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How Radiohead (fans) can reduce CO2 emissions
Radiohead have posted a report on Dead Air Space where they explain the schedule of the upcoming tour and the venues chosen, based on a report from ‘Best Foot Forward’ to reduce CO2 emissions. You can also read on the best ways to travel to the Radiohead shows to make your own contribution.
Earlier this year we asked an Oxford company called Best Foot Forward to look at the carbon and ecological footprints of two recent Radiohead tours, with the aim of reducing our carbon output. Touring is very important to us, a large part of the joy and passion of what we do, and we are committed to finding more responsible ways of doing it.
We asked Best Foot Forward to compare two different kinds of tours we’ve done recently in America: an out of town ‘big gig’/amphitheatre tour, and a smaller theatre tour in city centres.
We wanted to find out which kind of touring has the lowest carbon and environmental impact ‘per person entertained‘. We had lots of information to work out our own carbon footprint, but we had to make some assumptions about the fans’ footprint; how they travel, and how much beer they drink when they get to the show!
This is what we found:
- Fan travel and consumption made up 86% of the Theatre tour and 97% of the Amphitheatre tour.
- Of the band’s touring impact – Travel and energy use accounted for 60% (Theatre tour) and ~40% (Amphitheatre tour)
- International travel accounted for a further 34 – 40% of impacts.
Short of no-one coming to see us, we’d like to share with our fans some ways of reducing this – our early research suggests that how you come to our shows can significantly reduce the tour’s carbon output. To help achieve better results, we’re trying to play as many shows as possible in city centres because of their better transport links. From the Best Foot Forward report, the rough figures below give you an example of how much of a difference you can make.
For the big shows:
- If average car occupancy increased from 2.2 to 3, the whole tour’s overall CO2 output would be reduced by 22%.
- Halving fans flying would reduce overall CO2 consumption by 5%
- And if 10% of car users travelled by bus it would reduce CO2 emissions by 7%
Where we can, we will be reducing our own carbon emissions, starting with sea freighting our gear. It’s 93% more efficient than air freighting, and if we ship our equipment to and from America, we save 47 tonnes of CO2. We will be doing this for touring in 2008, along with travelling as little as possible by air, avoiding chartered flights, and investigating more efficient road and rail transportation.
You can download the whole report here.
We’re aware that this study is tentative and partial, but it’s a start, and we’ll share with you more information as we get it.
Love
Colin
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2003: ‘There There’ in Pitchfork’s singles list — Pitchfork [...]
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2002: Webcast with two brand new tracks! — Radiohead [...]
Make A Comment: ( 37 so far )
37 Responses to “How Radiohead (fans) can reduce CO2 emissions”
Greg
December 19th, 2007
I’ll buy a hybrid SUV if Radiohead agrees to let me drive them from venue to venue 
Kevin
December 19th, 2007
I m Going to Milan and Nimes by Bicyle 
!!!!! Byebyecico XD
iluvYa
December 19th, 2007
how about a 2 week run at the arena at madison square garden in nyc - i dont even know anyone who would consider driving to those gigs
public transportation
December 19th, 2007
obviously the band is just thinking how to save the ever worsening enviroment…but, i don’t think most people can afford to do all that….but still, get those US gigs up please!!!
hpgirl
December 19th, 2007
No charter flights?? Does this mean I can sit next to Thom on Virgin airlines??
Eric
December 19th, 2007
damn i’m traveling half a planet to see them at nimesm by plane and train.
bug
December 19th, 2007
How Radiohead fans can reduce CO2 emissions: Breathe less!
Rusty Manseau
December 19th, 2007
BTW: Here’s the Wikipedia page on CO2, including this factoid: A person’s exhaled breath is approximately 4.5% carbon dioxide.
Rusty Manseau
December 19th, 2007
What is this all about?
music only please
Niblet
December 19th, 2007
Niblet - if you think Radiohead are just a
about the music you really haven’t been
paying attention.
Andy
December 19th, 2007
Too bad the London venue is shit and probably the worst connected of all possible. People will have to use cars instead of tube or rail!
Alex
December 19th, 2007
Fantastic that radiohead are thinking and speaking about this topic. I’m inspired — I’ll take light rail to the next show. And small venues! Thank god, I’m really tired of amphitheater shows
raduga
December 19th, 2007
nibble nibble
Niblet
December 19th, 2007
I hope they factored in numbers of people in attendance. Smaller venues means fewer people get to see them, and the need for more dates. Larger venues means more people can see them at once.
