A push for greener concerts

How Coldplay and others go the extra mile for sustainability

Concert tours mean gas-guzzling trucks crisscross cities carrying massive amounts of equipment, while single-use plastic bottles, utensils, and merchandise packaging pile up in landfills. Food waste, transportation emissions, and single-use outfits from fast fashion giants like Shein and Amazon add to the carbon footprint. Fans, often traveling hundreds of miles by car or plane, compound the environmental toll.

Yet, amid this unsustainable model, Variety reports a growing movement led by artists such as Billie Eilish and Coldplay is reshaping the industry's approach to environmental responsibility. These artists are building on the groundwork laid by the likes of Dave Matthews Band and Jack Johnson, who championed sustainability practices on their tours in the 2010s.

Steps in the right direction

Eilish, in particular, has taken significant steps to make her tours greener. Partnering with Reverb, a nonprofit focused on sustainability in the music industry, she has implemented measures during her Hit Me Hard and Soft tour that mirror her previous Happier Than Ever trek. These include offering plant-based food options, banning truck idling, enhancing recycling programs, allowing reusable water bottles, and donating excess food, toiletries, and even camping gear left behind by fans.

Each stop on Eilish's tour also features an "Eco-Action Village," connecting fans with local environmental organisations. At her Los Angeles show, attendees were introduced to her mother's initiative, Support+Feed, which addresses climate change through plant-based food accessibility, and Project Ropa, which reduces textile waste by redistributing clothing and hygiene products to those in need. The Kia Forum venue complemented these efforts with an impressive selection of vegan vendors, including Donut Friend and Monty's Good Burger.

Lara Seaver, Reverb's director of touring and projects, told Variety that many venues are already inclined toward sustainability but lack the final push to implement changes. "A lot of venues say, 'I've been meaning to do this, I've been wanting to do this… but the fact that this tour is asking for it, it allows me to make this happen.'"

However, despite these advances, the most significant emissions from concerts remain largely out of artists' control. According to Matt Brennan, a professor of popular music at the University of Glasgow, "The majority of emissions within live music come from audience travel - burning fossil fuels to get to and from concerts."

In sprawling cities like Los Angeles, public transportation options are often limited, but efforts have been made to mitigate this. During Eilish's Los Angeles shows, Reverb organised complimentary park-and-ride buses to reduce individual car trips.

Seaver is also keen to emphasise that responsibility shouldn't fall on fans. "We don't ever put the blame on an individual concertgoer for any of the impact. It's the systems that are in place, and we just hope that we can get together and use the power of the collective audience to make changes."

Successful and sustainable

As Eilish's North American tour concludes, Coldplay is preparing to resume its Music of the Spheres tour, which holds the record for the highest-grossing rock tour ever. The band has been vocal about its commitment to sustainability, prominently featuring a "Sustainability" section on its official website.

Coldplay aims to cut its carbon emissions by 50 per cent compared to its previous 2016-2017 tour. Their initiatives include the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), kinetic floors that generate energy from dancing fans, and compostable LED wristbands. The band has also pledged to plant one tree for every ticket sold and encourages attendees to use low-carbon travel options.

Luke Howell from environmental consulting firm Hope Solutions, which collaborates with Coldplay, reported a 49 per cent reduction in emissions compared to the band's previous tour. According to Howell, fan behaviour is also shifting: "In 2024, we saw 45 per cent of fans surveyed arriving to shows on foot, by bike or using the subway/underground, bus, or train."

This summer, Coldplay is set to play an ambitious 10-night residency at London's Wembley Stadium, where the venue will be 100 per cent powered by renewable energy—a first for a show of such scale.