catalysts Leaders on the TIME100 Climate list of the climate leaders in business for 2023. Others from the music industry on the list include the band Coldplay and Gardner of Guster and REVERB.
Thanks to its large roles in culture and the economy, the music industry can advocate for climate action and engage people around the world. Even lyrics can be an educational tool for greater awareness and inspiration of the relationship between humanity and the planet. It’s another way that business can be used to catalyze change for the better.
B The Change gathers and shares the voices from within the movement of people using business as a force for good and the community of Certified B Corporations. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the nonprofit B Lab.
