Hope Solutions Joins MIT, Live Nation, Warner Music & Coldplay on Major Climate Study

What’s the real environmental impact of live music? Until now, no one had the data to answer that with confidence. Today, that changes.

At Hope Solutions, we’re proud to have played a central role in a landmark collaboration with the MIT Climate Machine, Live Nation Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and Coldplay to deliver the first comprehensive, data-driven assessment of the live music industry’s carbon footprint across the UK and US. 

With data drawn from more than 80,000 real events, this study offers the clearest picture to date of where emissions come from, and what can be done to reduce them. (You can explore the full findings and download the report here.)

As long-time partners to the live events sector, we’ve seen firsthand how hard it is to plan climate action without clear, sector-specific data. That’s exactly what this study sets out to change.

​​A first-of-its-kind collaboration

This was not a typical carbon audit. It was a large-scale collaboration between data scientists, music industry leaders, and sustainability experts, each bringing something critical to the table.

The MIT Climate Machine led the development of the model and analysis. Live Nation contributed anonymised data from over 80,000 events across the UK and US. Warner Music Group and Coldplay offered insight from the artist and label perspectives. And, at Hope Solutions, we helped shape the approach, reviewing and refining the methodology to ensure it was grounded in the practical realities of touring and event operations.

In the words of our Founder, Luke Howell,

“This report gives the live music industry its clearest, quantified, picture yet of where touring impacts the planet most. By taking data and evidence from across the sector, this study helps signal the need for practical, forward-thinking solutions that empower artists, promoters, and venues to focus on both measurement as well as take meaningful action to reduce their environmental impact.”

It’s the first time a study of this scope has been undertaken across the live music sector, and it sets a new precedent for what shared, evidence-based action can look like.

What the data tells us

For the first time, we now have a detailed breakdown of where live music emissions are really coming from, based not on assumptions or models alone, but on data from tens of thousands of events.

The numbers are quite revealing. In both the UK and the US, the majority of emissions come from audience and artist travel, with it accounting for 77% of total emissions in the UK, and 62% of emissions in the US.

This includes fan travel, artist and crew transport, and freight for touring equipment. It’s clear that if the industry wants to make real progress, travel needs to be front and centre.

Other key areas of impact include:

• Food and beverages: In both countries, this is a major contributor, but switching to a plant-based menu could cut these emissions by 40% or more.
  
  
• Venue energy: Particularly relevant for older buildings or high-energy lighting setups.
  
  
• Materials: Merch, wristbands, stage builds, and single-use items all add up, especially in smaller venues where volume is high.

Together, the findings offer something we haven’t had before: a measurable, sector-wide baseline that’s detailed enough to guide specific actions, but broad enough to apply across venue sizes, regions, and event types.

What this report enables

For years, the live music sector has been trying to move towards more sustainable practices. But without a shared set of numbers, it’s been hard to get alignment between promoters and artists, venues and suppliers, operations and ambition.

Today, this gives the entire industry a common reference point: one that’s built on real-world data, covers multiple markets, and reflects the full diversity of event types. 

With this report, the live music industry can now:

• Understand where their biggest impacts lie and how they compare
• Make informed decisions about touring, travel, routing and production
• Engage audiences with honesty and transparency around emissions
• Build internal business cases for change using credible, sector-wide evidence

This also opens the door for smarter, standardised tools, ones that don’t start from scratch each time, but build on shared methodology and assumptions. For sustainability teams, that’s a time-saver. For artists and promoters, it means more clarity and fewer trade-offs. And for the industry as a whole, it means greater progress to a greener planet.

Where we go from here

This baseline is just the beginning. Now that the sector has a shared understanding of its climate impact, the challenge and opportunity is to act on it.

At Hope Solutions, we see this as a springboard for more joined-up decision making: where artists, promoters, venues and suppliers work from the same data, ask better questions, and design smarter solutions. Whether that’s low-carbon routing strategies, audience engagement tools, or rethinking what good looks like when it comes to food, power or materials, progress starts here.

We’re proud to have contributed to this project, and we’ll keep pushing for practical, collaborative ways to turn evidence into action.