Bikes powered by fans at the venues produce hundreds of watts of energy
PHOTO : @ STEVIERAEGIBBS
PHOTOS : ROBERT MALLOWS
W hen Coldplay announced their Music Of The Spheres World Tour , they promised to reduce consumption , recycle extensively and cut CO2 emissions by 50 % compared to the band ’ s A Head Full of Dreams Tour in 2016 .
The band decided against touring 2019 ’ s Everyday Life album due to concerns about the environmental impact . Instead , Coldplay ’ s team set about exploring ways in which a world tour could be carried out with a considerably reduced footprint . Among the first people to be brought on board was Hope Solutions founder & director Luke Howell .
An events sustainability specialist whose many clients include Live Nation and Glastonbury festival , Howell was contacted by Coldplay ’ s managers Phil Harvey and Dave Holmes in 2019 , and by December that year he was actively seeking sustainability solutions for the band ’ s tour .
The tour kicked off in Costa Rica in March and has involved dates across central America , the US and Europe , including six dates at Wembley Stadium ( cap . 90,000 ) and two at Hampden Park ( 52,000 ) in August .
Among the many environmental measures taken have been the use of kinetic venue flooring and bikes powered by fans , an app encouraging
and rewarding low-impact travel , solar power installations at venues , hydrotreated vegetable oil ( HVO ) instead of diesel , and a pioneering mobile and rechargeable show battery that was created in partnership with BMW and made from recyclable BMW i3 batteries .
Coldplay has also promised that 10 % of all earnings from the tour will be channelled into a fund for environmental causes including ClientEarth , One Tree Planted and The Ocean Cleanup . Meanwhile , climate change experts at Imperial College London ’ s Grantham Institute will quantify the impact of the tour on the environment .
Howell says the actions taken so far are already paying dividends and the tour is on track to reach the 50 % reduction goal : “ Things are looking very , very positive . I ’ m confident we will more than achieve our target .”
Having analysed data garnered via the tour app , Howell says emissions from audience travel is down 50 %, while travel emissions from the touring group is down by more than that : “ Through the use of less vehicles , and the vehicles that we are using running on HVO or sustainable aviation fuel , we ’ re seeing more than a 50 % reduction so far .”
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