Music for Sustainability

Most of us listen to music every day, but do we take the time and effort to look behind the production of these songs? By listening to music, we happen to support the people who created it, which often means a lot of money, or even more precious, popularity. These are forms of power one can use to influence others… If one is willing. Therefore, enhancing sustainability in your life can mean supporting artists who are eager to act on environmental or social aspects of sustainability and use their voices to spread the word.

We have created a playlist for you with some well-known artists who might be eligible for this group of people. Give it a go, you might even enjoy their music! And do not forget, there can be local or less popular artists who need your support as well. The artists we have included are Sting, Radiohead, Neil Young, Cloud Cult, Sheryl Crow, U2, Greenday, Alicia Keynes, David Matthew’s Band, Adele, The Roots, Massive Attack, Coldplay, The 1975, and Lizzo. Listen to the playlist on Spotify.

The following is an extract from three different sources (listed below), explaining how these artisits and bands embrace sustainability:

Sting: Performing under the stage name, “Sting”, Gordon Sumner is a Grammy-Award winning guitarist, vocalist and songwriter who is renowned for his work as both a solo musician and an ensemble musician with the rock band “the Police” between 1977 – 1984. Sting is heavily involved in human rights activism, having written songs inspired by his concern for world hunger and oppressive political regimes, and has also extended his activism beyond music by writing an open letter for the decriminalization of drug possession in the United Kingdom in 2011. He has also signed several petitions against the death penalty in Belarus and has cancelled concerts in response to human rights issues in several countries. Sting’s humanitarian activism has been recognized by Amnesty International and he has performed for the NGO’s Human Rights Concerts on several occasions.

Radiohead: English rock band Radiohead has been focused on sustainable touring for many years. In 2008, the band was already implementing eco-friendly actions on its tour, from swapping disposable cups to reusable options for crew, using biofuels for tour vehicles and banning air freight. It continues these practices today. In 2019, Radiohead’s official website was hacked, and the culprit stole unreleased music and held it for ransom. Ever so cooly, Radiohead responded by releasing the music on Bandcamp, and it donated all the proceeds to the environmental activist group, Extinction Rebellion.

Neil Young: He’s been to Hollywood, he’s been to Redwood, he’s been a miner for a non-black gold. Neil Young was one of the first eco-friendly rock stars, and practically pioneered the use of biodiesel fuel in the rock community. His 2004 tour used 15 vehicles that ran on fuels made partially from soybeans and vegetable oil. Young is also the owner of LincVolt, a 1959 Lincoln Continental refitted into a more fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle, which Young hopes to use as a model for future low-emission cars.

Cloud Cult: Cloud Cult husband-and-wife team Craig and Connie Minowa founded Earthology Records in Minnesota in 1997, with a focus on developing eco-friendly products. They literally started the label from the ground up: They built a recording studio on an organic farm and powered it with geothermal energy. They repurposed old CD jewel cases, printed liner notes with soy ink on recycled paper and packaged them in biodegradable shrink wrap. In 2009, they founded the Earthology Institute, a nonprofit that advocates green living.

Sheryl Crow: Singer and songwriter Sheryl Crow is another long-time climate activist, who was already campaigning to reduce toilet paper use in 2007 and toured on a biodiesel-fueled bus for a Stop Global Warming College Tour. Although Crow has said her 2019 album Threads is her last, she still remains committed to the planet. The musician has earned a Forces for Nature Award from NRDC for her environmental activism.

“Unfortunately I think there’s a large population of people that want to believe that climate change is a product of cyclical weather. And because the leaders they believe in are saying that, mainly out of convenience for them and their pocketbooks, they’re buying into it,” Crow told NME. “And I think we’re getting to the point now where we’re going to spend so much more money trying to undo what we had the opportunity to do years ago and didn’t do.”

U2: The most impressive part of U2’s environmentalism is that they have time for green work at all with their dedication to causes like (RED), UNICEF and Amnesty International. But one of U2’s earliest eco-friendly actions was working with Greenpeace in the early Nineties to protest the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing site in England. More recently, they worked with Greenpeace to protest the destruction of the Khimki forest in Russia, which ultimately helped save the woodland area.

Green Day: In 2006, Green Day partnered with the National Resources Defense Council to raise awareness about America’s dependency on oil, and started greendaynrdc.com to launch their campaign, Move America Beyond Oil. The project is designed to mobilize and empower music fans to demand clean and renewable energy solutions. Fans can get environmental tips, donate, send messages to political leaders and watch videos from the band. Also available: Green Day + NRDC dog tags, made from 100 percent recycled metal. If you’re a fan of Green Day and environmentalism, welcome to paradise.