Still, it’s quite a noble effort, unless they pick the crappy Hummingbird Center in Toronto again, at which point I’ll be annoyed. The Air Canada Center hockey arena is accessible by public transportation, you know? And it would avoid a date conflict with my Cure ticket for a show at that same venue.
Muldfeld
December 19th, 2007
@Muldfeld
Come again? Hummingbird centre is accessible by public transit too.
But seriously, this is a good thing that they’re doing. It would’ve been hypocritical (given that they’ve all been fairly active in trying to pass legislation to reduce global warming) if they weren’t doing such stuff for the enviornment.
babukhan
December 20th, 2007
fellow torontonions,
i think you’re forgetting the ACC seats 20 000 or more. that’s hardly a small venue. but yeah, hummingbird sort of sucks.
456518
December 20th, 2007
I have a GREAT IDEA… Have an account made just as the Pay What You Want Disc… BUT IN CONCERT APPLICATION… Get a small theater(WITH NO FANS PRESENT PLEASE. HEARING THEM SCREAM OVER RADIOHEAD SONGS DRIVE ME NUTS!!!) Have a pay what you want section and allow us to pay for the concert in exchange for a live concert( 30 plus songs PLEASE:)) and a recording on a disc from a home computer that I can download immediately. I would pay for a live concert that I could listen to from the confort of my own house. I wouldn’t have to drive. I would even pay for the food that is advertized for the new keyboard and lights that make a concert atmosphere unique. If Radiohead is reading this, please make it happen!!! The true fans that could not afford to see a concert anyways would pay at least a dollar for that. EXTRA CASH IN HAND AND A HAPPY FANBASE.
Raymond Swartz
December 20th, 2007
And also… people would drink at home so there would be less Drunk Drivers on the Road… Radiohead… You have been very entertaining to me when you had live feeds… Now is the chance to push this idea forward and capitalize on it as well.
Raymond Swartz
December 20th, 2007
Amazing that you think your idea is not only decent, but genius and crucial for everyone to consider. It’s neither.
Capn Blubberbeard
December 20th, 2007
PLEASE DON’T FART WHILE RADIOHEAD IS PLAYING. MUCH LESS CO2
fart
December 20th, 2007
No Alex, Victoria Park in London is an excellent venue, And of course you have Mile End station just 15 min walk. I live 5 blocks away from the park. I got tix for that one because I DON’T NEED TO USE CAR, TUBE, BUS or anything. I might even make a party or a pre-concert fan gathering with drinks! And Then I’ll recycle those beer cans Who wants to come?
Cee
December 20th, 2007
Finally a band that do themselves what they ask us to do, and aren’t just jumping on the bandwagon. That’s why I love this band.
andy
December 20th, 2007
Alex - I agree with Cee - there are perfectly good transport links to Victoria Park, and it’s not ’shit’ - I loved the shows they did there in 2000. It’s on bus routes that link to Waterloo, and the tube is walking distance.
The Suburbanite
December 20th, 2007
maybe they’ll play yellowstone national park and i could ride my snowmobile to the gig. *rolls eyes*
kavorka
December 20th, 2007
It can only be a good thing that Radiohead is taking what strides they can to influence people. Frankly, a Radiohead tour is pissing in the ocean when it comes to greenouse gas emissions, but it is going to take lots of convincing, especally in the U.S., to get people to realize the damage that’s been done, and the damage that is still to come. It is worth noting, however, that the real culprit is coal. If coal-fired plants were phased out and replaced with nuclear, wind, solar, and hydro-electric plants we could reduce CO2 output by much more than any increase in fuel efficiency standards for automobiles. Herein lies the problem with Radiohead’s stance, and with the left wing in general: nuclear power is the answer, and the issues of waste disposal are challenging but surmountable. You can’t have it both ways, if we’re going to quit coal something has to replace it, and nuclear power is the only suitable option for large-scale power generation that does not emit greenhouse gases. So please, go on tour, play big venues, and let us have our pizza. Lobby the governments to end construction of coal plants and to invest in nuclear power.
mike
December 20th, 2007
and beer…
mike
December 20th, 2007
This might mean that they will play at the Staples Center in L.A. since it’s within walking distance from the Metro Blue Line.
T
December 20th, 2007
you’re pretty ignorant if you think nuclear’s the answer. i suggest you get your facts straight.
