Hope Solutions in Headliner Magazine: On Coldplay, the BRIT Awards, and What Sustainable Touring Actually Requires

Headliner Magazine recently sat down with Hope Solutions founder Luke Howell to talk about the work we do across live music and entertainment, and what it actually takes to embed sustainability into major productions.

The conversation covers a lot of ground. Luke talks about the BRIT Awards' move to Co-op Live in Manchester, and how a venue change creates a genuine opportunity to reassess energy systems, logistics, and audience travel from the ground up rather than retrofitting solutions onto an existing setup.

He also talks about the work on Coldplay's Music of the Spheres world tour, which achieved a 59% reduction in emissions compared to the band's previous tour. The key point he makes about that project is not that it required unusual resources or scale. It required planning, collaboration across the supply chain, and a willingness to make decisions early enough to matter.

On the broader industry picture, Luke is clear about where the impact actually sits. Fan travel accounts for over 75% of an event's total emissions in most cases. That is not a secondary consideration. It is the primary one. And yet it is often the last thing to get real attention in a production sustainability plan.

There is also an honest account of where the barriers are. Cost and inertia are the two that come up most. The upfront hesitation around sustainable investment. The reliance on processes that have worked for decades and the reluctance to test anything new. These are not problems that get solved by awareness alone.

The full interview covers practical steps for venues, the role artists and promoters play in accelerating change, and what Hope Solutions would like to see from the industry over the next five to ten years.

It is worth reading in full. You can find it on the Headliner Magazine website here: Read the full interview on Headliner

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