The British band is setting a new sustainability standard for the music industry.

Author: Maria-Antoanela Ioniță – Sustainability Communications Specialist

Sustainability and sustainability action are permeating all aspects of culture, including the arts. Artists have always cultivated a special relationship with nature, using it as a muse and as motivation. It’s then not at all surprising that today we see artists, from digital painters to actors and to singers on the frontlines or marches for the climate, creating documentaries to shake the public’s conscience, and taking steps to reduce the environmental footprint of their own work.

The latest inspiration comes from legendary British rock band Coldplay, renowned for its spectacular world tours. These shows, as it turns out, come with many hidden costs for their environmental surroundings, and Coldplay is making a deliberate effort to address them.

The band may be the first to launch a report of their sustainability initiatives during a world tour, which has also been third-party assessed and validated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Environmental Solutions Initiative Professor John E. Fernandez.

Let us delve into the key highlights of the Coldplay sustainability report to understand how the band is harmonizing their efforts with a greener future while setting an example for the music industry.

Inside Coldplay’s sustainability report

The band takes a modern and circular economy approach to their sustainability efforts, stating as key principles that guide the Music of the Spheres Tour the following:

• Reduce – cutting consumption, CO2 emissions by 50%, and recycling
• Reinvent – supporting new green technologies and develop low-carbon touring methods
• Restore – funding a portfolio of nature and technology-based project and drawing down significantly more CO2 than the tour produces

In their latest emissions update, the company announces the results from the first 12 months of the tour, which seem to be in line with their initial pledges.

Maybe most impressively, the band managed to cut the tour’s direct CO2 emissions by 47% compared to the previous tour, just 3% short of their ambition. They have also diverted 66% of all the tour waste from landfills and planted 5 million trees via One Tree Planted  – one for each concert attendee.

The update further goes to explain the key actions that have led to reductions in CO2 emissions and waste, including a 20% reduction in the number of trucks, increased energy efficiency of show production equipment, and a new electric battery system made from repurposed BMW i3 batteries and which is powering the shows with renewable energy. The band is also installing photovoltaic panels in the build-up to each show so that they start charging as soon as they arrive at the venue.

Air travel, Coldplay admits, remains an issue, with charter flights for the crew deemed sometimes unavoidable. This is why they chose to pay a surcharge to use or supply Sustainable Aviation Fuel for their own flights and those of others. This SAF is produced 100% from waste and residues, such as used cooking oil.

Throughout these efforts, the band has counted a lot on its fans to follow particular rules that helped reduce the overall environmental footprint of the concerts and thus helped spread awareness about better consumption habits.

For instance, fans could enjoy kinetic dance floors and power bikes, and they were encouraged to bring refillable water bottles and return the LED wristbands after the show.

To facilitate these eco-habits, the band introduced rewards and made sure there is an available infrastructure in place. For instance, 95% of the shows had water refill stations installed, and discount codes were given to fans who committed to low-carbon travel.

The results were nothing short of impressive, according to the band’s statement: an 86% average return rate of the reusable wristbands and a 15kWh average power generated per show – enough to power the C-stage performance each night and provide the crew with charging stations.

Now entering the second year of the tour, Coldplay continues expanding its sustainability initiatives to reach a bigger impact.

“We won’t get everything right, but we’re committed to doing everything we can and sharing what we learn”, wrote the band on Twitter.

Photo credit: Coldplay Facebook Page