GreenMyBand

Julie's Bicycle is helping a group of 10 songwriters, musicians and performers to find ways to reduce the carbon impact of their creative work.

The Greenmyband project offers a chance for artists and their management teams to take practical action on climate change by adopting low-carbon standards in areas such as touring, travel, product packaging and studio operations. 

Turning talk into action

Julie's Bicycle was founded on the principle of taking action on climate change rather than just talking about the issue. "We often see high-profile artists and musicians encouraging their fans to act on climate change, but they may not have considered the impact of the decisions they make when it comes to their own work," says Alison Tickell, Director of Julie's Bicycle.

"Greenmyband encourages artists to turn inwards and reduce the carbon emissions generated across all areas of their work. One of the most powerful actions an artist can take is to request that the people who supply services to them - whether it's live venues, CDs, merchandise, transport or something else - work within certain low-carbon criteria. Our aim is to catalyse artists to create a low-carbon supply chain for the music industry."

Developing the programme

The Greenmyband project team is working closely with the pilot group of 10 artists to develop and refine the programme, which will draw on the Industry Green low-carbon certification scheme developed by Julie's Bicycle. "It's important for artists themselves to be able to shape the programme so that it meets the needs of those working in the music industry and can easily be extended to a wider audience," comments Alison.

The team will use the lessons they learn through the pilot project to develop an I-Greenmyband online resource to help others within the music industry reduce the carbon impact of their supply chains.

Catalysing change

Alison says that the music industry is already showing strong interest in the Greenmyband initiative and there's a clear willingness to tackle the issue of carbon emissions, but she also recognises that there's a long journey ahead.

"The kind of changes we're asking people to consider can't be made overnight. Supply chains in the music industry can be quite complex and in some areas we're talking about making profound changes," explains Alison. "We're in a good position to catalyse a highly influential community of artists and musicians, but it's important not to rush things and to allow time for a well-thought out process to take place."