Amid challenging times, sustainability remains a critical priority worldwide—and music remains an outlet for community and shared experiences. This year, Coldplay is uniting with SAP for a carbon-offsetting Music Of The Spheres World Tour.
When the date of the concert you’ve been waiting all year for rolls around, you’ll probably consider how you’ll get to the show. The answer to this simple question can have a big impact on your night, but it could have an even bigger impact on your carbon footprint, which effects your community and our planet.
Believe it or not, audience travel to and from a concert is a major contributor to any tour’s carbon emissions. Many fans are unaware of this, but with the right motivation, we can empower millions.
Coldplay, one of the most celebrated and purpose-driven acts in music today, had a mission for their upcoming world tour: to make it their most sustainable and environmentally friendly yet. They were looking to reduce consumption, increase support in green technology, and work to decrease total CO2 emissions. They also saw an opportunity to connect with their fans.
Coldplay knew they could offer a concert-going experience like no other while providing fans with a chance to join them in their commitment. But to bring this vision to life, they needed a little help. Enter SAP.
“With our technology and solutions, we empower organizations worldwide to drive sustainable change,” said Christian Klein, CEO and member of the Executive Board of SAP SE. “Coldplay and SAP share a common and profound commitment to sustainability, and we are thrilled to join forces to make their tour as environmentally friendly as possible.”
SAP collaborated with Coldplay to develop and release the Coldplay Music Of The Spheres World Tour app. It combines interactive, immersive experiences along with features to help fans make more environmentally friendly decisions when it comes to travel. Once users download the app, they’ll begin their journey and explore different sections that all have unique ways to become part of the Coldplay universe throughout the tour.
Fans can start with sustainability in the travel section of the app. Here, they can visualize and better understand how their method of travel contributes to their carbon footprint. By selecting from seven different modes of transportation — car, taxi, train, public transportation, bicycle, on foot, or flight — fans can really see their impact. And to promote more sustainable travel options, the app provides rewards via merchandise discount codes to Coldplay’s online shop for concert goers who commit to low-carbon transportation options.
Here’s what else is in the app:
- Tour: Check out dates and locations, find tickets, and even share your favorite shows on your personal social media accounts.
- Planet: Immerse yourself in interactive sustainability-themed games while learning more about Coldplay’s efforts and the band’s tour partners.
- Universe: Create your own Coldplay-themed content using augmented reality. Create videos, take pictures, and even dance with aliens, then share your creations across social media. While you’re here, access exclusive videos, pictures, live concert audio streams, and get updates from the band.
To bring this world-class experience to life, SAP tapped two best-in-class solutions: SAP Business Technology Platform and SAP Cloud for Sustainable Enterprises. Coldplay is also using SAP Analytics Cloud to gain insights into the carbon footprint caused by fans who travel based on data captured in the app, which will help the band track how the tour is offsetting calculated carbon emissions.
“For the past few years, we’ve been figuring out how to put sustainability at the heart of our tour and the app plays a big role in bringing that vision and commitment to life. We’re really proud of the collaboration with our partner SAP, who has created an impactful, engaging app that helps our fans choose more sustainable ways to travel to our shows,” said Coldplay.
The challenges that Coldplay faces with managing carbon emissions from audience travel to shows is not unique to the music industry. Businesses everywhere are struggling with managing carbon emissions that are not a part of their company’s operations or under their direct control — otherwise known as Scope 3 emissions. SAP helps businesses across the world become intelligent sustainable enterprises by providing digital solutions and capabilities to holistically manage sustainability performance across all touch points of their business.
Sustainability needs harmony. Only together, through commitment and scale, can we begin improving our environmental impact. With the Music Of The Spheres World Tour app, we’re excited to show the world that when we work as one, we can drive awareness, action, and — most importantly — change.
To experience it all for yourself, the Coldplay Music Of The Spheres World Tour app is available for download right now on iOS and Android.
Ryan Somers is senior director of Global Sponsorships at SAP.
