How much do we pollute during concerts?

The organization of concerts has always had a strong impact on the environment: what causes the most pollution are the means of transportation, the moving of necessary equipment, the huge amounts of waste produced by the audience, the high volume of music, and the lights, which result in noise and light pollution, respectively.

Musicians have long been concerned about the impact on the environment caused by their activities and have been trying to remedy this issue.

Did you know that vinyl and streaming also pollute?

If it is true that concerts are a burden on the environment, the same can be said for records: both CDs and vinyls are very difficult to recycle, plus they are made from materials that take centuries to be absorbed by the environment.

The latter then, also pollute a lot during the production process.

That leaves streaming, but it pollutes a lot: the energy used to store, transmit and download songs produces millions of pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.

Live music and green initiatives

Then better live music. Both because it is a social event, with all the benefits that entails, and because, by promoting sustainability initiatives, it brings about change anyway.

Think of festivals: in Glastonbury, England, single-use plastic bottles have been banned and the only tableware allowed are recyclable ones. Or at Krakow’s Unsound, where emissions were counted to offset them by planting new trees. Or again, to look at Italy, the 2019 Jova Beach Party, a unique undertaking with which Jovanotti, in addition to promoting environmental themes at each stage, has partnered with WWF to ensure that each concert turns out to be sustainable.

The air you breathe in crowded places can be a risk

The impact on the environment is not the only issue to be concerned about when it comes to music events and concerts.

One must consider that most artists’ performances take place in stadiums or forums that contain thousands of people sharing the same place and air for several hours.

Indoor Environments, especially when crowded, contain numerous pollutants, especially CO2, particulate matter, bacteria and viruses. Concerts, events, and parties are common causes of infectious diseases, since in very crowded and poorly ventilated environments they are very easily transmitted from one person to another.

More awareness is needed

Air pollution kills 7 million people worldwide each year. World Health Organization data show that 9 out of 10 people breathe air that exceeds WHO guideline limits and thus contains high levels of pollutants, with the poorest countries suffering the highest exposures.

Pollutants indoors are the same as outdoors.

Fine dust, volatile organic compounds, carbon dioxide, and bacteria are all pollutants whose danger increases exponentially with exposure time.

Most people spend 90% of their days indoors.

For all these reasons, there is a need to raise public awareness of the risks of not breathing healthy air.

Over the years, Ispra, together with the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Iss), has been working to inform the public and professionals about indoor air pollution.

Discover radoff solutions to know the quality of the air you breathe in real time inside your living environments: