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The green transition in the music industry has a significance greater than its size, as music resonates with countless people and moves them. The music industry has the potential to act as a strong opinion leader and accelerate the entire society towards a more sustainable future.

Krista Kuu

The music industry operates in close interaction with several other creative sectors, such as the event industry, performing arts, audiovisual, and fashion sectors. Therefore, the climate and environmental work of the music industry also impacts the sustainability transition of other sectors. Through their own practices, solutions and choices, music actors can show what a good life that respects planetary boundaries looks like in the present, and outline positive futures through content, for example.

There is currently no comprehensive assessment of the climate and environmental impacts of the Finnish music industry, but the climate impacts of live music have been investigated in a two-year project. According to the report published in 2023, the most significant sources of climate emissions in Finland’s live music sector are transportation, procurement, and energy consumption of venues. Travel and logistics are an integral part of live music but also a major source of emissions.

In addition to the industry’s own actions, the emissions from transportation are influenced by Finland’s geographical location, long distances within the country, public transport connections, and the availability of bicycle parking, for example. The sustainability challenges related to tours affect all music genres and are evident not only in travel but also in accommodation. Besides geography, other challenges to more sustainable touring include economic factors, schedules, and the transportation of large instruments and equipment. Unsustainable touring practices have also been maintained by established industry practices, such as contracts with international artists that may prohibit the artist from performing elsewhere in Finland during the same visit.

In Finland, the majority of energy consumption at venues and events is directed towards heating, performance technology, and water consumption. The magnitude of these emissions is most influenced by the energy sources of heating and electricity, but also by factors such as the energy efficiency of buildings and the amount of unused space.

The music industry also has other environmental impacts, in addition to climate emissions. Biodiversity is affected by the exploitation of natural resources related to procurement and land use. It is important to remember that, in addition to the environmental burden within the country’s borders, the impacts of activities on the global value chain must also be considered.

Towards a More Sustainable Music Industry

Every music professional can reduce the sector’s climate and environmental burden through their actions. Helpful resources include easy-to-use digital tools and guides developed in broad collaboration projects within the live music field: the Live Music Climate Roadmap and Elma.live’s CO2 calculator and sustainability program tool. These are tailored specifically to the needs of the industry and are suitable even for smaller operators.

Assessing the carbon footprint of one’s operations helps to understand where the climate emissions originate. Based on this information, a plan can be made to reduce emissions, implement measures, and monitor the progress. Elma.live’s CO2 calculator, tailored to the needs of live music, is a convenient tool for assessing, monitoring, and reporting the carbon footprint of operations. The calculation with Elma’s calculator gathers consumption data from four emission categories: energy and venues, logistics, waste, and procurement.

The carbon footprint is only one, but significant, aspect of the environmental impact of an specific operational action. It is important to also understand other environmental impacts of one’s activities. In Finland, the calculation method for the biodiversity footprint is currently being developed in pilot projects, and Flow Festival, together with D-mat, has developed a carbon and material footprint tool for the event industry. Elma.live’s lessons and sustainability program tool provide information and practical action suggestions for both climate actions and promoting biodiversity.

In the live music sector, transportation emissions can be reduced by switching to low-emission vehicles, optimising logistics, avoiding one-off gigs, and favoring public transport whenever possible. Additionally, it is important to encourage the audience to travel in a low-emission manner and to strive to develop public transport in collaboration with authorities. Energy consumption emissions can be reduced by monitoring, optimising, and planning the energy consumption and switching to renewable energy sources. Climate and environmental burden can also be reduced by minimising food waste and other waste, sorting, renting, recycling, repairing, and borrowing. Attention must also be paid to the responsibility and lifecycle of procurement and production.

Well-known artists can act as role models for the audience in sustainability matters and promote sustainable practices within the industry through their actions. For music performers, one way to promote climate and environmental actions is through a green rider. This can highlight environmental goals in a familiar format and bring about more permanent changes that extend beyond their own activities. Musicians, composers, and music creators can also communicate their values and choices through their artistic content and public appearances.

