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Strengthening the Earth: Live Nation's Environmental Sustainability Charter

Live Nation Entertainment is the world's leading live entertainment company, comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, Festival Republic, Academy Music Group, C3 Presents, LN Media and Sponsorship, and Artist Nation Management.

Live Nation Entertainment has the power to change lives. We believe that empowering people through music is one of the ways we can make the biggest difference in the world. This applies to how we approach sustainability; 'Strengthening the Earth' is our approach to reducing our environmental impacts.

We depend on the environment to create world-class live events. We ensure environmental safety in our spaces and where our live events take place. The setting plays a crucial role in creating the unique atmosphere that forms lasting memories for fans.

We will demonstrate leadership in climate action by setting science-based targets that will ensure our reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are aligned with the commitments made in the UNFCCC Paris Agreement. This will ensure that we are contributing to the level of decarbonization necessary to keep the global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial temperatures, as outlined in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report of 2018.

Live Nation's Position on Climate Change

Climate change is real and happening now. CO2e levels in the air are the highest ever recorded. Extreme weather events have increased in frequency and intensity and have impacted the lives of many. This and other environmental issues, such as biodiversity loss, air pollution, sea-level rise, and ocean acidification, are showing that human actions are inadvertently leading Earth to a less hospitable state. With catastrophic losses in biodiversity reported in the Living Planet Report, the IPCC has set an urgent action timeline to limit warming, increased public awareness, and protests demanding government action. The need for governments, businesses, organizations, and individuals to work together to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions is more evident than ever.

As a global leader in live entertainment, we have a responsibility to preserve the live music experience for future generations and a tremendous opportunity to use our platform to inspire global environmental action.

We will work to reduce the environmental impact of our spaces and festivals to ensure that we are being responsible global citizens, caring for the communities where we operate, and doing our part to mitigate the most harmful impacts of global climate change.

We will leverage the creative spirit of our industry, motivate and inspire our fans, employees, artists, and market to take small but powerful actions at our events, for the benefit of the environment and beyond.

And we will leverage sustainability as a way to continue innovating and generating value for our business.

This Charter is:

  • A unifying vision that will capitalize on and accelerate the work that has been done to date, aligning us toward a common purpose of sustainability, elevating our efforts from incremental to revolutionary levels.

  • A set of ambitious yet achievable goals. We will align our efforts and goals with the most established global standards and frameworks currently in place, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Science Based Targets Initiative.

  • An inspiring platform for public engagement that brings together the best of live music, culture, brands, education, and science to address and inspire solutions to climate change among the industry, our employees, and the millions of fans who pass through our gates.

Approach

We have identified eight priority areas that make up our sustainability work: emissions and energy, resource use and waste (including plastics), water, food, public engagement, procurement, transportation, and local impacts. Each area has been assessed in the context of its impact and contribution to the relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals¹.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

In 2019, all Live Nation facilities and live events will measure their greenhouse gas emissions with the goal of establishing science-based targets that will ensure our reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are aligned with the recommendations outlined in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report of 2018.

This will enable us to establish annual reduction targets to meet our overarching goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% in scopes 1 and 2 by 2030.

Energy

We see the rapid transition to a low-carbon economy as urgent.

Our goal is for all our owned spaces, spaces operated by us, offices, and live events to be powered by 100% renewable energy. Our buildings and facilities will operate under certified energy efficiency standards.

Over the next 10 years, we will increase the share of energy from renewable sources and invest in energy efficiency measures and certifications. We will select partners and suppliers who can help us achieve our goal, support innovations, and test new technologies.

Resource Efficiency and Waste

Live Nation will prioritize waste reduction, followed by reuse and then recycling, energy recovery, and disposal.

Our goal is for all our offices, spaces, and events to produce zero waste to landfills and achieve a material recovery rate of 50% (or more) by 2030, considering local and national prerequisites.

We will report on our waste accurately and develop waste management plans with our providers. We will create closed-loop waste management systems in our spaces and events and support the development of a circular economy.

Plastic

We will eliminate the sale of single-use plastics in our spaces, own events, and events operated by us by 2021 at the latest. All items used thereafter must be reusable, renewable, certified compostable, or, if unavoidable, made from at least 30% recycled content.

This includes sample containers, cutlery, plates, cups, bottles, serving dishes, sachets, stirrers, and straws.

We will explore plastic alternatives available and align our partners toward the same goal.

We will implement a procurement policy that prioritizes:

  • Reuse over single-use

  • Renewable over finite resources

  • Certified compostable products where commercial composting facilities exist

  • Prioritizing products with the highest available recycled content; at least 30%

Water

We will provide good access to quality drinking water in our spaces and live events, reduce water waste, and identify high-risk areas that require water consumption restrictions. We will explore wastewater reuse and support innovation in this area.

Food

We see industrial food production and waste as an environmental issue. We will recognize the carbon impact of food and work with our suppliers to source food with the highest possible animal welfare standards. Providing healthy and quality food to our customers is a priority.

We will minimize the amount of food going to waste and make better use of composting facilities.

Engagement

Our sustainability objectives will be communicated clearly and transparently to our audience, and we will use our position and reach to engage with our customers and raise awareness about environmental issues. We will connect and collaborate with local and national environmental causes and organizations. We will engage in sustainability conversations within and outside the industry to share best practices and learn from others.

Partnerships and Procurement

We will work with our supply chain, partners, and sponsors to achieve mutual sustainability goals.

We will consider the full life cycle of products we purchase and enable the development of new markets to support sustainable products.

Transportation

It is important that all our spaces and live events have good public transportation connections, and we will work with suppliers and local authorities to encourage the use of sustainable transportation, such as buses, trams, trains, coach travel, and bicycles. Regarding unavoidable negative impacts, we will recognize, measure, and create positive impacts to balance them and promote this to our audience, artists, suppliers, and contractors.

Local Impacts

Ecology - Each venue and space has its own characteristics, and designs are prepared to take into account any ecologically sensitive areas, artifacts of historical heritage, or cultural significance. We will work respecting local conditions and conduct environmental or biodiversity impact assessments, if necessary, to protect local flora and fauna while our events take place.

Noise and Light - We will work to minimize the impact of noise and light pollution from our events.

Local Community - We support local charities and create local employment opportunities whenever possible. We will strive to measure the economic impact that our spaces and live events have on local areas.

Well-being - We will ensure the health and well-being of all employees and visitors.

Governance

The sustainability policy will be managed centrally and developed individually in each country, creating the capacity for each team to keep sustainability at the heart of our planning and operations.

Each participating country will develop an environmental management system and an action plan defining the steps that will be implemented to achieve our objectives.

In 2019, we will measure our environmental impact footprint using a standard approach and use this to establish gauges and objectives that we will work with every year. We will track, measure, and share our progress transparently and aim to publish annual reports. We will use certification systems when appropriate.

We will share experiences (positive and negative) about the changes we make, sharing best practices and learning from each other.

We will seek to continue developing and constantly improving this position.

[¹] Eleven of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals are directly relevant to live music events and are listed here: 3 - Good Health and Well-being, 4 - Quality Education, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy, 9 - Industry, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, 13 - Climate Action, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land, and 17 - Partnerships for the Goals.