Live event industry charity Ecolibrium has issued a Sustainable Travel Guide for Artists & the Music Industry in response to research showing that audience travel accounts for around 80% of a typical greenfield event’s overall carbon emissions.

It said the guide has been created to provide up-to-date information, best practice tips and inspiration to help the live music industry to understand and take action on its greatest carbon impact – travel.

Co-authored by environmental consultants Liz Warwick and Shambala festival co-founder Chris Johnson, part of the Vision: 2025 climate action steering group for live events, the guide builds on information from previous publications by Vision: 2025 and Julie’s Bicycle with input from the team at Music Declares Emergency.

It refers to the sustainability work achieved by acts including Jack Johnson, Radiohead, Massive Attack and Coldplay, while also focusing on best practice at smaller scale tours and within the supply chain.

The guide includes advice for specific roles within a tour’s team, from agents to travel bookers, production teams to set designers and artists. As well as advice on measuring and reducing travel impacts, the guide includes information on carbon-balancing for unavoidable tour travel emissions through Ecolibrium’s climate solutions programmes; investment in community-benefit clean renewable energy generation and support for ecosystem protection and restoration projects.

Jamal Chalabi, tour and production manager at Backlash Productions, and sustainability facilitator at the Tour Production Group said, “An inspiring resource that spotlights how urgent it is for the music industry to tackle travel emissions in their climate impact reduction strategies. The new guide points out the challenges, some of the solutions and celebrates artists leading the way through their tour’s sustainability practices.”

Ecolibrium project manager Naomi Lawson said, “Artists have a unique opportunity to raise awareness on these issues and advocate for more sustainable travel and transport at their shows – to help radically reduce the negative environmental impacts of live music and events, disrupt business as usual, and bring audiences on the journey to help maintain a livable, healthy planet for generations to come.”

Johnson recently underwent a Q&A with Access on New Zero for event organisers, which is available here.

‍