Can Music Festivals Go Scope 3 Neutral?

The environmental impact of live music is attracting growing scrutiny.

For the biggest festivals, with audiences in the hundreds of thousands, supply chains and indirect emissions, classed as Scope 3, are proving the most complex challenge to solve. That includes how fans travel, how artists tour and how every bit of kit and catering gets to the site.

Even with on-site energy getting cleaner, it’s the emissions far from the stage that remain the hardest to cut.

Festivals are notorious for the carbon they pump out—mainly because of how people and equipment get there.

According to US-based non-profit Seaside Sustainability’s 'The Environmental Impact of Concerts' report, a typical three-day music festival generates 500 tonnes of carbon emissions. That breaks down to around 5kg of CO₂ per person per day.

The bulk of these emissions fall into Scope 3; the greenhouse gases generated across a festival's supply chain and not directly by the event itself.

It’s this category that includes audience travel, artist flights, food suppliers, haulage and merchandise production. Plus, unlike on-site power or waste sorting, most of these are outside organisers’ immediate control.

At Coachella, one of the biggest festivals in the US, the pattern is clear. Of the 1,600 tonnes of waste the event generated in 2021, only one-fifth was recycled. But the real emissions culprit isn’t what’s left behind on-site—it’s how people get there in the first place.

In both the US and UK, 70% of music festival emissions are linked to travel. That’s cars, flights, logistics vehicles and artist transport, all of which fall squarely into Scope 3.

The festival’s attempts to address the issue include Carpoochella, which rewards carpoolers with perks such as merchandise or VIP upgrades. Cycle infrastructure is also in place, but limited to lit paths and secure bike racks. What’s missing is a consistent, accountable framework for emissions reductions.

Private jets use by artists adds to the Scope 3 emissions tally. In 2023, high-profile Coachella acts including BLACKPINK and Frank Ocean reportedly flew in by private aircraft—echoing wider criticism aimed at global stars like Jay Z. These are emissions neither audiences nor event organisers can easily address, but their impact is massive.

Lollapalooza India tries a different path

While Coachella leans on incentives, other festivals are adopting a more structural approach.

Lollapalooza India 2025 brought 140,000 fans to Mumbai and worked with the Earth Day Organisation (EDO) to put climate efforts front and centre. It set up an Earth Action Day Area with exhibits built from recycled materials and used the main stage to share environmental messages during performances.

This public approach is backed by artist partnerships, with Coldplay’s presence seen as a key influence.

The British band is known for integrating sustainability into touring. On its Music of the Spheres tour, the group pledges to cut direct emissions by half compared to its last global run and to plant one tree for every ticket sold.

"Coldplay’s commitment has set a global benchmark, proving that music and environmental consciousness can come together to inspire millions towards sustainable lifestyles," says Tom Cosgrove, Chief Creative and Content Officer at EDO.

These steps don’t just focus on what happens on-site—they try to reshape what live music’s global supply chain looks like.

The push for cleaner logistics, greener artist travel and audience incentives reflects a shift in how Scope 3 is treated: not as someone else’s problem, but as something to confront directly.

As EDO’s Debapriya Dutt put it, "when creativity meets consciousness, change happens."

Glastonbury tackles Scope 3 from the fields

Perhaps the strongest example of sustainable live music in action is Glastonbury.

The festival, held at Worthy Farm in Somerset, draws around 210,000 people each year. By scale, it would be the 28th biggest town in the UK if it were permanent. Yet it runs entirely on renewable energy.

Glastonbury’s commitment to sustainability began in 1984, but it’s taken on a new urgency. In 2023, all production areas ran on fossil-free electricity or solar battery hybrids. Even the Arcadia spider, the festival’s iconic fire-breathing structure, was powered using recycled biofuels made from waste cooking oil.

The festival's strategy includes major on-site recycling efforts. Around 12,000 bins are distributed to separate food waste, non-biodegradables and recyclables. Volunteers clean as the event goes on and all waste is then sorted at a temporary recycling facility built into a barn behind the scenes.

But Glastonbury also addresses Scope 3. It encourages public transport, has partnerships to reduce delivery emissions and engages with artists about greener touring. It might not control every flight, but it sets expectations.

“Sustainability and the need to live in harmony with the land, has always been vital to Glastonbury Festival,” says Emily Eavis, the event’s organiser.

She wants the festival to act as a challenge to others: “We power our 200,000-capacity event—all our stages, production areas and markets—entirely without the use of fossil fuels.

“If we can do this for our pop-city in this rural space, why can’t cities and larger businesses be run this way too? The technology is there to be invested in and utilised. We just need to be open to change.”

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