The Act 5.1 festival took place on August 25, 2024, at Clifton Downs in Bristol. It was a 100-percent battery powered event, using electric vehicles, only serving vegan food, and working with local rail providers to allow as many concertgoers to arrive by train as possible. The band brought a minimal amount of equipment with them, and every artist on the bill travelled by low-carbon means such as coach or ferry.

To deter long-distance travel that would harm the environment, the band offered a presale of tickets for local buyers from Bristol, Bath, Glousterchire, Swindon and Taunton. They also encouraged attendees to use public transport, and teamed up with UK booking platform Train Hugger, which gives a quarter of its revenue to efforts to restore the British countryside.

The scientists behind the report hope that Act 1.5 can become a blueprint for organizing climate-conscious festivals. Professor Carly McLachlan, associate director at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, said: “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 carbon emissions that the event generated were from the five per cent of concertgoers who had flown to Bristol. Evidence suggests that air travel to gigs is increasing, as artists are playing international tours with fewer locations. Artists like Taylor Swift have caught criticism for their extensive use of private jets.

Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja said: “There’s a huge question now for tour planning, but also for media and promoter marketing campaigns high on the glitz of epic summer tours that normalise leisure aviation.”

The Bristol trip-hoppers have stayed environmentally conscious for a long time, standing against airport expansions and previously teaming up with the Tyndall Centre to publish a report on eco-friendly touring. They recently revealed they turned down a slot at Coachella 2025 due to concerns about the environmental damage the festival can cause.

To the NME, Del Naja said: “We said no to Coachella for next year because again, we’ve been there once, and once was enough. It’s in Palm Springs. It’s a golf resort built on a desert, run on a sprinkler system, using public water supplies. Mental. If you want to see something that’s the most ludicrous bit of human behavior — it’s right there.”

The band have also recently expressed a desire to release some new material. Their last release came in 2020, with their EP ‘Utopia’. In an interview with the NME, Del Naja said: “We do have some new music which we’ve been sitting on for four years. Hopefully we’re going to be able to release it next year (2025) and do some gigs.” They’ve also been announced as headliners for this year’s LIDO festival – more on that here.

It’s an admirable move and one that will likely cause a domino effect amongst other like minded festivals that haven’t caught on yet. In a statement on their website they say “We have signed up to the Drastic on Plastic pledge and will no longer be using single use plastic on our festival site. Due to being a single use plastic, and in-line with our sustainability policy and Love Saves Tomorrow ethos, glitter (including bioglitter) is now banned on site.” Say goodbye to any hopes of turning heads with that 70’s sparkle and shine then folks, it’s doubtful Ziggy Stardust would pass security with this mission statement.

Proudly presenting our 2022 lineup! Join us to celebrate a decade of love. Tickets on sale now! Secure your place at Ashton Court for the biggest Loves Saves The Day festival yet! pic.twitter.com/p86IXQjTmp

— Love Saves The Day (@LSTDBristol) January 27, 2022

The predominantly EDM led lineup will this year see the likes of Bicep, Chase & Status, Mura Masa, Korupt FM, and Caroline Polachek perform, with Arlo Parks and Easy Life also due to grace the stage for those after a slightly more organic touch. It will mark the festival’s 10 year anniversary and the first time they’ve based themselves in the iconic grounds of Ashton Court Estate. The festival will also be teaming up with Big Green Coach to help transport patrons to the grounds with as little carbon footprint as possible. There’s no intel currently on whether or not David Attenborough will be showing up at Love Saves The Day like he did when he surprised thousands getting up on the Pyramid Stage to praise Glastonbury’s green efforts in 2019, however if he doesn’t show I’m sure they’ll be doing the big man proud in his absence.

Well done Love Saves The Day! You can get your tickets here.

The main question this group considers is: can the restart post-pandemic be green? ‘The music industry has the opportunity to lead here,’ Lewis Jamieson, a spokesman for Music Declares Emergency, states. ‘It can become the exemplar of a green recovery, and help the public to understand and support what that idea means’. Indeed, British label Ninja Tune and other indie labels such as 4AD, XL and Rough Trade announced major carbon reduction commitments, with Ninja Tune having recently announced an extremely detailed plan responding to European Independent Music Companies Association’s sustainability drive. 

Another central idea announced this week, and affiliated with Brian Eno, is Earth Percent. This initiative is aiming at collecting around £72m by 2030 from the music industry itself to transition completely to a green and sustainable business. The proposal includes artists, companies and freelancers: by giving a small percentage to Earth Percent, they will then redistribute the profit to organisations focusing on climate change, including those focused on the music industry such as A Greener Festival. 

‘This is the time to shake up how things are done across the industry,’ says the head of programs at Earth Percent, Sarah Ditty. ‘We need to be looking at how live shows, touring, recording, streaming, merchandise and engaging fans can function in a way that ensures artists and their teams can make a good living while minimising environmental impact.’

Artists of the calibre of Coldplay, Radiohead and Ellie Goulding have already spoken about climate change, adjusting the way they work not to foster this crisis.

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