There is an increasing interest for sustainability and going green within the music industry, such as Billie Eilish’s upcycled dress at the Met Gala. Coldplay, however, have gone even further, and have pledged to reduce their carbon emissions by 50% on their new Music of the Sphere World Tour.
Knowing that the amount of energy needed for a world tour would be massive and that carbon emissions would be high, the band made sure that they were knowledgeable about their carbon footprint. In 2019, they had the carbon footprint of their previous tour calculated. With this information they are aiming to reduce their emissions, support new green technology, recycle where possible, and they have made the decision to avoid fossil fuels and use renewable energy sources in order to reduce their carbon footprint.
The band are also planning to cut down their emissions, by producing their own energy through their fans. The plan is, as their fans dance and jump around they will activate a ‘kinetic floor’. This floor will then turn the kinetic energy from the fans into energy that will be used to power the show.
For the carbon that they cannot avoid emitting, they have pledged to support a number of conservation projects including rewilding, reforestation, renewable energy and carbon capture projects. The band have also agreed that with every ticket sold, one tree will be planted.
We won’t know until the end of the tour how successful they were at being sustainable. However, the band seem to be going in the right direction when considering our planet and this will hopefully encourage other musicians to do the same when they are on tour.
