Supporting artists – and venues – that put on local events is one way to reduce entertainment emissions. Photo: Zoe Cartwright.
Live music connects people and creates joy in a way few other activities can – but that comes with a cost for the climate.
Instead of suggesting everyone stay home and stream music alone in an empty room, Green Music Australia is making the music and hospitality scene better for the environment, one gig at a time.
The organisation will deliver a sustainability workshop at La La Las in Wollongong on Wednesday 26 March.
The free workshop will help venues and workers in hospitality and the arts to learn how they can throw more sustainable celebrations.
National program manager Emma Bosworth said players across the industry were keen to step up.
“Every single industry has an impact of some kind,” she said.
“People can get bogged down in the rhetoric of ‘what we do doesn’t matter’, but if you think about how many live gigs are going on across the country, how many artists are getting on planes every day, it’s quite big.
“Politicians aren’t doing enough about the climate crisis so we need to step up.
“We’ve had everyone from the ABC’s record label to Universal Music Group and Live Nation attend our workshops.
“As people start to see the crazy weather events that are happening the dial has shifted and this is at the forefront of their minds.”
Green Music Australia tracks everything from landfill and recycling to audience and artist travel.
At the workshops they offer real-life case studies, a live energy auditor to track down wasted power and the opportunity to troubleshoot challenges with experts and colleagues.
Emma said the tools from the workshop could help drive down power bills and run costs for businesses as well as helping the environment.
There are some simple, easy wins on the table too.
“One that often comes up is the use of BioCups,” she said.
“They’re marketed as a better option to single-use plastic, but there isn’t a commercial composter in the country that accepts them.
“They just end up in landfill anyway so using them doesn’t achieve anything. Reusable is always the better option.”
There’s plenty punters can do, too.
Emma said research from Australia and overseas showed the single biggest source of emissions for live music events, especially festivals, was audience travel.
The solution isn’t to stop going to shows.
“Go to more local shows,” Emma said.
“Celebrate your local community and show there’s an audience so more artists come to you.
“To have artists travel rather than audiences is a much better way of running the industry.
“Use public transport when that’s available, and if you see something that could be changed, like swapping single-use cups for reusable ones, say something.
“Support venues who are doing great work around sustainability.”
To help venues do their bit, Green Music Australia has launched the Green Venue Guide, a downloadable information pack.
It’s also calling on everyone to vote for the climate this federal election.
“We’ve also just launched a campaign called ‘No Music on a Dead Planet’,” Emma said.
“We’re encouraging music fans to enroll to vote, ensure they’re enrolled in the right electorate, and look at their local candidate’s policies around climate change.
“Our trajectory is not on the right path and it needs to be turned around swiftly.”
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