The music industry in the US is taking steps to learn about, and implement, sustainable efforts for live events, including joining the Massachusetts Institute for Technology Environmental Solutions Initiative. This newly selected advisory committee will be made up of over 50 members with specialized expertise in live music and the event industry and academia.
In February of this year, the inaugural Music Sustainability Summit took place in Los Angeles, ironically during record-breaking rainfall in California due to climate change. More than 300 attendees from organizations including Live Nation Entertainment, ASM Global, Sony Music Group, and Warner Music Group gathered for the summit, and one of the problems it identified was the lack on hard data on the environmental impact of festivals and live events in the United States. In the UK, a 2007 report found that emissions from the music industry accounted for a tenth of a percent of the country’s total emissions, with 73% coming from live music and 15.6% coming from festivals. Being able to track this impact means the industry can take steps in areas it has control over to reduce emissions and work with industries that it is reliant on including transportation, electric power, and agricultural sectors.
In the US, the next phase of the Environmental Solutions Initiative advisory committee will support an Assessment Report of Live Music And Climate Change, measuring and tracking the impact of live music events and sustainability initiatives.
Ellie Goulding, Artist & Advisory Committee member said, “We urgently need data-driven action on climate
and nature breakdown in every area. This is the first time a study like this has taken place at this scale,
including all the different parts of the industry ecosystem, from artists and promoters to management and labels and I’m really pleased to support that level of collaboration.”
The touring industry has recently made several attempts to reduce one of the biggest contributors to its carbon footprint, diesel for generators and transportation, the most high-profile one was Coldplay's global tour using solar fabric from Pvilion. A recent UK study of diesel use in the live events industry found that it is a major environmental and health hazard.