For the first time at the 2010 Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, a special roundtable session was held on the "greening" of music tours and production. The result was anything but predictable. Eight diverse and accomplished pros dove headlong into a two-hour conversation that began with the technicalities and practicalities of environmentally responsible touring practices. They ended on a deeper note delving into the value and worth of our industry "going green." "Touring on the Green" was co-moderated by legendary production manager Patrick Stansfield and myself – Chris Wangro, co-founder of GreeNow. Panelists included Mary Conde of Another Planet, one of the country's greenest festival organizers; Ford Englerth, director of production for Live Nation; Emmy award-wining production designer David George; eco-consultant Lauren Spellman, founder of Reel Green Media; and two of America's most knowledgeable and experienced transport experts – Sean O'Rourke of Roadshow Services and Steve Maples of Rock-it Cargo.
In our field, where textbooks and degrees matter less than experience and experimentation, it's not surprising to find iconoclasts who have learned to do things their own way. Agreement is not easily found on every point, which after all, keeps things interesting.
First Steps
For example, road masters O'Rourke and Maples spoke of the great difficulty and expense of utilizing biofuels in their trucks and buses and how, in fact, when it's looked at "on balance," the practice may be a break-even when it comes to the environment. Furthermore, utilizing bio in their vehicles adds considerable strain on drivers and crew. Why bother?
Others answered. Perhaps it is an important first step towards responsible practices. Perhaps because taking the initiative is proof of concept and may help turn the tide. Perhaps eco-responsibility is essential wherever we can practice it. Ours is an industry whose actions become news and whose stars become leaders. We are in a position, like it or not, to lead by example.
But let's face it; biofueled buses, like local-farm catering, just ain't for everybody. Further, many of these things aren't always possible. Again and again it became apparent that there is no one simple set of answers. We have not yet received the stone tablets laying down the eco-solutions that can be applied across the board. However, there is much that can be done on many fronts, which makes it okay to pick our battles.
For example, Conde spoke of how she and her festival team utilize environmentally-smart construction materials for sets and stages and then reuse much of it in subsequent years – admirable indeed. Yet for those without storage facilities and repeated demand, this is simply not practical. Some folks can substitute a product like "Eco Sheet," a recyclable product made from a mix of recycled polymers and other recycled material including waste electrical and electronic equipment, for standard ply when building sets, but can't get their hauler to compost. (Hey Mary, not everyone works in Berkeley.)
When I was prepping for the a Papal rally, I was stuck with throwing a semi's worth of ¾-inch ply down for roadbed, only to watch it turn into toothpicks in a matter of hours because I couldn't get my hands on any more "Rhino-Mat." That's the reality of the business. The challenge is what each person in the production food-chain can do to make a difference, each according to their needs, and each according to their ability, creativity and budget.
Looking Sideways
Speaking of budget, David George stressed that his ability to create designs that incorporate greener materials was often driven by price. There is no doubt that FSC (Forest Stewartship Council, a non-profit organization for the responsible management of the world's forests -ed.) lumber and other eco-friendly materials can certainly drive up budgets. So what is the answer? Sometimes the answer is to look sideways. George mentioned that he generally stuck with traditional construction materials but was working towards lighting design that stresses increased use of LEDs as a way of reducing the overall carbon footprint. Smart. Englerth mentioned that even though some of his trucks were standard diesel, he wanted to start re-thinking the overall routing of tours to shorten runs between dates, which could possibly do more to reduce emissions than any other change of practice, which is a major step. Of course, reducing the scale of over-all production would be another thing to consider.
Reducing the scale of production? Are you mad!?! Wouldn't our call for scaling back be akin to McDonalds suggesting ordering less fries as a way of curbing teenage obesity?
U2's tour came up as an excellent example of exuberant excess: 50 trucks, a 390-ton stage, and a few songs about saving the planet. Production virtuoso Ford Englerth has much experience in that arena. Skipping questions about possible hypocrisy versus a means to an end, the real question is: Are gigs that big really necessary? Would cutting down curb artistic vision? And if so, is that okay? What can we do to bring projects like this down to a less environmentally-detrimental scale?
Well, yes, and yes, and maybe no. There was general consensus that for real change to occur, artists will need take the lead and demand environmentally friendly practices. Tour buses are filled with bio when artists call for it, lighting designers switch to LED-heavy plots when artists go for it. All the effort and expertise of folks like those on the panel can't really do much to reduce the eco damage of a U2-sized tour until the artists have to reduce.
It All Happens Backstage
Artists pull up to Mary Conde's festival sites without demanding that her crew recycle signage or that she buy from local farmers. They might appreciate it, but fact is, most of them probably don't even pay attention. These practices come from those working backstage. Designers may not be asked by their clients to design with cradle-to-cradle in mind, but more and more creative solutions are being found. And as they do, they become common practice.
As the real gear-heads reading this know, product manufacturers too are increasingly improving eco-smart choices for everything from road cases to speaker cabinets, and it's the experts behind the curtain making the decisions what to throw on the truck. You catch the drift; whereas artists can be the lynchpin to positive action, it's also the job of producers, presenters and everyone backstage.
Increasingly, it is also being decided by those adoring fans out front, our ticket-buying public, the punters. Bono and the lads in U2 drew nasty protests and critical press from the day their tour launched. The Web was ablaze with blogs criticizing their choices, and I know from personal experience that folks at the United Nations were concerned about backlash from their associations with the band. No doubt there will be second thoughts throughout the industry before a tour of this size is mounted again.
