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Editor’s note: This article was updated on March 22 2022 with further information about Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres world tour. It was originally published on Oct. 14 2021.

We didn’t need an excuse to dance more at concerts — but now there is one. Coldplay is experimenting with new ways to cut carbon emissions on their next global tour, Music Of The Spheres , by installing kinetic dance floors that will help generate energy to power the show through audience movement. How great is that? 

And if that weren’t enough, fans can always hop on one of the electricity-generating bikes that will also be installed at each show, helping to cut mainstream electricity usage down even more. 

The Global Citizen veterans and champions for the environment announced their long-anticipated return to the global stage back in October, after taking a hiatus from touring until they could identify ways to make their next tour as sustainable as possible.

The band's Music Of The Spheres World Tour will kick off in Costa Rica on March 18 and will be ongoing through to the end of October 2022, with all the dates and venues worldwide available on their website . Coldplay will perform on stages across the US, Europe, and Central America, while spreading awareness for the climate crisis. Global Citizen Live performers H.E.R. and Camila Cabello will also join the band as special guests on selected dates. 

But it won’t just be a typical concert tour with lots of carbon intensive activities and no way to counteract them. 

Music tours are traditionally pretty harmful to the environment. One study found that, in the UK alone, live concerts and performances generate 405,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year, while a 2019 report found that the average touring DJ has double the impact of even the world’s frequent-flying “super emitters” — emitting 35 tons of carbon dioxide a year.

For their new tour, however, Coldplay are putting the environment first, guided by three key principles :

• Reduce, including by cutting tour carbon emissions by 50%;
• Reinvent, including supporting new green technologies;
• and Restore, by funding nature- and technology-based sustainability projects.

“We’re very conscious that the planet is facing a climate crisis,” the band wrote when they launched the tour on their Twitter page .  “So we’ve spent the last two years consulting with environmental experts to make this tour as sustainable as possible, and, just as importantly, to harness the tour’s potential to push things forward.” 

Coldplay had previously announced in 2019 that they would not continue touring due to environmental concerns. Now, four years after their “Head Full of Dreams” tour, the chart-topping band is making new commitments to reduce their environmental impact and create a culture of eco-friendly music tours. 

When asked in an interview with the BBC back in October 2021 about facing the possible backlash that may come from announcing a tour that requires air travel, Martin explained that the band can only do their best and work toward becoming even better. 

“Sometimes criticism leads to improvement. If that’s the case, then it was worth listening to,” said Martin. “So we could stay at home, and that may be better, but we want to tour and we want to meet people and connect with people. So we’ll try to do that in the cleanest way possible.”

The band have aligned their goals with current climate action and advocacy, matching the targets set by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Race to Zero campaign. The Race to Zero campaign was launched a year ahead of November 2021’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), to encourage nations to reduce global emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. 

Coldplay’s 2022 world tour will be powered almost entirely by renewable energy, using a rechargeable show battery the band developed with BMW, the band explains on their website . They have teamed up with BMW to develop a rechargeable battery that will be powered by recycled cooking oil, solar power, and the kinetic energy of their audiences. 

That’s where the dancefloors and bikes (and the fans’ movements) come in. These batteries will be powered using the innovative electricity-producing dancefloors — where kinetic flooring converts the audience’s feet movements into energy — and by fans pedaling the electricity-generating bikes. 

Solar panels will be installed on venues ahead of each show and the tour bus will be powered with biofuel where possible. To help cut energy usage for lighting and special effects, the show will upgrade to more efficient equipment, including low-energy LED screens, laser, and lighting systems and a PA system with up to 50% less power consumption. 

The band will also be taking steps to maximize water efficiency, cut waste, and encourage recycling throughout each gig. For example, fans will be able to drink free water at the show with reusable aluminum cups and are encouraged to bring their own reusable bottles. In fact at some venues, the sale of single-use plastic water bottles will be completely banned.

Coldplay are not only cutting their touring footprint wherever possible, but they’ll also be offsetting any carbon they do emit through tree planting and protection, and investment in climate-friendly technology projects. It will also be possible for fans to calculate their carbon footprint involved in traveling to and from the shows through an app, which the band will then offset — while fans that commit to low-carbon travel will be rewarded with discount codes.

The promise of a sustainable, low-carbon tour is just the latest in Coldplay’s environmental feats. The Grammy Award-winning group also joined the 24-hour worldwide broadcast Global Citizen Live in September 2021 to defend the planet and defeat poverty , taking to the stage in New York City’s Central Park, and even tweeting directly at world leaders to mobilize climate funding commitments in support of the Global Citizen Live campaign.

Fresh off the success of their recent collaboration with fellow Global Citizen artists BTS , it’s the perfect time for a Coldplay tour, and it’s so important that leading artists show that cutting carbon emissions on tour can be done so other pop stars can follow in their (low carbon) footsteps. We can’t wait to see them live! 

For more detailed information about how Coldplay are cutting emissions, fans can visit their sustainability website . Will you be attending a Music Of The Spheres show? Be sure to come find our Global Citizen booth to get your photo taken and hear more about ways you can get further involved with fellow Global Citizens and Coldplay fans! You can also get involved by taking the #GCxColdplay challenge , and join Global Citizen and Coldplay in taking climate action now. 

