Donations from over 35 members, including EMI Records, Universal Music UK, Wilderness Festival and All Points East, will balance the equivalent of over six million miles of travel carbon emissions, funding six projects taking action on the climate crisis; from community-owned renewable energy and gardening projects in London, to protecting threatened rainforests and ecosystems that sequester and store vast amounts of carbon across the globe.
Total miles carbon-balanced by ecolibrium’s 100+ members has risen to over 19 million in 2021, since ecolibrium was founded in 2015 by festivals; Boomtown, Secret Garden, Shambala, Bluedot and Kendal Calling, with the mission to engage events, audiences, artists and music companies in taking positive action to address the negative impacts of travel – typically the greatest carbon emitter at green-field events.
ecolibrium is a charity dedicated to tackling environmental impacts from live event and music industry travel. Members are supported to measure and record carbon emission from travel, engage in initiatives to reduce travel impacts where possible, and donate to carbon-balance remaining emissions. These donations are channeled into ecolibrium’s two climate solutions programmes: Trees+, to support ecosystem regeneration and protection, and Energy Revolution, which invests in community-owned renewable energy generation.
ecolibrium trustee, Ben Robinson (Director of Bluedot and Kendal Calling) comments,
“This year has shown that the ecolibrium community has a hugely positive impact and that by working together as an event and music industry collective all our actions are amplified. In 2022 we will support our network to explore systems and technology to reduce emissions from travel and widen the community to help more events and artists tackle their emissions.”
Highlights of ecolibrium member’s support in 2021 include an EMI Records led t-shirts for trees campaign, which saw artists; Jack Savarotti, Olivia Dean and Green Tea Peng join to plant one tree in Northern Malawi for every t-shirt sold in their organic, recycled range.
EMI Senior Commercial Manager, Marisa Hemson comments,
“EMI are so excited to be working in partnership with ecolibrium, and doing our bit for the planet. We and the artists involved in the campaign are so proud to be able to plant these trees in the areas that need it most.”
Universal Music UK joined ecolibrium to measure and carbon balance staff travel miles from their UK offices in 2021. Ticket agent, TicketSellers, supported 13 of their festival clients to balance the equivalent of over 690,000 travel miles (190 tonnes of CO2e) by embedding ecolibrium’s carbon calculator as part of their ticket check out. Music Declares Emergency, in association with Bird on Wire and Adapt, collected carbon-tackling donations from tickets sales of their Climate Music Blowout event, and The Showman’s Show measured and balanced all delegate fossil fuel miles associated with their 2021 event.
Other festivals, events and companies that balanced their audience or staff miles include: All Points East, Balter Festival, Brainchild, Camp Kin, Elderflower Fields South, Emc3, Festival of Thrift, Gaia Nova, GT Bicycles, Malvern’s Classic, Illusive Festival, Into the Trees Festival, Just So Festival, Love, Saves the Day, Shambala, Threshold Sports, Timber Festival and Wilderness.
In 2021, projects funded by ecolibrium through donations to Trees+ include; forest and peatland conservation in Katingan, Indonesia; restoration and protection of forest and coastline in Guatemala; support for community-led tree planting in Northern Malawi; and preservation of threatened rainforest, with a focus on areas most at risk of deforestation, mangrove forests that efficiently sequester carbon, and hardwood forests that store vast amounts of carbon in their wood, roots and soil.
Donations to ecolibrium’s Energy Revolution programme will go to two projects including Energy Garden, which develops renewable energy projects and works with communities to create and maintain a network of gardens across London. Their work engages local people and builds resilience with improved access to green space, health and well-being opportunities, and education programmes for young people.
Visit www.ecolibrium.earth for more details.
