Coldplay – A Social and Environmental Influencer

Influencers come in all shapes, sizes, and capacity. What kind of influence will you be? Vol. 3, Issue 1, No. 1

Brooke Bathie

January 17, 2024

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Influence…

It’s such a powerful word, but what does it really mean to influence? Well, I would explain it as having immense power to alter one’s decisions, perspectives, actions, and emotions. Now, whether that’s influencing in a good or bad way, that’s not for me to decide, that’s for the influencer to decide.

At the end of the day, that’s the key word…influence. That’s what we need to recognize and test ourselves on; asking ourselves fundamental questions that will activate and guide our influence.

How can we influence? What should we try to be influential toward? Do we want to be the good kind of influencer…or submit to the dark side? Or simply, have no influence at all?

Once we’ve chosen one side of the fork in the road, how will we forge ahead and choose our next route on our journey. How will we make sure our voices are even being heard enough to successfully influence? And, once the soundwaves of our voices have finally reached our target destination, how will we make sure the words we are spewing out are being understood enough to make a difference and have even the slightest influence on our community and our environment?

----------- Coldplay -----------

Take Coldplay for instance. Their influence is on the music industry. They are inspiring new artists, new voices, and long-time fans with love, appreciation, and hope, just by creating noise and setting their voices free with every song and every performance. Yet, if music is all they are focusing on, that’s all the world will ever hear and understand from them.

If they can inspire that much feeling and emotion for music, imagine how much influence they can have on other passions they want to share with everyone.

With green thinking as the driving force of their latest influence on our society, Coldplay is making a new difference and supplementing environmental health and longevity with their new Sustainability Update, which you can read all the details about right here on their website.

They have recently made the valiant effort to maintain the one trend our world has desperately needed for decades, and that is social responsibility – with an emphasis on climate control.

Social responsibility isn’t just limited to the corporate world. Take it from Coldplay, an international rock band!

From monitoring their fuel type for transportation, to planting a tree for every concert attendee, Coldplay has been showing their compassion for our environment since 2016 when they performed their environmental impact assessments for their A Head Full of Dreams Tour. Every little bit matters when we are trying to make a positive impact, because we have to start somewhere.

But remember, you don’t have to be a rock star or a public figure to start; your “somewhere” is different from everyone else’s!

So, what exactly are they doing and how does each charitable deed fall under the social responsibility umbrella? Let me give you the gist…

Coldplay’s Social Responsibility - Stats and a Little Something Extra

For a little background, according to the ASQ/ANSI/ISO 26000-2010: Guidance on social responsibility (e-standard), there are seven core subjects social responsibility encompasses:

1. Organizational Governance: How is the organization directed and controlled, regarding ethical behavior and accountability?

2. Human Rights: How effective is the organization's impact on human rights, both internally and externally at the company?

3. Labor Practices: How fair and just are the employment conditions, concerning diversity, discrimination, and worker rights?

4. Environment: [The most prominent among Coldplay’s efforts] What is the organization's holistic impact on the environment, considering resource use, emissions, and environmental conservation?

5. Fair Operating Practices: Are the organization’s practices, exploitation measures, and responsible corporate behavior fair and just?

6. Consumer Issues: Is their treatment of consumers (product safety, information, and customer satisfaction) fair and ethical? In this case, Coldplay’s fanbase.

7. Community Involvement and Development: Does the organization contribute to local communities, and what is its role in societal development?

Now, let’s get into what they are doing to adhere to this blueprint and contribute to each subject…

Environment --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The production was successful in delivering a 47% reduction in direct CO2e emissions, compared to their last tour in 2016-2017.

The leading cause of climate change is air pollution from chemical particulate matter, like CO2. Reducing this toxin as much as we can is so crucial for our lung and heart health, protecting the ozone layer, and slowing down warming temperatures and severe weather patterns that cause deadly natural disasters. So, we should thank Coldplay for their successful efforts toward helping to keep us all safe from cancerous sun ray exposure and inhaling harmful air pollution!

Just as a reference to help you understand how much renewable energy is being produced, and how much CO2 is being saved from reaching our atmosphere:  

15kWh of energy = 150 hours of energy from one lightbulb (100-watt)

553 tons of CO2e = the total annual emissions of CO2e from 240 cars

Amazing, right? Once you put those statistics into perspective with relevant examples from our everyday lives, it’s so much easier to understand how much of an impact they are making with each and every show.

5 million trees have been planted (one per concert attendee) and are monitored by One Tree Planted until they reach maturity.

So far, 5,000 hectares of land have been restored across 17 countries and 21 planting projects, helping to mitigate the death and destruction of so many ecosystems and once beautiful landscapes.

Deforestation is one of the most prevalent environmental disasters we face today. Do you know how many benefits trees have for our health and the natural flow of nature around us? A lot! Trees are essentially the gears that keep our ecosystems in motion, so we need to make sure they are in abundant supply, at all times.

Providing stable habitats for so many species, supporting native biodiversity within those ecosystems, reducing erosion rates by securing the ground with their roots, reducing the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere, and most importantly…giving us oxygen! We NEED that oxygen to survive, so you could technically say that trees have been saving our lives since the dawn of humanity and are essentially the lungs of the Earth.

There are so many other things trees do for us every day that we don’t thank them enough for. Do you know how we have been “thanking” them? By cutting them down and destroying their species. So, thank you Coldplay, for helping to right our wrongs!  