Global Citizen Life

Defend the Planet

Coldplay’s Most Sustainable Tour Yet Has Just Kicked Off

March 22, 2022

Coldplay’s ‘Music of the Spheres’ Tour Drastically Reduces Band’s Carbon Footprint, Sets New Standards in Sustainability

By Jem Aswad

Executive Editor, Music

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Coldplay — along with Billie Eilish , Dave Matthews Band , Jack Johnson and others — are among the most environmentally friendly major touring artists in the world, and the group has provided an update on the sustainability initiatives in their “Music of the Spheres” World Tour, which began in March 2022 and has so far sold more than 7 million tickets.

According to the report, the current tour:

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– 66% of all tour waste has been diverted from landfills;

– power for the show’s production (audio, lighting, lasers etc.) is provided from an electric battery system that uses 100% renewable energy;

– an average of 86% of the reusable, plant-based LED wristbands used by the audience during the show have been returned;
 

– each show has averaged 15kWh in power generated by in-venue solar installations, kinetic dance floors and power bikes – enough to power the C-stage performance each night and provide the crew with phone, laptop and tool-charging stations;

– 3,770 meals + 73 kg of toiletries has been donated from tour catering to the unhoused and unsheltered;

– 1 solar-powered River Interceptor, deployed in March 2021 in Malaysia via the Ocean Cleanup, has removed 158 tons of waste and 13 tons of ocean-bound plastic from the Klang River;

– Financial support has been provided to environmental organisations including ClientEarth,The Ocean Cleanup, Climeworks, Sea Shepherd, Project Seagrass, Sustainable Food Trust, Cleaner Seas Group, Food Forest Project, Knowledge Pele, Conservation Collective and others.

For more information, see  coldplay.com/emissions-update .

The band’s efforts have been assessed and validated by Professor John E. Fernandez of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Environmental Solutions Initiative, who said: “We fully endorse this effort as critically important, scientifically rigorous and of the highest quality. The band deserves significant praise in commissioning the work and acting as the vanguard for the global music industry.”

When we first announced the Music of the Spheres Tour, we 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.

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

On a show-by-show comparison, the Music Of The Spheres Tour has so far produced 47% less CO2e emissions than our last stadium tour (2016-17). 

This is a good start – and something that our incredible crew should be very proud of – but clearly there’s still room for improvement.

Now that we’re into the second year of the tour, we’ve started to run the entire show (audio, lights, lasers etc) from an electric battery system that allows us to use 100% renewable energy as efficiently as possible. We have been using electric vehicles and alternative fuels wherever we can, as well as reducing waste and plastic usage to a minimum.

Thankyou to all the brilliant people and creative minds who’ve helped us so far.

Thankyou too, SO MUCH, to everyone who’s come to a show and made all of this possible. You have helped charge the show batteries on the power bikes and kinetic dance floors; travelled to shows by foot, bicycle or public transport; used the recycling bins; ride-shared; brought refillable water bottles; returned the LED wristbands after the show. And just by coming you have had a tree planted, and helped a range of environmental organisations like the Ocean Cleanup and ClientEarth (a team of lawyers who defend the environment). 

Thank you all and hopefully this time next year we will have made big improvements. If anyone has any ideas please feel free to send them via this link .

With love, Coldplay

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Coldplay Set ‘Sustainable and Low-Carbon’ Stadium Tour in Support of ‘Music of the Spheres’

By Daniel Kreps

Daniel Kreps

A day before Coldplay drop their new album Music of the Spheres , the band has announced a 2022 “sustainable and low-carbon” tour that will bring the new LP to stadiums around the world.

The Music of the Spheres Tour — kicking off March 18th, 2022 in Costa Rica — aims to cut direct emissions from Coldplay’s last tour in 2017 by 50%, as well as power each show entirely by renewable, super-low emission energy; that includes installing solar panels at each venue, “kinetic stadium floor and kinetic bikes powered by fans,” and transporting around a mobile, rechargeable show battery to store the energy.

“Playing live and finding connection with people is ultimately why we exist as a band. We’ve been planning this tour for years, and we’re super excited to play songs from across our whole time together,” the band said in a statement of the eco-friendly efforts , a collaboration with Live Nation’s sustainability platform Green Nation. “At the same time, we’re very conscious that the planet is facing a climate crisis. So we’ve spent the last two years consulting with environmental experts to make this tour as sustainable as possible, and, just as importantly, to harness the tour’s potential to push things forward. We won’t get everything right, but we’re committed to doing everything we can and sharing what we learn. It’s a work in progress and we’re really grateful for the help we’ve had so far.”

Additionally, for every ticket the band sells to their upcoming tour, they’ll plant one tree. Coldplay will also give 10% of all earnings to a fund aiding environmental causes, including ClientEarth, One Tree Planted, and the Ocean Cleanup. Coldplay will also offer free drinking water at each gig — but sans plastic bottles — and offer sustainable and ethically sourced merchandise.

The band added, “If you’d like to come to a show and sing with us, we’re so excited to see you.”

The Music of the Spheres Tour reaches the U.S. on April 23rd, 2022 at Santa Clara, California’s Levi’s Stadium, currently concluding June 14th in Tampa, Florida. For the majority of the U.S. tour, H.E.R. will serve as the opening act. Tickets for the stadium tour go on sale to the public on October 22nd.

