With all the challenges going through touring musicians on this post-pandemic world, environmental friendliness might not be a top-three precedence for a lot of. But touring takes an infinite toll on the surroundings, and musicians reminiscent of Billie Eilish, Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, Lorde, Harry Types, Guster and lots of others have been lively and outspoken of their assist of inexperienced initiatives for touring.
At their Grammy Week showcase on Saturday, Common Music Group introduced the growth of its partnership with Reverb, a leading non-profit that works with artists, festivals, and venues to extend sustainability and cut back their environmental footprint. That growth contains the first-ever Common Music Group x Reverb Amplifier Award, recognizing the artist “greatest exemplifying the dedication to, and achievement of, measurable steps to cut back their environmental footprint and assist nonprofit causes via direct fan engagement at exhibits, on-line and past.”
Billie Eilish was named the inaugural recipient, “for her trailblazing advocacy for sustainability and the environmental motion,” the announcement states. “Eilish utilized her platform to amplify and convey consideration to the work of nonprofit organizations across the globe whereas partaking her followers and the music business in significant local weather motion.”
The transfer joins comparable efforts by AEG, Reside Nation and the Nationwide Impartial Venue Affiliation in addition to many festivals — significantly European ones like Norway’s Oya Competition — to extend sustainability by way of reusable bottles, recycling, CO2 discount, composting and different efforts.
Eilish was introduced the award by UMG Chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge, Reverb Co-Founder Adam Gardner and its director of sustainable touring Lara Seaver.
Eilish opened her feedback by joking concerning the award’s weight, “Wow, that’s heavy as shit,” to laughter, earlier than saying she felt honored and privileged and thanked her mom — who has performed a number one position in Eilish’s environmental efforts — Grainge, Reverb and others.
“I do as a lot as I can,” she continued, “I do know I can at all times do extra, and I really feel actually impressed and excited that you simply guys are literally making this a precedence and doing all your half. I spend numerous time feeling actually anxious about the truth that… I really feel like lots of people, and particularly lots of people within the enterprise, don’t care very a lot [about sustainability]. Everybody on this room, and all of us, can do our half, and I do know numerous you bought some cash in your pockets,” she laughed, “so perhaps use it for good issues, not silly issues. It’s very nice to see that is taking place.”
In presenting the award, Grainge stated, “Your stellar instance and lively management has impressed us to remodel our personal occasions as an organization. Every thing UMG is doing this weekend has been designed each to cut back our environmental impression and to extend neighborhood engagement on the problem. We’re so thrilled you’re the first recipient of this award, an award you so properly deserve.”
To that finish, Saturday’s occasion featured all plant-based and domestically sourced meals (each of which cut back carbon emissions), recycled supplies and renewable vitality sources, amongst different efforts, which the corporate stated will function a mannequin for future occasions.
The award’s announcement additionally included an announcement from California Governor Gavin Newsom: “At a time when the World is grappling with the dire penalties of the local weather disaster, it’s extra necessary than ever for all of us to step up and take significant motion to cut back our environmental footprint. That’s why I commend Common Music Group for his or her daring efforts to steer by instance and present the remainder of us the way it’s achieved. That is our collective duty, and it’s incumbent that we work collectively in direction of constructing a extra sustainable future for generations to return.”
Susan Mazo, UMG’s EVP of company social duty, occasions and particular initiatives, stated of the initiative, “We’re proud to construct on our relationship with Reverb by partnering with them on two of our flagship occasions this yr. With all eyes on the music business in Los Angeles this week, this collaboration underscores our dedication to supply extra eco-friendly occasions to be able to set a brand new and sustainable customary throughout the business. We’re proud that these showcase sustainability in motion whereas additionally supporting a lot of our different philanthropic companions.”
Technical assist for these occasions is being supplied by Three Squares Inc., a sustainability consultancy with a division that makes a speciality of designing occasions. The announcement states that the occasion’s property can be designed for future reuse, leftover supplies can be donated domestically in Los Angeles to schooling organizations, and carbon emissions from the occasion can be measured and tracked to tell future reductions for UMG occasions.
UMG additionally said that its occasions will assist a lot of rising applied sciences, together with:
• Climeworks, a frontrunner in CO2 elimination that makes use of Direct Air Seize to take away the CO2 immediately from the air in order that it may be saved safely within the deep underground.
• Overdrive Vitality Options, an organization that gives sensible battery energy stations recharged by renewable vitality.
• FLOR carbon impartial inexperienced carpet, constituted of recycled content material and manufactured utilizing 100% renewable electrical energy.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 04: Billie Eilish attends Sir Lucian Grainge’s 2023 Artist Showcase, Introduced By Merz Aesthestics’ Xperience+ and Coke Studio” at Milk Studios Los Angeles on February 04, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Picture by Vivien Killilea/Getty Pictures for Common Music Group)
Originally published at www.theshocknews.com