1 solar-powered river interceptor was deployed via The Ocean Cleanup, resulting in 158 tons of waste and 13 tons of ocean-bound plastic removed since the tour began.

Talk about killing two birds with one stone…not literally. Not only is Coldplay averting fossil fuel use with their renewable solar source to power the contraption, but they are also drastically reducing the number of plastics polluting the ocean. Why is this important? And what even is a river interceptor?

A river interceptor is a large mechanism that captures plastics that flow down a river, while filtering water back out, so the material never has the chance to pollute larger bodies of water, like the ocean, and can be disposed of safely.

Plastics erode into microscopic particles (microplastics) from constant, harsh ocean conditions. This breakdown of plastic speeds up the release of the chemicals the material is made of into the ocean, not only harming marine life, but harming the people who eventually consume that water; and trust me, you are not immune to it!

Rivers eventually flow into oceans, connecting our water supplies to the harmful toxins in the ocean that are produced from microplastics in both bodies of water. Microplastics CANNOT be filtered from water, no matter how hard we try, once they become small enough in size. Coldplay clearly recognizes the magnitude of this issue and is taking the necessary actions in their valuable partnership with The Ocean Cleanup.

95% of shows with free water refill stations were available to all concertgoers.

I would also consider this highlight aligned with Fair Operating Practices and Consumer Issues as well. Not only does this reduce the number of plastic bottles used per person, but it is also a great amenity for those who are severely dehydrated and may prevent serious injury or death!

I know that sounds very intense. Well, it is, or at least it can be if we neglect its importance at events like hot and crowded concerts.

It is apparent that not just reducing, reusing, and recycling are at the forefront of Coldplay’s list of priorities; they are very proactive about keeping their fans and followers safe and healthy!

Community Involvement and Development -------------------------------------------------------

3,770 meals + 73 kg of toiletries have been donated to those with no home, shelter, steady meals, or personal belongings.

I’ll also connect this highlight to Human Rights, because a basic human right we all deserve is to be safe, clean, and have our stomachs satisfied when we close our eyes at night. Imagine if you had nowhere safe or comfortable to lay your head at night, if you had not eaten in days, or if you could not do the most basic act of brushing your teeth simply because you didn’t have the necessary resources at your disposal. It is a scary thought, and I am fortunate enough to have it absent from my mind day in and day out, but others are not so lucky.

Ensuring our communities have access to general supplies like food and hygiene products is the infrastructure we all need to be a part of building for their success, and in turn, our success. There are so many struggling people in our society we haven’t yet met that have the potential to add unequivocal value to our businesses, communities, and our lives.

Helping to wipe away the impediments that block one’s luster will expose their shine and reveal to us their brilliance that was always hidden just beneath the surface.

Providing financial support to environmental organizations.

In tandem with the Environment, Consumer Issues, and Organizational Governance subjects, ensuring financial and visible support for environmental organizations that lead the fight for conservation serves as a pivotal force for community development.

This reinforcement empowers those groups to sustain their impactful efforts and initiatives, fostering immeasurable and unrelenting progress within our communities.

Organizations such as: The Ocean Cleanup, Conservation Collective, Sustainable Food Trust, ClientEarth, Climeworks, Sea Shepherd, Project Seagrass, Cleaner Seas Group, Food Forest Project, Knowledge Pele, and many more.

707,288 actions taken by fans through the Global Citizen platform.

You might be asking yourself, “How is Coldplay actionably spreading their influence? Are they really motivating people to take action?” Yes! And the proof is in the pudding.

People are actively working to support the band’s sustainability initiatives and the main outlet they are using to get involved and make a difference is Global Citizen. This platform connects a community of likeminded environmental activists that are banding together to make a difference with a united front. There truly is strength in numbers. 

The Global Citizen NOW action summit, in April 2023, was Co-chaired by the Lead Singer of Coldplay, Chris Martin, where a panel of highly influential people discussed global issues, like climate change, world hunger and poverty, gender inequality, and human rights.

These panelists and speakers declared a call to action for environmental advocacy, awareness, and actionable solutions to involve other leaders and the community in mitigating each of these global issues. This annual event serves as an opportunity for collaborative conversation between the very leaders that are sparking innovation and championing the greatest movement to ever grace our society. I think I’ll call it, “The Zero Movement.”

Embracing Accountability ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Personally, I believe that all of these subjects fall under the “Organizational Governance” subject, as all of their initiatives are directed and controlled by their team to ensure their accountability – one of the core principles of social responsibility.

The “Organizing Governance” is the most influential aspect of a company, organization, team, or person attempting to execute their social responsibility. They are the glue that holds the program together, prompting initiatives for change within the enterprise and guiding actions, priorities, and influence to see them through.  

Influential people propel influential actions, but the only way to ensure this is materialized is if they are not only held accountable by others but are also holding themselves accountable.

So, What's Next? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Coldplay is continually holding themselves accountable for their footprint on the world, while they do what they love most – inspiring and influencing passion in everyone they can, with music.

Even the smallest footsteps have the power to make the biggest footprint, it just depends on the size of one’s shoe – or in this case, their incentive to make a difference with tangible evidence of their actionable follow-through.

And they don’t plan on slowing their sprint to a zero-carbon world with non-discriminatory environmental health, safety, and justice.

P.S. – Currently listening to Coldplay’s greatest hits for inspiration, and to INFLUENCE my appreciative message for their environmental endeavors.