Lahti Symphony Orchestra as a Pioneer in Climate Work
Lahti Symphony Orchestra began pioneering work to develop a carbon-neutral symphony orchestra in 2015 and has received awards and recognition for its sustainability efforts.
The goal has been to set an example, encourage solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis, and participate in slowing climate change by gradually making the operations of the orchestra more sustainable. The city of Lahti aims for carbon neutrality by 2028, making the orchestra’s sustainability work a natural part of the overall effort.
The carbon footprint of the orchestra was calculated in 2015 in collaboration with the Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT). Pilvi Virolainen‘s master’s thesis identified the most significant sources of Lahti Symphony Orchestra’s climate emissions and ways to reduce and offset these emissions. In the same year, Lahti Symphony Orchestra and the Myrskyvaroitus – Storm Warning association began a collaboration that included a sustainability workshop for the entire orchestra staff and the creation of an action plan to achieve carbon neutrality. Engaging the staff in the project from the action plan development stage has propelled the sustainability work.
According to the carbon footprint calculation, transportation is the most significant source of emissions at Lahti Symphony Orchestra. Audience travel accounts for about 60% of the carbon footprint, as most attendees arrive at events by private car. The orchestra’s international tour flights also contributed significantly to climate emissions.
Ways to reduce private car use have been actively explored. According to Lahti Symphony Orchestra’s audience survey, the majority of the audience is over 65 years old and prefers driving due to its convenience. Poor public transport connections and the ease of driving were reasons why up to 63% of respondents said they were unlikely or very unlikely to attend Lahti Symphony Orchestra events by public transport in the future. For example, better information about public transport, a free concert bus from the city centre to the concert hall or a reduced-price ticket for public transport on the day of a concert are all identified ways to encourage the public to use public transport. As part of Lahti Symphony Orchestra’s sustainability work, small groups from the orchestra have performed local tours in Lahti, travelling on foot or by bicycle.
Influencing audience behaviour is crucial in the orchestra’s sustainability work, but change is slow. However, audience research conducted by Lahti Symphony Orchestra has shown that the classical music audience is interested in sustainability issues. From the beginning, the audience has clearly supported the environmental efforts of Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
As part of the Carbon-Free Lahti Symphony Orchestra project, orchestra members planted 6,000 spruce saplings in Hollola, Finland, in 2019. The tree-planting was done in collaboration with the Forest Management Association Päijät-Häme (Metsänhoitoyhdistys Päijät-Häme) on private forest land. For every tree felled in a final harvest, 4–6 one-and-a-half-year-old seedlings from a nearby nursery were planted in their place. In 2023, Lahti Symphony Orchestra celebrated International Day for Biological Diversity by organising an event where orchestra members built birdhouses, collected twigs and litter, maintained bicycles, and challenged everyone to participate in Finnish Broadcaster Company YLE’s Million Bags of Litter (Miljoona roskapussia) campaign.
In recent years, a lack of staff resources has slowed the progress of sustainability measures at Lahti Symphony Orchestra, but the work is intended to continue, and plans are in place. During the 2023–2024 season, a group of students from LUT prepared an updated status report and further action proposals for Lahti Symphony Orchestra’s environmental work. Several new measures and policies aimed at reducing emissions are already in use: those living outside Lahti can attend rehearsals via shared transport, tour planning minimises flying and travel, musicians travel primarily by bus or train within Finland, and instruments are transported by truck.
According to the status report, the majority of Sinfonia Lahti’s climate emissions are generated indirectly, such as from audience transportation and energy consumption at the congress and concert centre Sibelius Hall, which are difficult for the orchestra to influence. However, Lahti Symphony Orchestra has the opportunity to be a leader, making it important to communicate about sustainability actions, for example, on social media. A survey conducted by the students revealed that better public transport from the city centre to the concert hall could be the most effective way to reduce emissions. Additionally, respondents were more willing than before to offset their emissions, for example, through parking fees, with the funds directed towards emission compensation or other environmental actions.