Radiohead have launched a new initiative encouraging fans to consider how they travel to their forthcoming gigs, after their survey of a previous tour showed fans travel has the greatest impact on the CO2 impact. So we asked carbon footprint analysts Best Foot Forward, who produced the survey, for their opinion on our summary of other artists' green efforts.
JACK JOHNSON (above) - Tour vehicles run on Biodiesel, catering concentrates on locally grown and organic foods, and Johnson's 'EnviroRider' requires venues to reduce waste and recycle, or threatens to withold a percentage of payment from venues. Best Foot Forward: 'The use of biodiesel generally lowers greenhouse gas emnissions, although it depends very much on how it has been produced. The threat of withholding payments to shows genuine commitment. It would be good to also see some attempt to engage with the fans on the issue. 6/10
WILLIE NELSON - Has his own line of Biodiesel, which he uses on his tour buses and a 'buy local, sell local business model'. Nelson is also opening a truckstop in the US called Willie's Place to sell his Biodiesel to truckers. Best Foot Forward: This biodiesel initiative is interesting, assuming it's sourced and produced correctly, there could be significant ongoing savings. Although reducing road travel, not simply changing the fuel, would have far greater benefits. 5/10
IRA TREVISAN - Last month, the bass player with CSS announced she was leaving the Brazilian band because she was worried the damage touring was doing. 'I am a bit worried about climate change,' she explained, 'I decided to fly less'. Best Foot Forward: This is a tricky one. We believe bands are in a privileged position to influence fans to change their behaviour and make widespread savings. However, quitting outright paints rather a bleak picture of how we need to adjust our lifestyles to reduce carbon impacts. We have therefore given a low mark, although it could be argued this is total commitment to minimising emissions. 3/10
PERRY FARRELL - The Jane's Addiction frontman helped to pioneer the use of alternative fuel for festivals by running stages at his Lollapalooza on Biodiesel. The festival also boasts recyclable beer cups, 'sustainable' merchandise sold in bags made from corn, compostable or biodegradable plates, and recycling of leftover food. Best Foot Forward: Some good ideas here. Biodiesel may help emissions but will be a relatively small part of the overall footprint. The focus on catering, packaging and merchandise is good targeted planning, although we would argue that no bags are better than corn ones! 6/10
SERJ TANKIAN - The System of a Down star encourages fans to buy energy credits to offset travel, has recyclable bins available at gigs, and catering uses local and organic food. But that's not good enough for Tankian, who is investigating the possibility of using holograms for virtual gigs. 'I think we could reduce the need to travel if we could project ourselves into concerts'. Best Foot Forward: There is some really good, holistic thinking here. Serj has addressed what the fans can do and looked at food and waste at the venues which are all important. The last point - if he's serious - would hugely reduce the footprint although we know from Radiohead that live performances are very hard to substitute. 7/10
THE ROOTS - At their pre-Grammy bash last year the Philadelphia hip-hoppers gave away specially designed and autographed compost bins to promote composting. Best Foot Forward: Hmmm, composting biodegradable waste is recommended but giving away a few designer bins doesn't represent a great commitment to sustainability. 1/10
Best Foot Forward is an Oxford-based sustainability consultancy specialising in ecological and carbon footprinting.