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Coldplay Tour Dates

March 18 – San Jose, CR @ Estadio Nacional March 22 – Santo Domingo, DR @ Estadio Olímpico March 25 – Monterrey, MX @ Estadio BBVA March 29 – Guadalajara, MX @ Estadio Akron April 3 – Mexico City, MX @ Foro Sol April 23 – Santa Clara, CA @ Levi’s Stadium April 26 – Los Angeles, CA @ SoFi Stadium May 3 – Phoenix, AZ @ State Farm Stadium May 6 – Dallas, TX @ Cotton Bowl Stadium May 8 – Houston, TX @ NRG Stadium May 28 – Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field June 1 – Washington, DC @ FedExField June 4 – East Rutherford, NJ @ Metlife Stadium June 8 – Philadelphia, PA @ Lincoln Financial Field June 11 – Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium June 14 – Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium  

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Coldplay pledge 50% lower CO2 emissions on 2022 world tour

Band announce a range of initiatives to reduce energy consumption, including stadium floors that harness fans’ kinetic energy

Coldplay have announced a new world tour, and with it a range of initiatives designed to mitigate its environmental impact.

The band have pledged to cut CO2 emissions by 50% compared with their 2016-17 world tour, and “almost entirely” use renewable energy to power their stage show.

A “kinetic floor” will be installed so that the energy created by fans during the show can be harnessed; solar panels will be installed on the floors, stage and elsewhere in open-air stadiums as soon as the band arrive, to generate power in the run-up to the show. Battery and mains power will also be drawn from renewable sources. The stage itself will be built from reusable and sustainable materials including bamboo and recycled steel.

The route of the tour has been designed to minimise flights, and the band will pay a surcharge for more sustainable air fuel.

Fans who commit to low-carbon travel, proven via an app, will get discounts at the venues. At least one tree will be planted for every ticket sold, and the band will monitor how fans travel to the shows based on info volunteered to the app, calculate the emissions, and pledge to “drawdown” those emissions through “rewilding and conservation”.

The light-up wristbands worn by fans – a key part of Coldplay’s shows – will be made of compostable materials and many will be reused, with production of the wristbands reduced by 80%. The confetti used will be biodegradable, and the band will “strive to eliminate the sale of single-use plastic water bottles”.

The band said: “The planet is facing a climate crisis. So we’ve spent the last two years consulting with environmental experts to make this tour as sustainable as possible, and, just as importantly, to harness the tour’s potential to push things forward. We won’t get everything right, but we’re committed to doing everything we can and sharing what we learn.”

The 30-date tour begins in Costa Rica on 18 March, and will travel to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the US, several countries in continental Europe and the UK, finishing in Brazil. The UK dates are three nights at Wembley Stadium in August, with another at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

Coldplay release a new album on Friday, Music of the Spheres, whose bright pop aesthetic is a marked change in tone from their previous album Everyday Life.

The band did not tour that 2019 album, instead playing a handful of one-off concerts. Frontman Chris Martin explained : “We’re taking time over the next year or two, to work out how our tour can not only be sustainable [but] how can it be actively beneficial. All of us have to work out the best way of doing our job.”

The music industry has been reckoning with its substantial carbon output from touring, generated by transporting not just bands but large stage sets and crews from continent to continent.

Massive Attack recently commissioned a University of Manchester report on touring, which called on artists to stop using private flights, and for festivals and venues to reduce the intensity of their electricity use.

UK independent music labels such as Ninja Tune and the Beggars Group of labels, including XL and 4AD, have recently made pledges concerning manufacturing, business travel and energy use.

Harry Styles, Tame Impala, Pink and the 1975 are among the artists who have partnered with the organisation Reverb for their tours. Reverb encourages attendees not to use single-use plastic, and calculates the carbon emissions of a tour to fund “global projects that directly eliminate an equivalent amount of greenhouse gas pollution”. Such offsetting projects have been criticised, however, as being much less desirable than not emitting CO2 in the first place.

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Music Interviews

Back from a touring hiatus, coldplay pledges to make performances more sustainable.

Michel Martin

Tyler Bartlam

Coldplay James Marcus Haney hide caption

If you're a fan of live music, you already know your happy place is back. Many artists and bands are back on tour for the first time in more than two years, including Coldplay . The group's "Music of the Spheres" tour is Coldplay's first since 2016, but the band's hiatus from touring actually started before the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the release of 2019's Everyday Life , Coldplay decided not to tour, citing environmental concerns. But now the band is back and pledging to make this current tour "as sustainable and low carbon as possible."

Coldplay's lead singer Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland recently spoke with All Things Considered 's Michel Martin about how the band plans on meeting this ambitious goal.

The following interview has been condensed and edited. To listen to the broadcast version of this story, use the audio player at the top of the page.

Michel Martin, All Things Considered : This is your eighth tour and it's your first tour in six years. You started rethinking touring and it wasn't because of COVID-19, it was because of your own concerns about sustainability. Start us off by [saying] how you started thinking about it in that way?

Chris Martin : We're blessed that we get to play in big buildings and stadiums, and that's an amazing thing in terms of the human connection. But when you're leaving or you're arriving... there's just so much energy around it, literally and figuratively. We were becoming aware on our last tour that it does have a big impact when you do an event in a city and everyone has to travel to get there. We're very fortunate being able to experiment with certain things. We should think about how next time we tour, we could do things in a slightly more thoughtful way environmentally.

