LONDON (Billboard) - The Rolling Stones are the first band in the world to
undertake an eco-friendly "carbon-neutral" tour.
Nine scheduled dates on the U.K. leg of the Stones' Licks world tour have been
made carbon-neutral through a deal with London-based for-profit company Future
Forests.
Having already calculated a method to make CDs carbon neutral, Future Forests
has now carried out a similar study for live music.
CarbonNeutral Touring is a scheme that measures emissions of carbon dioxide from
any concert and offsets this by planting natural forests and investing in
renewable energy.
Dan Morrell, Future Forests' president and founder, explains that the company
has worked closely with the Edinburgh Center for Carbon Management (ECCM) -- a
specialist team of scientists and advisers in carbon management to government
and industry -- to calculate the emission rate for touring. The factors taken
into account are venue size, distance between gigs and fan travel.
The Rolling Stones shows should bring 160,000 fans to the nine dates. "It is
estimated that each fan will produce 13 kilograms of carbon dioxide," he says.
"This takes everything into account -- even the power required for the venues.
But a staggering 90% of the total emissions are from fans' travel to and from
the gigs."
The ECCM has calculated that planting and maintaining one tree for every 60 fans
will make the Stones tour carbon neutral. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and
produce oxygen.
As a result, 2,800 trees are now being planted in two forestry projects in
Scotland -- one on the Isle of Skye and one in Inverness.
The cost of about 24,000 pounds ($37,700) works out to 15 pence (20 cents) per
ticket, which is being paid in this instance by tour sponsor T-Mobile, a
subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.
Future Forests and ECCM have only recently calculated the formula for
carbon-neutral touring. Morrell says he originally anticipated rolling out the
package early next year, when "it looks like it will become the norm worldwide,"
but the Rolling Stones were able to launch the initiative six months ahead of
schedule because of T-Mobile's willingness to pick up the costs.
Morrell comments: "Everything we do creates the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide,
from going to a gig to driving a car to boiling a kettle. Yet there is still a
lot of inertia in the public's attitude. The music industry is rallying to
proactive on climate change, empowering fans to take positive steps to offset
their carbon dioxide emissions in a way that is affordable and radically changes
the way people think and act."
Future Forests was conceived in 1996 around a campfire at Glastonbury Festival
with the late Clash frontman Joe Strummer (news). Today, acts including Coldplay,
Foo Fighters, Pink Floyd and David Gray (news) are involved in Future Forests
initiatives, and some 30 million CDs have been made carbon-neutral.