Late last year, Massive Attack staged a day festival in the band's hometown of Bristol that was the UK's biggest ever low-carbon gig.
This week, scientists from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research published a report that claims the event, titled Act 1.5, has broken a world record, generating the lowest ever carbon emissions for an event of this scale. Act 1.5 is said to have produced 98% less emissions than comparable shows.
The Bristol festival dramatically reduced its carbon footprint by relying entirely on battery power and serving exclusively plant-based food. All artists involved travelled by low-carbon transportation, and organizers collaborated with local rail providers to offer late-running trains and electric shuttle buses for festivalgoers. Single-use plastics were prohibited on site and the use of compostable toilets helped to reduce waste and transport emissions.
Massive Attack and the team behind Act 1.5 hope that the event will set an example for other artists to follow, showing that large-scale concerts can still be enjoyed without impacting the climate.
Speaking to the BBC, the festival's lead producer Mark Donne said the show was "the cleanest, greenest festival event ever staged". "Clean technology is ready – it just needs to be facilitated; fans want clean shows, that's very clear," he added. "The challenge for promoters and government now is to meet that need."
Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research's associate director Professor Carly McLachlan said that the event could "change the landscape" for outdoor festivals: "It demonstrated that there are real opportunities for promoters, providers, local authorities and central government to create the conditions for the UK to lead the world in super-low carbon events."
The report found that the majority of the Act 1.5's emissions (64%) were generated by the estimated 5% of audience members that travelled to the event by air, despite the organizers' attempt to entice Bristol-based fans with targeted ticket pre-sales.