Then we said that in an interview on the BBC and we thought that was kind of a silly thing to have said out loud. But what happened was that all these inventors and thinkers reached out to us and said, we built this and we've designed a floor that creates energy when you jump up and down and we've got these batteries. It's become sort of like an expo for new technology in terms of transport and in terms of powering an event. I would say we're still in the infancy, really, because it's a long way to go.

This is a massive undertaking. You're addressing every aspect of a tour, even calling on fans to use low carbon transportation to get to the show. I can see where it's exciting to try something new, but I'm wondering what some of the conversations were like among you?

Jonny Buckland : When Chris did this interview where he set our goal out in 2019, our initial reaction was like —

Martin : You idiot!

Buckland: Oh my god, is that even possible? But then so much information started coming in and you start to feel a bit more positive about the likelihood of being able to do it. But it's still extremely challenging. The fact that we still have to fly is a problem, and therefore we sort of try and source the most sustainable fuel we can for flying, but obviously it's not a perfect solution by any stretch.

This is a painful question, especially for your fans. But did you ever consider not touring at all anymore?

Martin : Of course we did. Ultimately the best thing we could all do for the environment is either disappear from the planet altogether or not go anywhere as humans. And so we have to acknowledge a certain — I don't know if you call it selfishness or placing a certain value on other elements of being a human, which is connection and music. Our critics could easily say that would be a much better option and preferable for them. But we decided we really want to tour and we want to show a different way of touring is possible, because even if we decided not to tour, lots of people still would be touring.

Coldplay: Tiny Desk Concert

So you're hoping, in a way, to set an example?

Martin: We're just trying to show what might be possible and not just possible from a sort of philanthropic motive — we want to prove that it makes good business sense. We understand that not everyone might lean as left as we do. We want to make it make sense, even if you're a hardcore capitalist.

What are you most excited about?

Martin : We have a bunch of bicycles and then two areas of kinetic flooring, and those are the most fun because everyone can be involved. Every half an hour or so we play "Jump Around" by House of Pain and people create energy, and then during the show people are on the bikes. I think that's the most uplifting because you can really see the people power of it, just as our life as a band is powered by our audience. It's literally giving us the electricity we need, or at least part of it.

Buckland: SAP built an app for us which helps people plan their journeys more sustainably. Which sort of sounds a bit boring, but in a way could be easily the most effective thing, even if it's a tiny effect per person. There [are] so many people making these journeys, the effect could actually be enormous.

Martin : What I'm really excited about is who might be at the concert [and] sees something working and then implements it in their school or shopping mall, or is 9 years old and at the concert and then in 10 years is going to be running the City Council. You just don't know the ripple effect of these kinds of things.

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How Coldplay are making their new tour eco-friendly with a little push from their fans

From kinetic dance floors and stationary bikes to reforestation pledges, here's how the rockers are making their Music of the Spheres concerts as green as possible.

Christian Holub is a writer covering comics and other geeky pop culture. He's still mad about 'Firefly' getting canceled.

It's hard to make a global music tour environmentally friendly, but Coldplay are putting in the effort. When the band announced their new tour to support their most recent album, Music of the Spheres , they made several environmental pledges and announced sustainability initiatives to reduce their carbon footprint as much as possible.

Coldplay's efforts are based around three principles, according to their website : Reduce (as in, "reduce our consumption, recycle extensively and cut our CO2 emissions by 50 percent"), Reinvent ("support new green technologies and develop sustainable, super-low carbon touring methods"), and Restore ("make the tour as environmentally beneficial by funding a portfolio of nature- and technology-based projects and by drawing down significantly more CO2 than the tour produces").

The Associated Press was on the ground at Coldplay's recent tour stop in Glendale, Ariz., to see some of these new green technologies in action. Coldplay's concert setup now includes kinetic dance floors and stationary bikes that can channel energy directly from the fans in the crowd into batteries that power different elements of the show.

"You don't want to come across as being overly earnest. This stuff is really good fun as well," Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman told the AP's Mark Kennedy. "That's the way it will bed in, if people see it less as a sort of onerous responsibility and more as a kind of opportunity to do something fun."

If those efforts aren't enough, the band has also pledged to plant and protect millions of new trees — including one for every ticket sold.

Related content:

• Coldplay of the cosmos: How the band's galactic album Music of the Spheres blasted off
• Watch Coldplay's out-of-this-world (literally) debut of new song 'Higher Power'
• Your guide to 2022's biggest tours

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Exploring Sustainability in Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour

Energy-generating bikes at a Coldplay concert. | Photo: Coldplay.

Amidst environmental destruction and climate change threats, taking care of our planet is more crucial than ever. Some actors in various industry sectors are starting to contribute, including the music industry, where musicians across the globe have expressed their concerns about climate change and social injustice. Some take it further by supporting progress toward sustainability as Coldplay does. The push for sustainability in Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour might become a benchmark in the industry.

Big Event, Big Impact

After the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down, the world’s enthusiasm for massive gathering events like music concerts seems to skyrocket. Concerts and tours, especially by world-renowned musicians, are highly anticipated by millions of people. However, like other big events, they also have big environmental impacts. A study in the UK revealed that concerts contributed 405,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2010.

