Washington, D.C. 6 March 2019 – UN Environment has teamed up with the nonprofit REVERB to engage music fans to take action for the environment on tours across several countries this year. Harnessing the power of live music and working with artists committed to doing their part to tackle pressing environmental issues, the partnership will encourage individual actions at concerts and beyond.
Music tours, concerts, and festivals have a significant environmental impact, between travel, enormous energy consumption, and the waste generated by hundreds of thousands of concertgoers. But live music also brings people together around their shared passion and has the potential to create real, positive change for people and the planet.
REVERB and UN Environment will work with musicians to educate and engage music fans on environmental issues, mitigate carbon emissions, and reduce single-use plastic waste through the UN #CleanSeas campaign and REVERB’s #RockNRefill initiative, a partnership between REVERB and reusable water bottle maker Nalgene which has eliminated the use of more than 2.4 million single-use plastic bottles at concerts throughout North America since 2013.
“We wholeheartedly welcome the entertainment industry in joining government, civil society and private sector leaders in the fight for positive climate solutions,” said Barbara Hendrie, Director of the UN Environment Office for North America. “Musical artists are in a unique position to use their platforms as performers and public figures to build awareness and engage their fans to take action on a very large scale.”
“Music moves people to feel, to care, and moves us to action. REVERB uses this power to inspire millions of music lovers and music makers to take part in tackling today’s most pressing environmental and social issues,” said Adam Gardner, Co-Founder and musician with the band, Guster.
UN Environment’s community of experts and Goodwill Ambassadors are on board to support this initiative. According to UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador and REVERB Advisory Board Member, Jack Johnson: "Throughout a decade of touring, I've worked with my crew to reduce our environmental footprint and to inspire fans to take action in their own daily lives. We work with venues to conserve energy, reduce food waste and single-use plastic, and support carbon offset projects around the world.“
The partnership kicked-off last night as part of the 2019 Fleetwood Mac tour, where fans can visit the REVERB Action Village and take the Clean Seas pledge to eliminate plastic waste.
About UN Environment
UN Environment is the leading global voice on the global environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. UN Environment works with governments, the private sector, the civil society and with other UN entities and international organizations across the world.
About REVERB
Uniting around the music we love, tackling the environmental and social issues we face, REVERB is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering millions of individuals to take action toward a better future for people and the planet at concerts and beyond. We partner with artists, festivals, and venues to reduce the environmental footprint of live music and touring while engaging the music community – music-makers and music-lovers – to create real, positive change.
For more information, please contact:
Laura Fuller, Head of Communications, UN Environment - North America Office, laura.fuller[at]un.org
Tanner Watt, Director of Partnerships, REVERB, tanner[at]reverb.org
