By 2019, Dave Matthews Band’s touring program had cut 121 million pounds of carbon pollution, avoided 478,000 plastic bottles and raised $2 million

A concert tour leaves behind more than memories, merchandise and a packed venue. It also consumes fuel and electricity, generates food and packaging waste, and involves thousands of journeys by artists, crews and audiences. Dave Matthews Band began addressing those impacts in 2005, when it partnered with environmental organisation REVERB to bring sustainability into its touring operations. Over the following years, the initiative grew into a large-scale effort involving the band, its crew, venues, environmental groups and fans.According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), by 2019 the partnership had eliminated 121 million pounds of carbon dioxide pollution, prevented 478,000 single-use plastic bottles from entering the waste stream and raised $2 million for environmental causes. These were cumulative figures covering 15 years of touring, 20 tours, 578 concerts and about 10 million fans, not figures from 2019 alone.Turning the tour itself into a sustainability projectIt began in 2005 with the band’s BamaGreen Project. REVERB partnered with the Dave Matthews Band to assess the environmental impact of its touring operations and make changes that could be applied consistently from one concert to the next. The idea behind it was straightforward, because the band toured through various cities; the environmental impact of that travel should be counted as part of the concert tour. Other changes were less straightforward. Tour buses used biodiesel fuel, while food provided on the tour was locally sourced. Backstage recycling and composting were also introduced, along with efforts to reduce disposable items. The team also calculated greenhouse gas emissions and funded offset projects.Bringing the audience into the effortThe environmental campaign was not confined backstage. Through the concert venues, REVERB managed the BamaGreen Eco-Village, where fans could connect with environmental organisations as well as learn about local initiatives. This made it possible for the environmental campaign to have a tangible presence at the concerts, as the audience did not just listen but also became participants.According to UNEP, fans took part in 731,000 eco-activities by 2019. The Eco-Village also hosted about 1,000 nonprofits that connected concertgoers with organisations working on environmental and sustainability issues. Plastic waste reduction was one of the programme’s most visible efforts. Water stations and reusable water bottles were used to avoid single-use plastics.The overall waste-management figures were also significant. According to the programme, 338,000 gallons of recyclables and 138,000 pounds of food waste were collected for composting. It also supported local agriculture through 2,100 family farms, and audiences and volunteers contributed about 24,500 hours of volunteer work. These figures show how small efforts at each concert can add up across hundreds of shows. A single refill station may have limited impact, but using them at every concert can save thousands of disposable bottles over a tour.From 2019 milestone to continuing programmeIt was not until 2019 that the scope of the effort drew recognition from the United Nations. That year, Dave Matthews Band was appointed a UNEP Goodwill Ambassador for using its influence to promote environmental initiatives. The tour programme did not end with that recognition. Instead, Dave Matthews Band continued its collaboration with REVERB on later tours, keeping measures such as refill stations, reusable bottles, recycling, composting and carbon accounting. In 2021, REVERB estimated that the tour avoided more than 28,000 single-use plastic bottles and tracked more than 41,000 fan activities through the Eco-Villages programme.The significance of the Dave Matthews Band effort is that the band built environmental work into its normal touring operations. By treating concerts as part of the full touring process, from transportation and catering to waste and fan engagement, the collaboration addressed all of those impacts. Thus, the 121 million pounds of carbon pollution and 478,000 bottles reported in 2019 reflected many years of similar actions. These numbers show what is possible when changes are built into a touring band’s infrastructure and carried from one concert to the next.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.