In 2019, Coldplay talked about not holding another tour until they could do it more sustainably. Three years later, the band started their Music of the Spheres World Tour in Costa Rica. This time, Coldplay and team aim to make the tour “as sustainable and low-carbon as possible” by following three key principles:

• Reduce – Reduce consumption, recycle extensively, and cut CO2 emissions by 50%.
• Reinvent – Support new green technologies and develop new sustainable, super-low carbon touring methods.
• Restore – Fund a portfolio of nature- and technology-based projects to more than offset the tour’s remaining CO2 emissions.

In an interview with journalist Najwa Shihab, vocalist Chris Martin shared their consideration in deciding whether to go on tour. He said , “Well, we’d love to tour, but we need to change how we consume energy, and we need to stop taking and start giving in some ways in terms of the environment. So, we employed a few people to help us clean up our shows in terms of the power, the transport, everything.”

Sustainability in Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour

Coldplay divides their holistic sustainability initiatives into 12 parts: CO2 emissions, power, travel, stage show, fans, water, waste, food, merchandise, good causes, nature, and transparency. Among them are:

• Power : Installing solar photovoltaic panels for each show and its build-up; installing kinetic floor and power bikes around the stadium that turn fans’ dancing and jumping into energy.
• Travel : Paying a surcharge to use or supply Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF); using electric vehicles or HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) biofuel produced from 100% renewable raw materials for ground transport.
• Stage Show : Building stages with a combination of lightweight, low-carbon, and re-usable materials; making fan wristbands from 100% compostable, plant-based materials; reducing wristband production by 80% through collecting, sterilizing, and recharging them after fans return them at every show; using 100% biodegradable confetti.
• Water : Introducing aerated taps, low-flushing toilets, and water pressure reduction at venues
• Merchandise : Making merch from natural fibers and recycled/recyclable elements; partnering with vendors who prove ethical work practices, including fair wages and good working conditions .
• Food : Sourcing organic produce from local suppliers or farms that practice regenerative agriculture techniques; partnering with local food banks to donate any surplus food.
• Good Causes : Putting 10% of band earnings into environmental and socially-conscious projects and charities like ClientEarth, The Ocean Cleanup , and One Tree Planted.

For now, many of these initiatives cannot be done 100% of the time, only as much as possible. Still, they bear results. In June 2023, Coldplay shared, “The emissions data from the first 12 months of the tour has been collated, assessed, and independently validated by Prof. John E. Fernandez of the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative.”

The update reported a 47% reduction in direct CO2e emissions compared to their previous tour (2016-17) on a show-by-show basis. They have also started to run the entire show (audio, lights, lasers, etc) from an electric battery system that uses 100% renewable energy as efficiently as possible. Other highlights include planting five million trees (to be supported to maturity) from one tree per ticket, diverting 66% of tour waste from landfill, and donating 3,770 meals & 73 kg of toiletries from surplus.

Mainstreaming Sustainable Concerts and Events

The sustainability in Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour might become a benchmark in how the music industry – or event organizing in general – can contribute to saving the Earth. It shows that all actors in these industries can and should go bolder in supporting sustainable development. Furthermore, Coldplay is working with Green Nation to ensure sustainable practices developed on this tour will be shared, adapted, and scaled throughout the rest of the industry.

“We’re trying to show that being green and clean is good business. It’s not something charitable, and it’s not something that makes you lose quality of life. It’s something that should just be a natural part of any business if you want the business to do well,” said Chris Martin.

Read the Indonesian version of this article at Green Network Asia – Indonesia .

Abul Muamar

Amar is the Indonesian Editor at Green Network Asia. He graduated from Universitas Gadjah Mada with a master's degree in Philosophy and Universitas Sumatera Utara with a bachelor's degree in Communication Science. He has ten years of professional experience in journalism.

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Nazalea Kusuma

Naz is the International Editor at Green Network Asia. She once studied Urban and Regional Planning and has lived in multiple cities across Southeast Asia. She is a passionate and experienced writer, editor, translator, and creative designer with almost a decade worth of portfolio.

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How Coldplay is using fans’ energy and dance moves to power their shows

Plenty of artists get pumped up from the energy of the crowd, but Coldplay is taking things one step further, literally harnessing their fans’ energy to help power their shows.

As part of a commitment to make their shows more sustainable , the British band has found some creative ways for their fans to generate electricity during their "Music of the Spheres" world tour.

For one, they’ve installed kinetic floors, meaning that whenever fans dance or jump up and down on them, it will create energy to power parts of the show.

Fans can also hop on an exercise bike in the stadium to generate some green power. 

It’s all part of Coldplay’s goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 50% compared to their previous tour five years ago.

Frontman Chris Martin, 45, says the band realized that if they wanted to reduce the carbon footprint of their shows, they couldn’t wait for anyone else to take the lead.

“You know, we grew up thinking that ‘They’ll take care of (it),'" he told Sheinelle Jones on TODAY. “There’s always a ‘they’ — and then you realize there is no ‘they’ in the world really — ‘they’ is you.

"So we felt like, rather than finger-pointing at this organization or that company, let’s just try and change what we can within our own sphere.”

Coldplay’s shows are full of green details, including reusable aluminum cups that can be refilled from water stations that draw from moisture in the air. 

