GEI16 report: Sponsorship and carbon-removed gigs

A host of top names within the live entertainment and environmental sectors gathered for the 16th edition of the Green Events and Innovations (GEI16) conference at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel.

Organised by AGreenerFuture in partnership with ILMC (International Live Music Conference), the leading conference for sustainability was held today as part of ILMC week.

The opening Presenting Ecosystem Collapse: Sponsored by Oil and Gas panel aimed to educate audiences on how to distinguish sponsors’ intentions and ways major music and sporting events can avoid tarnishing their reputations. Moderated by Serendipity PR & Media’s Sangeeta Waldron, the panel’s goal was to emphasise the importance of maintaining values when choosing sponsors.

Citing BP’s sponsorship of a festival in Basingstoke (in which BP Pulse’s EV chargers are advertised for festival-goers with electric cars), Luke Howell of Hope Solutions wondered whether there would be pushback from NGOs and charities towards outdoor events that sign up to such partnerships.

“I would always advocate for avoiding partnerships with such companies, but the fact that it’s such a tough market for events and the music industry these days hasn’t gone unnoticed by oil and gas companies,” he said. “They’re aware that there is a funding deficit, which makes it easier for them to segue into this space.”

GEI16 also saw a conversation about the game-changing potential of The 1975’s recent landmark “carbon-removed” gigs at London’s The O2

Howell reckoned that large-and-small scale music festivals represented the “last bastion of independence” from the clutches of oil and gas companies.

“It’s highly critical to be aware and not fall into the trap of praising BP for offering EV charging stations or Shell for offering HVO fuel, even though in a vacuum, they’re good things,” he said. “But these companies collectively made over £300 billion worth of profit in the last couple of years from extracting fossil fuels from the planet.”

He also referenced a collaborative study between the Guardian and Greenpeace that showed only 0.3% of renewable energy was produced from those sources.

Despite Howell questioned the motivation behind companies using the medium of entertainment to “push themselves into the limelight”. However, he emphasised that open dialogue and transparency between event organisers and potential sponsors — especially when they’ve made billions from the practice of extracting fossil fuels.

GEI16 also saw a conversation about the game-changing potential of The 1975’s recent landmark “carbon-removed” gigs at London’s The O2. Chaired by AEG’s John Langford, the session brought together AEG Europe’s Sam Booth, Mark Stevenson of CUR8, and Claire O’Neill from A Greener Future.

“For us at AEG Europe, a carbon-removed event essentially means measuring everything that goes on in the duration of these events”

“For us at AEG Europe, a carbon-removed event essentially means measuring everything that goes on in the duration of these events,” Booth explained, further elaborating that massive amounts of audience data — including the food & beverage consumed, the merchandise sold, the types of cups used, and the energy & water in the arena — must be collected before the agency can then pay to have the carbon “physically removed” from the atmosphere.

Booth also confirmed that AEG Europe uses the “offsetting” method, which allows them to compensate for their events’ emissions by supporting projects that reduce, avoid, or remove emissions elsewhere.

“The plan is to remove an equivalent amount of emissions created by fans heading to The O2, which would equal an estimate of 100 tons per show,” he said.

When quizzed by Langford on providing a snapshot for future carbon-removed gigs, O’Neill suggested it was a “mixed bag”, where responsibilities are divided between different entities.

“In the case of The O2, the venue is responsible for anything to do with electricity and gas within its confines, the food & beverage is on the catering company that brings them to the venue, the performers are responsible for their movements to and from the venue, and so forth,” she said, adding that 90p of the ticket price has gone towards the initiative.

CUR8 is in talks with other acts about incorporating carbon-removed concerts as part of their upcoming tours

“During the ticket process, we talked to [The 1975], who were thankfully on board, and attendees were already notified of this move, so there were no pushbacks from the fans either,” said Booth.

Stevenson also confirmed that CUR8 was in talks with other acts about incorporating carbon-removed concerts as part of their upcoming shows and tours.

“We’ve been in touch with Metallica, and Lars Ulrich is very keen on this,” he shared.

Another innovative concept pored over at GE116 was the use of mycelium as sustainable material for building props and sets for touring acts. Hosted by Louder Than War’s John Robb, the Greening the Stage panel – which featured Stufish Entertainment Architects’ Zarya Vrabcheva, Pauline Bourdon from Team Love, and TAIT’s Carol Scott – highlighted the necessity of sustainable practices in the live entertainment industry.

Bourdon’s Team Love have already explored the use of mycelium panels as an alternative material for creative industries to use. The Arts Council-funded project has Bourdon visualising a “beautiful ecosystem”, given mycelium’s function as a network of fungal threads that help trees survive.

“I think we’re truly the first generation to fully comprehend what sustainability really means”

“In one instance, we mixed a mycelium strand with hemp, and managed to construct panels of a larger size,” she explained.

Vrabcheva’s extravagant set designs were noted, which help to eliminate the notion that stages made from sustainable materials are usually “austere”. Admitting that it was “challenging” to constantly abide by the practices, she said the long-term rewards are worth it.

“We want to keep creating these experiences, but with added focus on educating our audiences of the massive advantages of working with sustainable materials while they’re enjoying themselves too,” said Vrabcheva.

It was a sentiment that’s shared by Scott, who is a firm believer that music is a driving force to help spread the word of sustainable practices.

“I think we’re truly the first generation to fully comprehend what sustainability really means,” she said. “We’re actually a part of nature itself, and we need to understand that sustainability must be a key part of everyone’s life. There’s no music on a dead planet. We’re actually here to create music on a planet that’s alive and thriving, so I am very optimistic that we’re going to make good choices going forward.”

Across GEI, ILMC, and related events on the schedule, over 2,500 professionals will take part at the Royal Lancaster between 27 Feb and 1 March. GEI’s dedicated website is here.

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