Labels including Warp Records, Ninja Tune, Anjunabeats, !K7 Music and Beggars Group are among the names to sign up to a new ‘Music Climate Pact’, which seeks to reduce carbon emissions across the music industry.
Initiated by the UK’s Association of Independent Music (AIM), and also incorporating major music groups such as Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, the pact requires founding signatories to sign up to one of two schemes by February of next year – the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) or the UN-backed Race to Zero SME Climate Commitment.
Developed with support from the UN Environmental Programme, the Pact will seek to unite and bring forward existing climate initiatives, as well as spearhead new ones.
Members also commit to sharing data, insights and resources, as well as providing support for artists to engage and speak up about climate issues.
The Pact is also hoping to recruit more companies, with hundreds more businesses from around the world expected to sign by June 2022.
No one business can solve the climate crisis.
— AIM (@AIM_UK) December 14, 2021
That's why AIM convened the global #musicclimatepact with leading music businesses and guidance from @UNEP. Together we are taking collective action to decarbonise the music industry.
Find out more here: https://t.co/0sm9ClBRLU pic.twitter.com/sauvW4Gy1L
“Music is a powerful force for community and communication, from live shows to live streams, from music on social media to the simple sharing your favourite music with friends,” commented Peter Quicke, co-CEO of Ninja Tune.
“So we have a responsibility to ensure the power of music is used to help combat the climate crisis, that the voices of artists and labels are used to call for change. One key part of that is for music to reduce its own footprint, and to engage with our upstream and downstream partners in reducing their footprint, and so accelerate the response to the climate crisis – the Music Climate Pact is a big step along this path.”
The Pact’s founder Signatories commit to:
- Take individual and collective action to measure and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions (scopes 1, 2 and 3)
- By February 2022, have either signed the Science Based Targets standard commitment letter stating that we will commit to setting science-based targets or will have joined the Race to Zero programme
- Work together as an industry to establish carbon measurement methodologies, tools and frameworks backed by climate science
- Work in partnership with shared suppliers and digital streaming platforms (DSPs) to obtain data and drive emission reduction projects in a collaborative fashion
- Support artists in speaking up on climate issues
- Communicate openly with fans about the impacts of the music industry.
Follow #musicclimatepact for updates.