The tour wristbands and confetti are biodegradable, and for every ticket sold, a tree will be planted to offset carbon emissions.

“This is not a one side of the political spectrum thing,” Martin said. “It’s not us trying to look a certain way or earn more money by doing it. It’s just about trying to prove that being clean and green can be part of any successful business.”

Coldplay's Music of the Spheres tour kicked off in March and will wrap up its North American leg in Tampa, Florida, on June 14 before heading to Europe.

Lindsay Lowe has been a regular contributor to TODAY.com since 2016, covering pop culture, style, home and other lifestyle topics. She is also working on her first novel, a domestic drama set in rural Regency England.

Coldplay work towards net zero on sustainable tour

Live concerts and performances generate 405,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions every year, according to the Tyndall Centre for Climate Research . 

Founded in the late 90s in London, Coldplay have been touring the world since 2000, and are revolutionising touring to reduce their negative impact on the environment whilst maintaining positive interactions with fans globally. 

Environmentally conscious touring  

Their current world tour , Music of the Spheres, utilises a range of new technology, company and charity partnerships and industry defining developments to combat their environmental influence. 

The sustainability initiative is guided by three principles: 

• Reduce — less consumption, more recycling and cut CO2 emissions by 50% (in comparison to the 2016-17 tour)
• Reinvent —support new green technologies (including kinetic dance floors) and develop new sustainable, super-low carbon touring methods
• Restore — fund projects and draw down more CO2 than the tour produces 

The journey to sustainable touring has been overseen by Green Nation and Hope Solutions . 

“Playing live and finding connection with people is ultimately why we exist as a band. At the same time, we’re very conscious that the planet is facing a climate crisis,” say Coldplay. 

“So we’ve spent the last two years consulting with environmental experts to make this tour as sustainable as possible, and, just as importantly, to harness the tour’s potential to push things forward. We won’t get everything right, but we’re committed to doing everything we can and sharing what we learn.”

Renewable energy powering the future of live music

A selection of different sustainable energy sources are utilised to power the world tour:

• Coldplay have partnered with BMW to develop a mobile, rechargeable battery that can power 100% of the show with renewable energy, anywhere in the world. Created using recycled BMW i3 batteries, the battery is the first of its kind.
• Fan power in the form of kinetic dancefloors and static bicycles is being harnessed. Energy Floors have created tiles especially for the tour that are durable, portable, and use the audience dancing power to charge the batteries running the show. 
• Sustainable biofuels for vehicles, solar photovoltaic panels to charge the batteries and renewable grid power where necessary make up the rest of the renewable, low-emission energy used to power the show and tour. 

SAF: Providing sustainable flight options 

“Although the tour has been carefully routed and pre-planned to minimise air travel, some flying is unavoidable,” Coldplay’s sustainability pledge reads. 

“For all flights, commercial and charter, we pay a surcharge to use or supply Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).”

The fuel is created from waste including used cooking oil, and can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from air travel by up to 80%. 

Audience commitment to net-zero goal

Audience members are given reusable LED wristbands as part of the show. The bands are made from 100% compostable materials, and wristband production has been reduced 80% through collecting, sterilising and recharging them after use. 

Coldplay have collaborated with One Tree Planted to plant one tree for every ticket sold to the Music of the Spheres world tour, reducing the impact of the crowds. 

The tour is also working with the non-profit organisation KultureCity to make the tour inclusive for audience members with sensory issues through providing sensory bags and access to a mobile sensory room.

Partnering with SAP to reduce audience travel impact 

33% of the 405,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions generated by live concerts each year is from audience travel. 

Coldplay are combating this through a free app , developed in partnership with software development company SAP . The app, which has had over 350,000 downloads since its launch in March 2022, encourages fans to use low carbon transport options and offers rewards through discount codes. 

“With our technology and solutions, we empower organisations worldwide to drive sustainable change,” says Christian Klein , CEO of SAP.  “Coldplay and SAP share a common and profound commitment to sustainability, and we are thrilled to join forces to make their tour as environmentally friendly as possible.”

Coldplay’s sustainability goals — mid-tour review  

The band have recently issued a statement regarding their sustainability goals so far through their tour, as reviewed by MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative. 

“On a show-by-show comparison, the Music Of The Spheres Tour has so far produced 47% less CO2e emissions than our last stadium tour (2016-17),” the statement reads. 

The update lists achievements so far, but is also realistic that it hasn’t hit its 50% target, and that there is still room to grow and improve. 

What is the future for Coldplay’s sustainability initiatives? 

There seems to be no end in sight for the lengths that Coldplay will go to in an effort to reduce their environmental impact. 

Alongside their direct actions, 10% of their income from all avenues going to the Good Causes Fund, supporting charities including:

• The Ocean Cleanup
• ClientEarth
• One Tree Planted
• Global Citizen

Whether you’re a fan of their music or not, it's hard to deny that Coldplay are pioneers for the future of sustainability in live music.

