Why the entertainment industry holds a unique key to climate action
The Entertainment Industry and Climate Impact: A Powerful Paradox
The entertainment industry, renowned for its creativity, glamour, and cultural influence, is also an inevitable contributor to climate change. From large-scale festivals and world tours, to film sets and broadcast infrastructure, the carbon cost of entertaining the world can be vast and varied. Travel and transport for tours, hundreds of thousands of individual journeys taken from audiences, diesel-powered generators on productions, unsustainable, single-use materials used for set builds and merchandise, and massive temporary infrastructures all contribute to the environmental footprint.
As sustainability consultants working within the entertainment space, we’ve come to understand that this industry’s influence extends far beyond its own operations. And in that cultural power lies a huge opportunity to champion climate action.
Influence as a Climate Lever
While the environmental footprint of entertainment is sizable, its cultural footprint is even bigger.
Entertainment has unparalleled reach. Musicians, actors, directors, and creators hold influence that cuts across demographics and borders. When fans see the kinetic dancefloors, the energy generating bikes and the solar panels on the seats at a Coldplay concert, or the giant pink and purple wind turbine at Glastonbury, it sends a powerful message. One that can inspire action far beyond the venue gates.
And crucially, it opens up a conversation about sustainability that feels exciting, not shaming; forward-looking, not restrictive.
Creativity Meets Climate Action
One of the most exciting things about this sector is its imaginative potential. The people who bring stories to life on screen and stage are natural problem-solvers. That same creativity can, and should, be applied to sustainability. Already, we’re seeing incredible innovation: fan generated energy to help power shows, batteries fed by multiple renewable sources powering stages, increasingly energy efficient AV equipment with some made from recycled materials, reusable cups with RFID systems to improve return rates, and audience campaigns that embed climate literacy into entertainment experiences.
Sustainability doesn’t have to limit artistry. Some of the most impactful productions I’ve worked on treated sustainability not as an afterthought but as part of the creative process. The result? More compelling work, richer storytelling, and greater legacy.
Sustainability Consultant Phoebe Currie
The Role of Sustainability Consultants
Sustainability consultants operate behind the curtain yet our work is integral to making these changes possible.
Our role blends environmental science with production acumen and communication strategy. We research and identify sustainable and circular solutions, advise on procurement; vetting partners and products, conduct carbon audits, help set emissions targets, design data collection plans, and create circular material and waste management plans and processes. We work closely with all parts of a production including; the producers, suppliers, artists, vendors, and crew.
But the work isn’t without its challenges. Budget limitations, siloed teams, and resistance to change can stall progress. Sometimes, sustainability is still perceived as a compliance issue, a “nice to have” or a paperwork exercise in a similar vein as health and safety, rather than a creative asset. It requires a dedication from the senior leadership or a requirement from the artists and talent, production company or even the sponsor, to put sustainability front and centre and drive transformation.
We’ve supported events, tours and productions to cut their emissions without sacrificing artistic ambition. We’ve helped build tools that make climate tracking easy, and advised on policy frameworks that embed sustainability into contracts, not just conversations.
Phoebe Currie and her fantastic work through her company Hope Solutions can be found on Instagram @hopesolutions_ and their website can be found at https://www.hopesolutions.services
