Lauren Sullivan
The Music Industry’s Eco Warrior
There’s no doubt that the XP world has a major eco problem. In the concert touring world, this challenge is particularly at the forefront. Enter Lauren Sullivan of REVERB, the non-profit she founded with her musician husband, Adam Gardner of the alt rock band Guster, in 2004. REVERB partners with musicians (like Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, The Lumineers, the Dave Matthews Band, and Willie Nelson), as well as major venues and festivals to green their events while engaging fans to take action as well. Capturing enthusiasm and commitment across the industry, REVERB recently launched the Music Decarbonization Project, which strives to create new solutions that will have a direct effect on eliminating carbon emissions created by the music industry. “We truly believe we’re at an inflection point with the climate crisis,” Sullivan told Pollstar. “Awareness and engagement have never been higher and we’re excited for the music community to lead the charge into a more sustainable, more equitable future.”
Projects
REVERB’s Music Decarbonization Project is many projects — each to decrease carbon emissions. Take the 100% solar-powered stage at Willie Nelson’s annual Luck Reunion Festival — it used a zero-emission power replacement (a solar-powered intelligent battery system) instead of diesel generators to reduce fuel consumption and associated greenhouse gas pollution on its mainstage to almost nothing. The Project also worked with Coachella and Stagecoach in 2023 in partnership with Overdrive Energy Solutions to fund, develop and build zero-emission light towers. Next up, REVERB will release the results of their Fan Travel Survey which was fielded to 10,000 concertgoers in 2022. Fan travel to and from a show can be responsible for 40-90% of its carbon footprint. The report, which comes out in 2024 in partnership with data scientists at UMASS, will outline strategies and solutions for fans, venues, and other entities to tackle this challenge.