For more insights into Sustainability - check out the latest edition of  Sustainability Magazine  and be sure to follow us on  LinkedIn  & Twitter

Other magazines that may be of interest -  EV Magazine  |  Energy Digital

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With Coldplay’s eco-friendly tour, music is again at the forefront of progressive ideas

The band are set to embark on one of the most carbon-neutral tours ever, a move that may inspire and encourage other huge acts to follow suit

Trains of schoolchildren in the museums of the future will trudge past statues and tributes to the most significant, well-known and celebrated figures in world history – Churchill, Edison, Darwin, Corden – and stop at the grand centrepiece. A 30-foot replica, cast in condensed avocado and quinoa by classical master Banksy (history’s most shocking and elaborate Rickroll)… of Chris Martin, the man who sparked the Environmental Revolution that dominated the 2020s and saved the entire planet from extinction.

• READ MORE:  On the cover – Coldplay: “This is our period of having no fear”

You think we jest? Think again. Last week, Coldplay announced that they were going to make their forthcoming world tour as ecologically friendly as possible – reducing carbon emissions by powering the show from bicycles and electricity-producing dancefloors, building sets from bamboo, planting a tree for every ticket sold and other such measures.

They’re not the first band to aim for net-zero touring. Radiohead ’s 2008 tour around ‘In Rainbows’ was as carbon neutral as they could make it at the time. Massive Attack have been working with climate scientists to explore ways to put on “super low carbon” events. Both Billie Eilish and The Dave Matthews Band had been planning eco-friendly tours for 2020 before COVID decided to make them entirely sustainable by confining each of them to one luxurious gazebo in California.

The fuck-it-let’s-just-stay-at-home approach to saving the planet had been Coldplay’s, too, when they decided not to tour ‘Everyday Life’ in 2019 out of environmental concerns, but ultimately hiding away from a problem does nothing to solve it. The example and precedent they set by doing everything in their power to offset the emissions of their tour goes a long way towards inspiring/encouraging/virtue-shaming other huge global acts into following suit. Surely it’ll be but a matter of months before Rammstein work out a way to remain carbon neutral by firing gigantic vapes at the front row.

Coldplay’s move might seem tokenistic, a drop in the ocean or ‘greenwashing’ (another of Twitter’s bottomless supply of new ways to be inadvertently offensive), but history tells us that music often works as a loudhailer at the barricades of social change. From Nina Simone ’s ‘Mississippi Goddam’, Dylan ’s ‘The Times They Are a-Changin’’ and The Beatles ‘ ‘All You Need Is Love’ to The Specials ‘ ‘Free Nelson Mandela’, Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’, Public Enemy ‘s ‘Fight The Power’ and Childish Gambino ‘s ‘This Is America’, music is where radical and progressive ideas of equality, justice and hope become popularised and embedded in common practice and culture.

If Coldplay’s stand means carbon neutrality becomes the expected norm in touring, and then in other industries too, maybe we won’t have to wait for the fossil fuel companies to run out of money for political backhanders before the world gets saved.

Of course, as Coldplay admit, they can’t do everything in the name of net-zero. Asking venues to install aerated taps and low-flushing toilets might make permanent improvements to those that comply, but studies have shown that the vast majority of touring emissions – often over 90 per cent – come from the travelling involved. Coldplay’s plans only go so far as to pledge to minimise air travel and use “sustainable aviation fuel” where flying is unavoidable.

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“We don’t have any argument against that,” Martin told the BBC of the criticism the band have received for continuing to fly, but there’s an easy solution staring them in the face. Everyone on commercial flights, tubes and trains is currently supposed to be covering their face with a mask, a practice that most sensible folk will undoubtedly carry on well into 2022. So surely just investing in a fake beard, shades and a cap will allow Martin to travel to every gig and every territory, entirely un-hassled, by public transport and regular flights rather than private jet, at a tiny fraction of the carbon footprint? It’ll even give him a thrilling insight into what it’s like back in the normal world.

Their idea to have the show powered by people jumping up and down on a modified dancefloor is genius, albeit one that gives free reign for BTS to have all the carbon-offset pyro that money can buy while Neil Young is condemned forever to play by wind-up torch. But there’s also so much more that could be done to make stadium and arena shows more carbon effective.

The punters’ tuts at the beer prices could be captured by tiny turbines in the pumps, thereby powering all the bars in the building for free. The pent-up testosterone of most rock gigs could be harnessed by installing giant electricity cranks in circle pits, making the song louder or quieter depending on how hard the crowd rages. And anyone caught ‘discarding’ a plastic glass full of dubious liquid by flinging it over the heads of the hundreds of people in front of them could be strapped to a treadmill and forced to power the rest of the show single-handed, thereby ensuring at least 12 encores.

From tiny gestures like this, great change can come. Let Coldplay’s new touring tenets become the minimum expectations for major bands, and let music show wider society the way once more. Don’t be surprised if your grandchildren are taught of the Great Coldplay Climate Revival and get awarded the Chris Martin Medal Of Puppy-Like Global Salvation.

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We send a sustainability rider to all venues and stadiums in advance to request best environmental practices.

In various locations, in order to minimise freight emissions, we adapt the show so we can utilise local equipment, materials and resources.

We select building materials and show effects based on their environmental credentials:

Stages are built from a combination of lightweight, low-carbon and re-usable materials including recycled steel, that can be appropriately reused or recycled at the end of the tour.

LED WRISTBANDS

The reusable LED wristbands worn by the audience as part of the show are made from 100% compostable, plant-based materials.

We have reduced wristband production by 80% through collecting, sterilising and recharging them after every show.

Our wristband return rate averaged 86% during the first year of the tour. 