Record labels, concert organisers, and venues also have an important role in the sustainability transition of music. The more renowned and reputable the operator or brand, the better the chances it has to create and spread new practices, not only through its own actions but also by including environmental measures in contracts and communicating these measures to audiences and stakeholders. Concert organisers and ticket offices can promote environmental issues collectively, for example, by offering environmental tickets or through event communication.

The choices of the audience have their own impact on the climate and environmental burden of music, and it is therefore important to invite and encourage the audience to take climate and nature actions together with music professionals. According to the latest Finnish Ilmasto- ja luontobarometri (Climate and Nature Barometer, 2025), Finns’ awareness of the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss has increased, and the majority support climate actions to achieve carbon neutrality. Key to engaging the audience in sustainability work is transparent, clear, timely communication across as many channels and languages as possible.

Climate and Environmental Work in the Music Industry

Many individual actors in the music industry have been engaged in climate and environmental work for years. The broader collective environmental and sustainability efforts of the music industry began in the early 2020s, with the initiation of discussion events, workshops, and projects such as the Kestävät tuotantomallit (Sustainable Production Models) project and the Finnish Musicians’ Union’s Vastuullinen musiikkiala (Sustainable Music Industry) project. Established in 2020, the Kestävän musiikkialan työpakki (Sustainable Music Industry Toolbox, KEMUT) network promotes the industry’s climate and sustainability actions and develops concrete tools for the sector. As of 2025, it has 20 member organisations and actors broadly representing the music industry. The network aims to facilitate sustainable development in the music industry through information exchange, joint ideation, communication, and advocacy.

Numerous music industry organisations are actively involved in the collective sustainability work of the sector. In their own operations, these organisations can share knowledge, skills, and best practices, build and coordinate cooperation to implement sustainable practices, network the industry with other climate wisdom promoters in society, and set an example through their own actions.

Awareness and expertise in climate and environmental issues within the industry have strengthened in recent years. Information and tools are already available, but the implementation of planned measures is often slowed down by a (deepening) lack of resources. If basic operations are threatened, sustainability measures are often the first to be compromised. The realisation of a comprehensive sustainability transition also requires enablers and continuity – without the investment of funders, authorities, and municipalities, many sustainability measures in the music industry may remain unfulfilled or only partially realised.

Live Music Projects as Pioneers

Sustainability collaboration began in 2020 when six umbrella organisations for live music founded the KEMUT network. The founding members are Finland Festivals, LiveFin, Music Finland, the Finnish Musicians’ Union, the Finnish Jazz Federation, and the Association of Finnish Symphony Orchestras. The large-scale projects launched by the network and managed by the Jazz Union to promote the ecological sustainability of live music were implemented between 2022 and 2024. The tools developed as a result of these projects – Elma.live, the Elävän musiikin ilmastoselvitys (Live Music Climate Report), and the Live Music Climate Roadmap – support music industry actors in their sustainability work.

The digital platform Elma.live provides information, support, and easy-to-use tools for promoting sustainable development to live music and other performing arts professionals. At the core of Elma are the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and it includes educational materials, a sustainability program tool, a CO2 calculator, and a community feature for information sharing. Elma’s content is available in Finnish and English. Professionals operating in Finland can use Elma for free, but some content requires registration. The implementation of Elma.live has received funding from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Finnish Music Foundation, the Finnish Performing Music Promotion Centre, and the founders of the KEMUT network and other industry actors.

The Climate Roadmap for Live Music defines the industry’s common climate goals, the themes of climate work, the roles of the actors and the key opportunities of influence in climate work. The roadmap was published in 2023. Its planning involved experts from the music and environmental sectors, and it was implemented by Positive Impact Finland. As of March 2025, around 100 actors have committed to the roadmap’s goals. The commitment can be signed at viileamusiikki.fi. The roadmap is part of the broader Finnish Jazz Federation’s Carbon-Neutral Touring Model project.

The main themes of the roadmap are the significant sources of emissions in the industry, namely transportation, energy, and procurement, as well as cultural change, with goals set for 2030 and 2035. In terms of transportation, the short-term focus is on optimising logistics and driving with full loads. The long-term goal is to transition entirely to low-emission vehicles and develop collaborations to minimise one-off gigs for artists and improve the audience’s ability to attend events in a low-emission manner.

