When we talk about how green a concert can be, Massive Attack’s first homecoming gig in five years reminds us of how they broke a world record for the lowest ever carbon emissions last year. Scientists from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in the UK reported that the Bristol festival cut emissions by being 100% battery powered and selling 100% vegan food.
They swapped generators for batteries and car parks for electric buses to offer a low-carbon blueprint for the future of live music. They were the first band globally to become members of the UN Race to Zero programme — committing all of their touring and production activities to Paris 1.5 compatible decarbonisation measures, in all scopes 1, 2 and 3 — and worked together with partners UN Race To Zero, Zenobe, Ecotricity, Train Hugger and Act 1.5 to construct a unique event.
Massive Attack’s singer Robert Del Naja, also known as 3D, said he is “grateful to the team and the fans that produced the world-leading event”.
The concert titled Act 1.5 was a one-day music festival that attracted more than 30,000 people. In fact, the band’s two band members travelled to their European gigs by train and ferries. Massive Attack recently made headlines by revealing it turned down to perform in Coachella 2025 due to environmental concerns.
There is no doubt that eco-friendly music tours are the future of live music. Following musicians like Dave Matthews Band and Jack Johnson, who have been leading this change since the 2010s with their green riders and sustainability initiatives, Coldplay and Billie Ellish too have recently left no stone unturned to make their concerts green.
Coldplay had stopped touring due to environmental concerns. News reports suggest they spent two years consulting experts on how to make their trips sustainable and how to lower their emissions to 50% of what they produced on their last global trip in 2016 and 2017.
Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres tour, that will end this year in September, has pledged to plant one new tree for every ticket sold.
According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, the tour has grossed $945.7 million and sold 8.8 million tickets since launching in March 2022. That makes it both the highest-grossing and best-selling trek among rock acts in the almost-40 years that Boxscore has been tracking concert data.
But does this mean other organisers can also transform the way outdoor festivals are hosted? This comes at a time when clean technology adoption is big and fans look for alternatives that can “change the landscape for outdoor festivals,” says professor Carly McLachlan, associate director at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.
American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish also partnered with the music industry-focused nonprofit Reverb to make her “Hit Me Hard and Soft” tour sustainable last year. Measures included vegan food options, allowing reusable water bottles, a “no idling” policy for trucks, enhanced recycling measures, donating excess catered food, hotel toiletries and camping gear left behind by fans and more.
At each stop of Eilish’s tour, there’s an “Eco-Action Village” connecting fans with local organisations, besides introducing Support + Feed, a plant-based food initiative founded by Billie Eilish’s mother, Maggie Baird, which works to mitigate climate change by making plant-based food accessible.
While the majority of emissions in the live music acts come from audience travel – burning fossil fuels to get to and from concerts, Eilish as a result, has supported fans to take public transit. Or Reverb, at times, provides complimentary park-and-ride buses at multiple locations.
Even as organisers are trying hard to break the barrier and improve sustainability, there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of what needs to be done. As it is high ticket prices to concerts are a major issue, vegan options are another with achieving a green protocol and zero carbon emissions may not always be a viable option as of now.
In India, Ziro Festival, to an extent, attempts sustainability since it was founded in 2012. The festival promotes indigenous tribes and artists from northeast India while showcasing Indian and global independent music scene. As one of the most eco-friendly festivals, it puts waste management and reusable materials like locally sourced bamboo and other materials at the forefront.
Swarathma, the folk-rock band from Bengaluru, last year used solar and clean energy and abandoned the usual diesel generators that power concert venues. Instead, they utilised a portable clean energy system for their performances spreading their sustainable footprint across major cities in India like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, and Jaipur.