\\c
December 21st, 2007
Every person can get a near free concert. driving a car $20 dollar for gas, $150 for car payment, $100 dollars for insurance, Paying for a t-shirt $40, Traffic $Sucks,
Burning all that CO2 in the air $Choking, Pay What You Want for backyard concert of Thom Yorke’s House $Priceless, Paying $10 to $20 dollars for a live concert because you went VIA the internet $Becoming the New Way of Doing Music… The poor and people living in the boonies can’t afford or get to a concert $Millions of viewers… Have a Pay For What You Want Radiohead and receive lots of Happy Fans who want to see a concert no matter what and You don’t want(have) to fly around the world while saying what you wish to share about the world and Global Warming. I will listen for hours of music and changing the world for the goodness and Mother Earth or Ourselves. Twenty to Thirty Radiohead classics and old rendition of other peoples songs would be a Great Concert.
Raymond Swartz
December 21st, 2007
My facts are straight, friend. I wonder which facts you are referring to? Nuclear power is safe and clean when operated under appropriate safeguards. I am an engineer by trade with experience in power generation, for the record, so be careful if you want to debate the “facts” you so vaguely imply knowledge of. Please, suggest a better alternative that will power not only our homes, but also industry as well..
mike
December 21st, 2007
There are big problems with nuclear power, no one can deny that. In the U.S. the plants are too often operated by companies who care less about safety, and poorly regulated in many respects. I can only imagine the problem is much worse in China, India, Pakistan, etc. Nonetheless, it is going to take a huge international effort to reduce CO2, and part of that has to be a large investment in clean power generation, of which a substantial portion is going to have to come from splitting atoms, like it or not. Or we can accept the fact that we’re going to spend the next 500 years burning all of the coal in the earth at untold cost.
mike
December 21st, 2007
I think it’s fantastic that you all are considering your ecological footprint. I’ve been a big fan for a long time and was so overjoyed to see this whole explanation. I for one will definitely use public transportation, maybe I’ll even bike there if possible!
keep up the awesome work, every little bit counts!
Erin
December 25th, 2007
God bless you Radiohead! Again and again they verify for me why they are The Greatest Band Ever. Because it’s NOT just about the music. If the music weren’t great, really no one would give a shit. But because it is great, it affords them the opportunity to say, “Right, now that I have your attention …” and ASK us to think about how we’re living and how we might work to make this planet better. Make no mistake, out little Earth is running a fever, but we can do something about that! It’s not too late. Praise, praise.
Honky D
December 27th, 2007
Mike: nuclear power is not a solution to anything. The only reason nuke plants can operate in the US at all is because of subsidies from the federal government. It is NOT cost effective, that is a myth. And that comes from an expert: see S. David Freeman’s “Winning Our Energy Independence: An Insider Shows How.” Freeman ran the Tennessee Valley Authority and personally shut down eight nuclear power plants. Had he kept them online, he would have bankrupted the TVA and passed the bill along to ratepayers. So go ahead and debate the facts all you want, but you have your “facts,” and I have mine.
The solution, as Freeman attests, is solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biofuels. We already have the technology and resources to do this. All we lack now is the political will to properly address this problem. We must elect politicians who appreciate the urgency and importance of this problem. I recommend voting for Green Party candidates at all levels. Go Green, not just in your lifestyle but at the ballot box too!
Honky D
December 27th, 2007
I have no problem paying more for energy, part of the problem in the US is that people are used to paying much less for fuel than in Europe. It will cost substantially more, especially in the short term, to convert to new energy sources, not limited to nuclear power, but certainly including new investment in nuclear plants that are safe and efficient. Biofuels and hydrogen are the truly mythical of this bunch, as they do cause significant CO2 emission in their production, as well as in consumption of biofuel. But considering that there are plans for over 150 new coal-fired plants in the next decade in the US, how do you put a dent in that ecological footprint without nuclear power?
mike
January 2nd, 2008
Last thoughts on the subject: France does pretty well generating 70% of their electricity from nuclear plants, and you a steep carbon tax could help subsidize not only nuclear, but also new hydroelectric, wind and solar power. It’s gotta happen if we’re serious about reducing atmospheric CO2 in our lifetime, and we’re going to have to find better ways to get the CO2 out of the air, stop deforestation, etc. A huge international effort is required, and you are correct we need a president who is serious about this issue. So don’t waste a vote on the Green Party in the US, they can’t win. Just don’t sit home or vote Republican.
mike
January 2nd, 2008
So in other words is going to be damn near impossible to get tickets for Radiohead in America at face value! Small theatres suck!