www.billboard.com: Presumably, a lot of artists want their shows to be as environmentally friendly as possible. But with many factors contributing to a sustainable performance — from power sources to food vendors to fan transportation — it’s challenging for an artist to put on a truly green event without involving the many partners it takes to put on a show.
5 comments:
I think climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time and we as people working in an industry that is well known for not being the most climate friendly have a responsibility to address it. We have gone far too long into a dramatically changing climate to not yet have addressed this issue so it’s great that there are now more conversations happening about it. However, we can talk about climate change and possible solutions all we want, what actually matters is making sure that there are policies put into place that will create change. Even more than this, these policies have to actually be enforceable with punishments for not following through. These “Green Clauses” seem like a good starting point but it’s important to keep the momentum going. We must keep pushing other organizations and companies within the industry to adopt these clauses or they will not be effective.
The touring industry as mentioned in the article continues to be affected by climate change so it’s enlightening to see all of these big companies coming together to make clauses in contracts that support the sustainability of the shows artists put on. I found it interesting that Billie Eilish and Coldplay were examples of how the clauses have been working and it’s showing the bigger companies and venues that change is possible, even if it is going to take little steps to get to the main goal. I think what’s most important in this article is that they have put these clauses into community based language for all artists and venues so that it can be used universally. I wish the article had gone more in depth about the specifics of these sustainability efforts, but in general it’s clear that if touring shows continue to implement these strategies then it may become a permanent standard throughout the industry.
As someone who is deeply environmentally conscious and highly passionate about fighting for a swift and effective response to the effects of climate change, I feel this article in my bones. Since I became interested in theatre as a profession, I have often wondered how much sustainability is taken into consideration. I understand that it isn’t always possible to be sustainable for a variety of reasons within a show however, and I honestly think that the carbon footprint and consumption of resources in theatre staggers in comparison to other industries. I am glad that there is a collective effort to make a difference in the industry, but at the same time I’m not sure how much change there will be. I have learned from past failed attempts to introduce similar language into government contracts and/or international agreements that hope for climate action dies easily. What does give me hope is that there is interest in this endeavor from big name artists like Coldplay and Billie Eilish.
Hearing about these guidelines and the approach being taken was incredibly reassuring and helped me put faith into these sustainability initiatives surrounding the live event industry (provided that they actually become implemented to the degree discussed). What made it this was was the combined approach of making this an open source, collaborative framework to achieving these goals, as well as these goals being brought forth and championed by some of the largest companies within this industry. As such, it allows for more people to have access to these ideas and begin to implement and improve them for further use, and it demonstrates that the companies that are the largest producers of carbon emissions are working to lower them and that this is possible to achieve. But, it is important to mention that these practices are only as good as their implementation and how far they go down the corporate ladder when it comes to decision making around technical design and integration. On the whole, the approach feels incredibly well thought out and now it is time to see if they can truly follow through and set the example for the industry and push other companies to follow suit.
Touring artists have such a large potential for change in regards to helping the environment. The article highlights several interesting points regarding the “green clauses” including spreading available information and eventually having these clauses be permanent features in each venue. Large groups such as Coldplay choosing to have environmentally friendly shows pushes venues to alter their original layout in order to maintain their environmental requests. The article mentions that in today's society the venue will revert back to their original set up after that one big show comes through but the hope is that eventually enough artists will be promoting green shows that the environmentally friendly installation will become permanent. But this can only be done if artists know how to adjust their shows to better conserve energy. That's the real current use of the “Green Clauses”. Although they currently do not enforce anything yet they allow artists venues and agents to begin having the conversations about environmentally friendly shows. In my opinion these are exactly what needs to be put out into the industry to start making real change.
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