For sustainable travel and ways of living to flourish, spreading awareness and acting on it are unavoidable realities. And Coldplay, the renowned band, has taken a significant step in that direction.
In a move that is sure to increase their fanbase, especially among environment-conscious people, Coldplay has recently launched a special app to go hand-in-hand with their ongoing Music Of The Spheres World Tour. The free app called Music Of The Spheres World Tour App allows the band’s “fans to plan low-carbon and sustainable travel to and from their shows”. Relevantly, the band kicked off their eco-friendly tour in Costa Rica earlier this year in March.
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The app and the initiative have a 12-point plan to curb carbon emissions. Ecolibrium reports that three principles in particular are central to achieving a net-zero tour. These principles are:
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Reduce: reduction in consumption, wastage and other emissions by 50%
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Reinvent: finding new means to build sustainable low-carbon touring methods and other new green technologies
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Restore: finding ways to reduce CO2 produced and funding nature-based projects
The band has collaborated with System Analysis Program (SAP) to create the free app. While the band plans its routes to avoid air travel or pays a surcharge for sustainable aviation fuel (which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 80%) when it is necessary, and commits to using biofuels and electric vehicles for freight and land transport, it is now encouraging people to do the same with this app. The Music of the Spheres World Tour App rewards fans with discounts on their merchandise should they travel sustainably. The app also measures the carbon emissions generated by the travelling fans, so that it can be offset through measures such as reforestation and soil regeneration. By the band’s and the app’s estimates, the average carbon footprint of the fans is down by 50% from the figures in 2016–17.
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The app comes in the aftermath of Coldplay donating songs to EarthPercent’s Earth Day initiative, which saw music artists help organisations fight the climate crisis by contributing songs, the proceeds of which went into funding EarthPercent’s core activities. Speaking to the media, Coldplay stated, “We’re really proud of the ‘Music Of The Spheres World Tour App’. For the past few years, we’ve been figuring out how to put sustainability at the heart of our tour. The app is a big part of that. You can use the app to figure out the cleanest and greenest ways to get to and from the concert. It also allows us to see how people have travelled to and from the shows so that we can draw down all those emissions. You can also get right to the heart of the tour with exclusive photos, performances and behind-the-scenes access.”
No step is small enough when it comes to saving the environment. One hopes that other famous acts also follow Coldplay’s lead in offering other vital and noble interventions that will help them fulfil their social and environmental responsibilities.