Alicia Keynes: Dubbed as the “Queen of R&B”, American singer-song writer Alicia Keys has intertwined her passion for music with human rights activism through her extensive philanthropic work in her musical career. Keys is the co-founder of the non-profit organization, Keep a Child Alive, that provides treatment and social support to children and families affected by HIV in Africa and India. As part of her work in Keep a Child Alive, Keys host an annual fundraising gala called the Black Ball, where she invites major musical artists to perform at the event to raise funds for HIV and AIDS activism.

Dave Matthew’s Band: The Dave Matthews Band has worked in the sustainability sphere for many years, with an ongoing partnership with Reverb since 2005. By 2019, the band reduced emissions by 121 million pounds and raised more than $2 million for environmental causes.Their tours focus on reducing single-use plastics, improving composting efforts, promoting local foods backstage for crew, and using biodiesel for tour vehicles. The Dave Matthews Band is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations’ Environment Program.In 2009, the band released a song, “Dive In”, that addresses climate change and rising seas. Alongside a calming and even cheerful melody, the lyrics hauntingly go –

“Wake up you sleepyhead, I think the sun’s a little brighter today
Smile and watch the icicles melt away and see the water rising
Summer’s here to stay and that sweet summer breeze will blow forever
Go down to the shore, kick off your shoes
Dive in the empty ocean.”

Adele: Adele’s environmental efforts aren’t just good for the planet, they’re good for her home life: Her friend, Simon Konecki, is the CEO of Drop4Drop, a British charity dedicated to alleviating the world’s water crisis by funding sustainable, local clean water solutions in countries around the world. The famously social-media-shy singer tweeted her support for Drop4Drop, and let her fans know she’d start tweeting herself if 10,000 people started following Drop4Drop.

The Roots: In addition to their work with organizations like PETA and the Common Ground Foundation, the Roots are heavily involved with environmental groups. They played the Earth Day Climate Rally in Washington, DC, work to neutralize their C02 emissions while on tour and — alongside acts like Maroon 5, Sheryl Crow and Willie Nelson — partnered with environmental nonprofit Reverb to found the Green Music Group, which aims to facilitate the large-scale greening of the music community as a whole.

Massive Attack: Massive Attack, an English trip-hop collective, is known for its catchy beats and music to dance to, but it’s also making a name for itself in the sustainability realm. In a partnership with Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, the collective has outlined many ways for the music industry to minimize emissions, from refusing the use of private jets to transitioning to electric transportation for touring. The collective plans to practice what it preaches with an upcoming 2022 tour that will incorporate six emissions-reduction modules. Outside of the music industry, Massive Attack continues to ask the government to take action against the climate crisis.

“What matters now is implementation,” Robert “3D” del Naja of Massive Attack said, as reported by Pitchfork. “The major promotors [sic] simply must do more—it can’t be left to artists to continually make these public appeals.”

Coldplay: Coldplay achieved an overall 59% reduction in direct CO2e emissions compared to their previous tour (2016-17). They planted around 7 million trees, one for each concert goer – approximately 10 000 hectares of land restored across 24 countries and 48 planting projects. Also, 2 solar-powered The Ocean Cleanup River Interceptors were deployed. 86% of their LED wrist-bands were returned and re-used. They made partnerships with green travel providers, made water accessible for fans with refill stations, and saved over 3,000 tCO2e. For further information explore their website: https://www.coldplay.com/emissions-update/

The 1975: Pop rock band The 1975 has made strides in creating a more sustainable future for the music industry and fans alike. The latest merch is made of upcycled, repurposed older merch that is printed with the latest album art. Alternatively, when touring starts back up again, fans can bring their existing merchandise and have it printed on for free. The 1975 has also partnered with REVERB to make their touring experiences more sustainable. Most impressively, for the band’s latest album, Notes on a Conditional Form, the musicians partnered with climate activist Greta Thunberg for the title track, also called “The 1975.” In the song, Thunberg gives a chilling monologue over atmospheric melodies. The nearly 5-minute-long song has been streamed more than 7.5 million times on Spotify alone.

While the entire song is pretty empowering, the end really hits home, with Thunberg saying,

“So, we can no longer save the world by playing by the rules
Because the rules have to be changed
Everything needs to change, and it has to start today
So, everyone out there, it is now time for civil disobedience
It is time to rebel.”

Lizzo: No one makes veganism look cooler than Lizzo. On her Instagram and TikTok accounts, the star shows just how delicious vegan food can be for her millions of fans. Unlike many other celebrities of her ilk, Lizzo also doesn’t own a car, and if she decides to buy one, she told Audacy that she’d go for an electric option.

“Everybody thinks that we’re killing the Earth, but we’re not,” Lizzo told Audacy. “The Earth is older than us and she knows exactly what she’s doing. And she’s like, ‘Listen, y’all keep playing with me. Keep playing with me. I’ma get rid of all the cute animals that you like. The hot places gonna be cold, and the cold places gonna be hot. Keep playing with me.”