ACT - Artists Citizens on Tour

About

ACT - Artist Citizens on Tour
Our mission is to promote eco-friendly practices in show-business.

It’s main objectives are:

To make artists realize the power of their actions towards the environment.

Offer simple and efficient tools to reduce the environmental footprint that shows and touring create.

Accompany artists wishing to become accredited in order to make their commitment recognized, and inspire their audience.

Join the movement!

ACT Guide

I pledge to :

Hold a meeting with the whole team (label, production, musicians, technicians, etc.), making sure to :

-Explain the environmental approach you'd like to implement
-Answer questions and take note of comments or suggestions
-Optimize the tour in order to minimize mileage
-Think of ways to produce more eco-friendly albums, decors and merchandise

Add a clause to contracts to ensure compliance with the sustainable principles established for artistic crews

Rent electric vehicles when possible

Prefer land travel to air travel

Reduce the amount of vehicles on the road

Choose environmentally conscious hotels (members of Green Key Global for instance)

Support local businesses (merchandising, album production, decors, visual contents, etc.)

Buy second-hand equipment (decor, musical instruments, technical supplies, etc.)

Set out a lighting plan that uses DEL and iodide stage lights, which reduce energy consumption

Buy rechargeable batteries

Reduce printing

-If flyers and posters are used, choose paper made from local and recycled fibres (FSC for instance), use natural ink and print only what you need
-Make sure you apply sustainable touring guidelines to all steps of artistic production, including rehearsal, recording, residency, etc.

If you don't read them, unsubscribe from newsletters and magazines (whether paper or digital copies)

Digital technologies

Our use of digital technologies has an important environmental and social impact. The production of electronic devices is the most impactful aspect of digital technologies’ footprint. To encourage a sustainable use of digital technologies while touring, we suggest to :

Avoid purchasing new equipment;

Prioritize rentals or second-hand equipment;

Repair equipment before replacing it.

To learn more about digital technologies’ environmental and social footprint, check out The Shift Project’s “Implementing Digital Sufficiency” report.

Update my rider

Indicate that all single-use water bottles are banned, as well as all other single-use items

Make sure water is available in the dressing rooms to fill reusable water bottles

Ask for cloth towel instead of paper towel in the bathrooms and dressing rooms

Indicate that you prefer :

-Local and organic food and drinks
-Vegetarian and vegan meals

When producing albums and merchandise

Promote :

-Eco-friendly printing
-Second-hand fabric and/or unsold merchandise from previous tours
-Organic and fair-trade fabric
-Local design and natural ink

For deliveries, choose recyclable packaging without glue or tape

Offer download codes instead of physical copies of your album

Use cardboard album cases instead of plastic

I pledge to:

Carry with me at all times :

-A reusable water bottle and coffee mug
-Reusable travel tableware (including a plate!)
-A cloth napkin
-Reusable bag
-A small bottle of dish soap (to wash everything back at the hotel room)
-Shampoo, soap and other toiletries (to avoid using the ones provided in hotel rooms, which usually involve lots of plastic waste)
Note : Plan a box which includes all of the above and keep it alongside you and the tour team as to never lose track of it.

Refuse plastic water bottles in the dressing room and on stage

Refuse straws in all drinks

Have sustainable behaviors to avoid resource consumption in accommodations while touring :

-Avoid getting the room and towels cleaned everyday
-Avoid using soap samples and all other single-use item
-Avoid overheating the room, especially when you leave for the day
-Favor collective accommodations instead of individual hotel rooms (for instance, renting an apartment for the crew reduces energy consumption)

Turn off all electronic equipment when it isn't used, especially in between sound check and showtime

Reuse printed setlist

On the road, choose local suppliers as much as possible

Incite the audience to use public transportation, active transportation or carpooling to come to your show

Communicate your efforts towards sustainability to your audience

I pledge to:

Measure and compensate our green-house gaz emissions (GHG calculator tool)

Donate parts of the profits to a non-profit organization of our choice

Give a second life to all equipments and props that won't be used again

Manage costumes and sets properly to ensure they are reused

Follow up with venues to thank them for respecting demands regarding sustainability in your rider or to underline which demands were not complied with

Hold a retroactive meeting with the production team to review our environmental practices

And much more, depending on the moment's inspiration and most recent discoveries.
Don't hesitate to tell us your ideas!

Download the ACT guide in PDF

In all your choices, always remember this:

Reduce : Reduce packaging
Local: Consume local
Natural: Choose organic products
Fair: Prioritize fair trade
Essential: Is it truly essential?