Tours

Why me and why green?

Tour managers have a major role to play in the greening of the industry. Artists may be committed to sustainability but it’s the industry professionals, making daily decisions on anything from printed material in a CD package, to merchandise, venue choice, transport logistics etc.

What's the impact?

The total GHG emissions impact by UK bands touring within the UK and globally in 2009, based on available data, is estimated to be approximately 85,000 t CO2e, which is equivalent to driving around the world 10,000 times.

• The majority of touring GHG emissions is from overseas touring, with theatre level touring overseas accounting for the majority of non-UK touring emissions (~80%).
• In the UK, theatre circuit tours account for approximately half of UK tour GHG emissions, and arena circuit tours account for a third.
• UK club circuits account for a fifth of audiences and 4% of global emissions.
• ‘Per performance’ GHG emissions of arena and theatre tours in Europe are likely to be double as compared to the UK, or triple as compared to ‘other’ global regions.
• Personnel and freight air travel account for most emissions for overseas touring; personnel air travel accounts for at least half of the emissions, and air freight is another fifth to half.

Here are some tools and resources that will make it simple for you to start reducing your environmental impact at little or no cost!