Ed Sheeran's "Divide" tour was the highest grossing concert in 2018. The British crooner sang to the tune of some 770 million U.S. dollars with shows in 99 cities across the world and a whopping 1.4 million attendees. 

But a tour of this scale takes a toll on the environment with the transportation of musicians, crew and equipment around the globe. A study estimates that live concerts and performances generate 405,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year. Meanwhile, approximately 23,500 tons of waste are produced by music festivals annually in the UK alone.

A collaboration between a trip-hop band in the British city of Bristol, Massive Attack, and the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in Manchester is hoping to change this by creating a roadmap that will allow musical acts to tour without harming the planet.

What will scientists be looking at?

The research is focused on making concerts carbon-neutral, not by offsetting, but by looking at where renewables can be used.

"The concept of offsetting creates an illusion that high-carbon activities enjoyed by wealthier individuals can continue," explained Robert Del Naja on behalf of Massive Attack in an opinion piece in The Guardian.

Instead the research will look at three key areas: Band travel and production, audience transport, and venue.

"We will be looking where switches can be made to renewable energy sources, how to reduce the amount of energy being consumed but also thinking about how touring could be different," said Professor Carly McLachlan, director of the Tyndall Centre.

This is critical since 34 percent of carbon emissions from live gigs come from the venue, 33 percent from audience travel, while band travel, accommodation, merchandise, and promotions also contribute to emissions.

Green musical tours 

The announcement from Massive Attack comes a week after Coldplay announced they will be putting their album tours on hold until it is "actively beneficial" to the environment.

Speaking to the BBC, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin asked: "We've done a lot of big tours at this point. How do we turn it around so it's no so much taking as giving?"

Massive Attack and Coldplay are not the first bands to put their carbon footprint under the microscope.

Radiohead, since 2008, has tried to make their tours as environmentally friendly as possible by holding shows in city centers to make use of well-connected public transport networks, running their buses on bio fuel, and sending their gear through ships instead of air freight. 

More recently, teen pop star Billie Eilish announced that her upcoming tour will be as green as possible, with no plastic straws and fans bringing their own cups. There will also be a "Billie Eilish Eco-Village" to educate concert-goers on climate change.

Demand for sustainable events on the rise

As climate activists cast a spotlight on the perils of climate change, consumers are also demanding for events to be sustainable.

In 2018 California's Coachella banned single-use plastic straws, winning widespread praise from supporters. Over Thailand, "Wonderfruit," an annual arts and music festival in Pattaya advocating for sustainable living, uses natural and locally-sourced materials for all constructions on site and seeks to transport attendees to a "sustainable utopia."

"If we have the opportunity to attend something as fun and inspiring as a music festival, we can't do it at the cost of other peoples' livelihood and natural resources. We need to embrace a circular mindset – to reuse what materials already exist and ensure that activities don't add unnecessary pressure on our environment and people who are less privileged," said Tasmine Vosloo, who attended Wonderfruit in 2018.

The key to making an event sustainable is to start from the point of planning, including the messaging to attendees, said Heng Li Seng, founder of Green Nudge, a Singapore-based social enterprise with a focus on reducing the amount of waste generated at events.

"This includes minimizing unnecessary waste such as plastic packaging on merchandise or shirts, which are typically thrown away the moment they are received" Heng said, adding that "setting the tone of the event by informing participants about the event going green helps to manage the expectations of certain measures."

While the move towards reducing the carbon footprint from concerts may see fewer gigs being held, and inconvenience for music fans, Del Naja said: "In an emergency context, business as usual – regardless of its nature, high profile or popularity – is unacceptable."