Guest Post: 6 Top Music Industry Greening Challenges & Solutions

So I’d be remiss if I didn’t start by saying: We’ve come a long way in greening the music industry. But we shouldn’t pat ourselves on the backs just yet. There is more to do. The good news is, we know what to do.

Here are the six reasons we aren’t making progress faster, and what we need to overcome them. Just remember the vowels A-E-I-O-U – and sometimes Y.

A is for Apathy. This is the “I don’t care” attitude. The antidote to this attitude?  Education and making it easier to do the right thing. Everyone has no time and many constraints. However, our fans, our communities and the planet are crying for action. Everyone is impacted by climate change, the plastic crisis, water shortages, environmental toxins, overflowing landfills and so on. Today’s resources make it easier for everyone to reduce the environmental impact, and no one can afford to be apathetic about their responsibility once they learn the facts.

E is for Economics. People think greening is more expensive. The fact is using fewer resources generally means fewer dollars spent. In some markets, green energy is cheaper than polluting energy. Refraining from selling single-use plastic water bottles will often have people buying more soda or cocktails. Avoiding straws translates to savings. Using reusable cups requires less cups and often gets concertgoers to buy more beer. Backstage hydration stations save on plastic water bottle purchases and disposal. Using bulk condiments rather than small plastic packets saves waste and money.

I is for Inspiration. Don’t wait for someone else to be the first. Once people start seeing change happening, more people take action. Look at St. Augustine Amphitheatre, First Avenue nightclub, Pick-a-thon or Telluride Bluegrass Festival who are all eliminating single-use plastic. Gain inspiration from artists like Jack Johnson who are regularly engaging their fans in ways to reduce their environmental impact. Be inspired by the Sustainable Concerts Working Group launching the BYOBottle Campaign timed with Earth Day this month, which is getting artists commit to carry refillable water bottles, and asking venues and festivals to support them. Ideally, we will have many more hydration stations backstage in the U.S. in two to three years.  Leaders inspire others to do the right thing – and anyone can be a leader.

O is for Operations. This is the, “We can’t do it because we have not done it before” attitude. If we keep making the same mistakes, the problems will not go away. There are many simple, creative, eco-friendly adjustments that don’t dramatically change operations. Last year, the industry worked to make straws an “opt-in” to reduce or eliminate plastic waste. This didn’t significantly disrupt operations, saved money and reduced trash. Venues and festivals are now using rentable, reusable serveware, LED lighting, and offering recycling without huge operational upheavals.

U is for Understanding. Sometimes it’s confusing to understand what the right thing is, and existing entrenched norms obfuscate it further. For example, many want to “solve” the problem of plastic waste by using compostable cups and serveware, but there is a glitch – Compostable “plastic” only works if it is hand-sorted and sent to an industrial composting facility. 

If compostable plastic is put in recycling, it contaminates the entire load. In an incinerator, it releases CO2. In a landfill, it acts like traditional plastic, not composting for decades. If it goes into our roadsides or the ocean, it will not compost and acts like plastic. In some cases, compostable cups make sense, but in many cases, the extra cost is wasted.  

And… sometimes Y. Y is for You.  It is all up to you.  As Jack Johnson says, “An individual action, multiplied by millions, creates global change.”  

Every person can choose to help or hurt the planet. Nic Adler has raised awareness of vegan food by bringing more plant-based food options to his festivals. 

Raj Saha of Fiserv Forum arena in Milwaukee has made green building design and operations choices.

Josh Pell from Bon Appetit Management Company is making the new Chase Arena’s concessions zero waste. Michael Rapino has brought Lucy August-Perna on at Live Nation and Farid Mosher on at C3 to reduce Live Nation/C3’s environmental impact. AEG 1EARTH, led by John Marler, is transforming the field. 

To do what I can, I started r.Cup to tackle plastic waste at the source. Every year, more than 4 billion plastic single-use cups from U.S. live events make their way into the waste stream. r.Cup is a rentable, reusable cup system to eliminate single-use plastic cup waste at live events that generates revenues for the concessionaires, buildings, festivals and tours. 

Musical artists are like canaries in a coal mine; they sense the importance and urgency of embracing sustainability. So, they take tour greening teams on the road with them, support environmental campaigns and use tools like the EnviroRider™.  

With tens of millions of fans attending concerts annually, the music industry is uniquely positioned to role model, educate and inspire society to move in the right direction for the environment.