LIGHTING & AUDIO

The show has upgraded to ultra-efficient equipment such as a low-energy LED screens laser and lighting systems and a PA system with up to 50% less power consumption compared to the previous tour, which also dramatically reduces environmental noise outside the venues.

Special effects

Confetti used during the show is 100% biodegradable and requires considerably less compressed gas for ignition than on previous tours.

We are using a new generation of sustainable pyrotechnics that have less explosive charge and new formulas that greatly reduce or eliminate harmful chemicals. All tubing and holders are either biodegradable or recyclable.

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• clientearth
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Olympic Stadium

Olympic stadium (extra date), arena națională, arena națională (extra date), puskás aréna, puskás aréna (extra date), groupama stadium, groupama stadium (extra date), glastonbury festival, pilton, somerset, stadio olimpico, stadio olimpico (extra date), merkur spiel-arena, merkur spiel-arena (extra date), olympiastadion (extra date), olympiastadion, ernst-happel-stadion, ernst-happel-stadion (extra date), croke park (extra date), marvel stadium, marvel stadium (extra date), accor stadium, accor stadium (extra date), eden park (extra date), eden park (extra date), the two april 2022 shows at la's sofi stadium have been postponed until 2023. new dates tbc..

TOUR Championship recognized for commitments, actions, progress in sustainability

An aerial view of East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, host of the TOUR Championship. (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR)

International certification achieved for the first time in tournament history

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ATLANTA – The 2023 edition of the TOUR Championship has become a GEO Certified® tournament for the first time in the event’s history, recognizing its sustainability commitments, actions and progress.

The PGA TOUR’s season finale received the international award for sustainability in golf, overseen by Scotland-based GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation, reflecting measures across the staging, communications, and legacies of the event.

The 2023 event met specific criteria outlined in the voluntary standard for Sustainable Golf tournaments, which embodies requirements for planning, delivery and continual improvement across a comprehensive suite of key sustainability themes and action areas including energy, waste and resource management, site protection and procurement, as well as social impacts and legacies. The independent third-party verification was carried out by the Council for Responsible Sport with a thorough review by GEO Certification Ltd., and agreement to various "Continual Improvement Points" for future editions of the event.

“Congratulations to the TOUR Championship on achieving this distinction for the first time,” said Jonathan Smith, executive director of the GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation. “It is wonderful to see the event step forward as another pioneer in the wider PGA TOUR initiative and to use the standard and certification process as a framework for action, target setting and measurement of progress for the years ahead. Congratulations to the tournament team, all supporting partners and contributors. We look forward to seeing continued progress through the years ahead.”

The 2023 TOUR Championship marked the official launch of the PGA TOUR’s sustainability program with a vision to lead, partner and inspire to take climate action and promote nature. The PGA TOUR Partner Connect Sustainability Summit brought together key leaders from corporations connected to the TOUR, including the event’s Proud Partners, to discuss how the environmental impact of events can be minimized while positive multipliers and legacies for nature and communities can be increased.

“This achievement wouldn’t have been possible without the collaboration from the Atlanta community and especially our Proud Partners – Accenture, The Coca-Cola Company and Southern Company,” said Alex Urban, executive director of the TOUR Championship. “We look forward to continuing our commitment to build a more sustainable tournament as we work to improve and innovate for the 2024 event, and exhibit a more eco-friendly experience for our players, partners and fans.”

The recognition is a significant step on the tournament’s sustainability journey. As part of the certification process, the TOUR Championship achieved high marks across the priority areas of event planning, staging operations, communications and legacies.

Highlights from the initiatives observed during the event and through submitted evidence included:

• Climate action: 100% renewable energy provided through Southern Company via battery-powered and renewable diesel generators onsite, renewable energy certificates and renewable natural gas delivered to East Lake’s clubhouse throughout the week.
• Recycling: Scrim and plastic merchandise wrapping collected and repurposed post-event.
• Waste reduction: From material guidelines, including alternative options and emphasizing minimization, provided to all vendors through the Procurement Plan, through to composting in all back-of-house kitchens and hospitality suites.
• Supporting local: Prioritizing local and seasonal products by catering provider, Proof of Pudding. Little Greens, an Atlanta-based vegetarian food outlet featured for first time. Excess food was donated to the local community.
• Community impact: The work of the East Lake Foundation is a key part of the TOUR Championship with featured events including school trips, supporting Executive Women’s event and "Tee up ATL." The First Tee Game Changer Pavilion drew 3,250 visitors throughout the week.
• Communications and awareness: Sustainability focused engagement through the operations team with the East Lake Foundation and other beneficiaries, partners, and vendors. Other activations included Southern Company’s Good Energy Pavilion and Coca-Cola Waste Challenge.

“At Southern Company, we are immensely proud that the TOUR Championship has been recognized as a GEO Certified® Tournament,” said Southern Company Chairman, President and CEO Chris Womack. “Delivering 100% renewable energy for the TOUR Championship and driving sustainability on course links up with our company goal off the course – achieving net zero emissions across our electric and gas businesses by 2050.”

The TOUR Championship will make a return to Labor Day weekend in 2024, with tournament dates set for Aug. 28-Sept. 1, as the PGA TOUR’s top 30 players compete in the FedExCup Playoffs finale for their chance to win the FedExCup and the season title.