The 2030 energy goals include creating energy efficiency plans for venues and festivals and favoring renewable energy. In the longer term, the aim is to switch to electricity and heat produced entirely with renewable energy sources and, to some extent, to self-sufficient energy production.

Short-term goals for procurement and consumption include enhancing the circulation of materials and event production, transitioning to plant-based catering, and adopting principles of sustainable consumption. The 2035 goal is to mainstream the circular economy and end the culture of single-use items, offering a sustainable alternative to material consumption.

In the short term, the aim of the culture change is to engage the industry in collaborative climate action. In the longer term, the aim is for the music sector to lead the way towards a carbon-neutral circular economy and for the general public to choose climate-wise music experiences – and for climate wisdom to become the new normal.

The Elävän musiikin ilmastovaikutukset Suomessa (Climate Impacts of Live Music in Finland) study mapped the climate impacts of live music in Finland in 2022. The study is the basis for the sector’s Climate Roadmap. Data was collected from a total of 32 actors, most of which were festivals and events. The calculation was scoped according to the value chain of the live music industry, following the principles of the international GHG protocol. The report was carried out in collaboration with industry actors by Positive Impact Finland. The project was funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland, the Finnish Music Foundation, and project partners. Before the industry’s joint climate report, several individual music actors, such as UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra and Lahti Symphony Orchestra, had already prepared their own carbon footprint calculations.

Campaigns, Programs, and Pilots Accelerate the Sustainability Transition

In addition to the industry’s collective sustainability projects and tools, many individual actors and groups are working to advance the sustainability transition through their actions and by setting an example. Musicians, composers, music creators, and ensembles advocating for environmental issues and addressing these themes in their productions can be found across all music genres in Finland. The most visible artist-led collective effort for climate issues so far has been the Music Declares Emergency campaign.

In the campaign, a group of musicians, composers, music creators, and other music industry professionals and organisations jointly declare a climate and environmental emergency and demand immediate action from the Finnish government to protect all life on Earth. Music Declares Emergency is part of the international Music Declares Emergency organisation’s No Music On a Dead Planet campaign, founded in the UK. It was launched in Finland in 2024, and by March 2025, over 250 actors had signed the petition.

Finnish orchestras promote environmental work in collaboration with the Nordic orchestra field. In 2022, member orchestras of the Association of Finnish Symphony Orchestras signed a letter of intent titled A Future with Sustainable Culture together with other Nordic orchestras, and a year later, the Nordic Green Orchestra Guide was published, offering orchestras concrete tools for more sustainable operations. The 2024 Nordic Green Orchestra Accelerator program helped professional orchestras and ensembles implement the guide’s instructions. From Finland, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra participated in the program.

In recent years, the technologies used in the performance of music events and production budgets have generally been on the increase. Events feature more and larger stages, and more artists are holding concerts in stadiums or other large arenas. However, there is also a counter-movement to this development: sustainability pioneers are striving to reduce their environmental burden by, for example, reducing land use, minimizing the amount of materials and equipment used, and optimizing space usage. Live Nation, one of the largest event organisers, has had its own Green Nation sustainability program since 2019, which is also implemented in Finnish productions. In Finland, the program’s measures have primarily focused on energy solutions, waste reduction, and promoting a circular economy.

Warner Music Live and the Nordic Swan Ecolabel have also collaborated to develop the environmental sustainability of events. The Nordic Swan Ecolabel will publish the first criteria for events in summer 2025. These criteria have been tested, for example, at PMMP’s concerts at the Olympic Stadium in 2024. Efforts have been made to reduce emissions from audience travel, such as in Warner Music Live’s pilot project in 2022–2023, where arena tour concert tickets included public transport tickets for the Tampere or Helsinki regions. The climate impact of individual compositions has also been studied. The carbon footprint of the composition and premiere of Minna Leinonen’s work …and we are rotating with it was calculated in 2023 as part of the Meidän Festivaali’s Transition project.