Last Updated on February 17, 2023
If you’ve ever been to a music pageant or live performance, likelihood is you’ve observed the overflowing trash bins, plastic disposables littering the bottom, and energy-sucking turbines on stage.
In America, the huge Coachella music pageant alone produces 107 tons of waste every day of the occasion, with solely 20% of it getting recycled.
Concert goers within the US produce 106 million pounds of waste every year in accordance with Claire O’Neill, co-founder of A Greener Festival. That’s the equal of 450 blue whales!
But what if I informed you there was a strategy to make live shows extra eco-friendly? Reusable Solutions’ CEO+ founder Benjamin Kogan has launched Musicians for Sustainability, a pledge that allows bands and distributors to create extra eco-friendly occasions.
Kogan has signed on 4 bands to make the pledge already and he has the objective of ultimately signing on 100 bands. Here’s how the Musicians for Sustainability pledge works and the methods it may possibly assist live shows be extra eco-friendly transferring ahead.
how do live shows have an effect on the atmosphere?
Concerts have an effect on the atmosphere by driving up emissions via artist and fan journey, vitality utilization and the waste that happens at these occasions.
transport
In order to get to a live performance, artists have to be transported to mentioned occasion (and this will sometimes embody air flight, like non-public jets, which solely enhance their carbon footprint). Fans too should discover a strategy to get to the live performance: This can come within the type of driving, taking planes, or public transportation.
By far, public transportation and carpooling reduces emissions. Especially in the event you’re utilizing electrical automobiles.
However, many celebrities use non-public jets to get to their locations. Experts estimate that an hour of flight time aboard a non-public jet introduces about two tonnes (often known as metric tons) of carbon dioxide into the air. Taylor Swift ranks because the celeb with the very best non-public jet utilization as of 2022.
vitality
Along with transportation emissions, there’s the vitality utilization at live shows to contemplate: On common, a live performance will use round 500,000 watts of electrical energy. This is the equal of 500 gentle bulbs, every utilizing 1,000 watts.
These live shows are typically powered by diesel turbines, which emit lots of air pollution. However, venues who energy their occasions utilizing renewable vitality and photo voltaic panels can eradicate this downside.
waste
As talked about earlier, live performance goers within the US produce 106 million pounds of waste every year. This doesn’t have in mind all of the music festivals held exterior of the US.
The foremost downside is the disposables provided at live shows: Plastic cups, plastic water bottles, disposable meals containers, and so forth. While many occasions will present some recycling bins, this usually isn’t sufficient: At the tip of the night time, these are sometimes overflowing, and lots of wishcycling occurs.
Offering reusables at occasions is one potential resolution, as is encouraging individuals to carry their very own reusables.
Also, many live performance goers get pleasure from getting artistic and utilizing glitter: Glitter is simply microplastics. Switching to biodegradable glitter may very well be one other potential resolution. Eco Glitter Fun and Projektglitter promote beauty protected, cruelty-free, and biodegradable glitter.
how can live shows be extra sustainable?
Thankfully, live shows could be extra sustainable when artists and bands act and demand higher from the venues they’re acting at. But they don’t have to do that alone.
Reusable Solutions, an outreach group devoted to eradicating single-use plastic, has simply launched their public dealing with pledge that helps bands pushing venues to develop into extra sustainable.
Bands that make the pledge with Musicians for Sustainability can create a extra eco-friendly expertise for everybody. Together, the band, venue, and Reusable Solutions will coordinate a strategy to create extra sustainable occasions.
When a band indicators up, the venues they select must fulfill no less than three of those sustainability solutions:
1. renewable vitality
Source your energy from 100% renewable vitality. This can embody on-site, group photo voltaic co-op, wind vitality, or renewable vitality credit.
2. reusable cups
Provide cups which are cleaned by the venue or a 3rd occasion. Use kegged wine or beer when potential. Companies like Muuse and CupZero are potential options.
3. can provider reuse
Join, begin or fund a reuse program for reusable can carriers and/or glass bottles. Reusable Solutions may help implement a reuse program at any venue.
4. meals/compost
Provide ample composting with clear signage if meals is served. Also, meals ought to be served in reusable/returnable containers like those from DeliverZero.
5. incentive low carbon journey/EV charging
Here are a couple of methods this may be mitigated – incentives for carpool (ex: free low cost), EV charging stations, reductions for bus or practice journey, offering an choice to offsetting journey at checkout, and so forth.
6. water refill stations
Provide water refill stations. This can eradicate the necessity for hundreds of water bottles.
These are the primary methods to create extra eco-friendly live shows. Bands seeking to make a constructive impression can sign up and pledge on Reusable Solution’s web site. Ben Kogan, co-founder of Reusable Solutions, will assist bands discuss to their venues about assembly no less than three of the sustainability solutions above.
how can musicians be eco-friendly?
Many artists are attempting to reduce their impression on the atmosphere. Billie Eilish is certainly one of them: Starting with the very fact she refuses to fly non-public.
But that’s simply the beginning: In 2022 she greened her Happier Than Ever world tour in partnership with the nonprofit Reverb; a 12 months prior, she famously secured a assure from Oscar de la Renta’s artistic administrators, Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim, to cease promoting fur when she wore their design to her first #MetGala; she staged a six-day local weather summit final June referred to as Overheated, the place the pop star let different musicians, sustainable trend designers, and activists take heart stage.
Coldplay additionally pledged to make their Music Of The Spheres Tour as sustainable and low-carbon as potential. They’re doing this by chopping the tour’s emissions by greater than 50% than their earlier excursions (2016-2017).
Know of any bands that you just’d like to see taking this pledge? Be positive to share this text in your socials and tag them!
Have you ever been to any eco-friendly live shows? Let me know within the feedback!
