Julie’s Bicycle appeals for environmental audits

Music Week, 15 September 2007

Music businesses are being asked to assess their own carbon footprint, as part of the industry’s efforts to address issues of climate change.

Music industry environmental association Julie’s Bicycle has written an open letter to the music business, calling upon companies to commission an assessment of their environmental impact.

The letter, signed by all 10 members of the Julie’s Bicycle board says that the not-for-profit organisation has appointed a series of environmental auditors who can provide such a service. The board spans live, management, labels, media and music publishing, including Big Life’s’s Jazz Summers, Universal’s David Joseph, Chrysalis Group’s Jeremy Lascelles and incoming MMF chief Jon Webster among its members.

The audits - which will focus on energy use, water, transportation, travel, waste disposal, recycling and purchasing – will follow a five step process.

And while there is a cost to such an audit – with the price starting at around £250 for smaller companies - the letter stresses that the results can result in savings. It states, “Don’t think of this as a cost – think of it as a long term investment in energy savings.”

Julie’s Bicycle director Al Tickell says: “This a crucial first step in enabling companies of all shapes and sizes to participate in Julie’s Bicycle. Everybody can contribute, from the smallest to biggest companies, and right across the industry chain.”

The letter asks interested parties to make contact with Julie’s Bicycle to register an interest in audits, or the association’s efforts to tackle climate change.

The audit drive comes as Julie’s Bicycle continues its three-pronged research programme, which is being conducted by Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute and is designed to map the music industry’s overall impact.

Besides face-to-face interviews, professionals from across the industry are being invited to complete one of two surveys as part of the project. One survey attempts to map energy usage across the business, while the other will try to track attitudes towards climate change across the business. All personal and company data will remain confidential.

To contribute to the two online surveys, click on the following links:
Energy Use Survey (to be completed by office managers)
Climate Change Attitudes Survey (to be completed by all respondents)

Julie’s Bicycle was launched at an industry breakfast earlier this summer, with the aim of creating industry-wide consensus on emission reduction and low energy use, as well as developing practical and sustainable solutions for both individuals and businesses.

Besides the research projects, the organisation is also looking to organise a programme of events, including networking meetings for interested parties and a conference next year, designed to bring together industry representatives with climate change experts.