Coldplay shares sustainability results from ‘Music of the Spheres’ world tour

British singer Chris Martin (L) and drummer Will Champion (R) of British band Coldplay perform on the main stage during Rock in Rio music festival at Rio 2016 Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on September 11, 2022. File picture: Mauro Pimentel/AFP

British singer Chris Martin (L) and drummer Will Champion (R) of British band Coldplay perform on the main stage during Rock in Rio music festival at Rio 2016 Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on September 11, 2022. File picture: Mauro Pimentel/AFP

Published Jun 15, 2023

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Coldplay has released a report on its continued sustainability activities for its "Music Of The Spheres" global tour, which has been examined and approved by Professor John E Fernandez of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Environmental Solutions Initiative.

The band's sustainability efforts have resulted in a 47% reduction in direct carbon dioxide emissions on a show-by-show basis, compared with their previous 2016-2017 tour.

In a statement released on Twitter and other social media platforms, the band said that when they first announced the world tour tour, they hoped to make it as “environmentally beneficial as possible and reduce our direct carbon emissions (from show production, freight, band and crew travel) by 50%. We’d like to share how it’s been going; some things work and some things need improving.”

Projects implemented and supported by Coldplay include the planting of 5 million trees that will be supported to maturity through the One Tree Planted initiative, 5 000 hectares of land restored across 17 countries and 21 tree-planting projects.

Coldplay also funded the deployment of a solar-powered River Interceptor in the Klang River in Malaysia via The Ocean Cleanup project, which resulted in the removal of 158 tons of waste and 13 tons of ocean-bound plastics.

Furthermore, the band has generated an average of 15kWh of power per show through in-venue solar installations, kinetic dance floors, and power bikes, diverted 66% of all tour waste from landfills, donated 3 770 meals and 73kg of toiletries from tour catering to the unhoused and unsheltered, and, finally, given financial support to environmental organisations such as ClientEarth, The Ocean Cleanup, Climeworks, Sea Shepherd, Project Seagrass, Sustainable Food Trust, Cleaner Seas Group, and others.

The emissions data from the first 12 months of the tour has now been collated, assessed and independently validated by Professor John E Fernandez of the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative.

“We fully endorse this effort as critically important, scientifically rigorous and of the highest quality,” Professor Fernandez said.

Environment