Why the music industry continues to turn to REVERB for its ecological needs

In the early 00s, by Adam Gardner Home and work lives did not align. “We'd live an eco-friendly lifestyle at home, and then he'd go on the diesel-powered tour bus, using styrofoam and plastic utensils, and he'd just feel unhappy about it all,” recounts the singer's then-girlfriend Guster, now- wife, Lauren Sullivan; “He realized that other artists felt the same way.”

Gardner cared about sustainability. Many people in the music business he encountered, especially on tour, did not. So he and Sullivan — a veteran of environmental organizations, incl Rainforest Action Network — aims to redefine how the industry approaches its footprint.

In 2004 they co-founded REPUTATION (they're now co-executive directors), working briefly with prominent eco-friendly acts like Dave Matthews Band and Jack Johnson. Twenty years on, its guiding mission remains: working with artists (her partners now include Billie Eilish, ODESZA and The 1975) and the music business to implement sustainable touring measures and leverage the fan-artist relationship to increasing engagement with environmental and social issues.

Inspired by Bonnie Raitt – “everyone's godmother”, as Sullivan puts it, who launched her Green Highway Initiative on her 2002 tour to promote alternative energy sources while greening her own tour — Sullivan reached out to the musician's management to gauge how the model could be applied to other tours, and offered guidance and initial financial support. Gardner suggested the Barenaked Ladies try the model. the band agreed, and REVERB debuted on the group's 2004 co-headlining tour with Alanis Morissette.

REVERB spent the early years navigating a music business that was often ambivalent about environmental issues. But as the climate crisis worsened and stakeholders saw REVERB in action, its sustainability conversations became easier and its actions more comprehensive. Where REVERB was “a thorn in the side” of promoters, venues and artist groups, Sullivan explains, “it's been a big change, from 2004 to now.”

The nonprofit's work falls into two broad categories: improving the sustainability of a tour, venue or event, and using concerts to connect with fans about important issues. While the viability of the tour has improved since REVERB launched—thanks in part to the organization itself—the former remains at the heart of its work because most music industry stakeholders still lack the expertise to conceive and execute green initiatives. Lara Seaver, who as REVERB's director of tours and projects implements its strategies, describes REVERB's suite of eco-tour measures as “a menu” that groups can choose from based on a tour's established culture. There's “low-hanging fruit” like eliminating single-use plastic bottles behind the scenes, and more in-depth actions like collecting a traveling party's unused hotel toiletries (which hotels often reject because they're not tamper-proof) and donating them to local shelters.

“What REVERB does really well is it's turnkey to make everything happen,” says AG Artists COO/GM Jordan Wolosky, who has handled work for Shawn Mendes client REVERB. “There are so many different moving pieces, so when you have an organization that can help you deal with some of those pieces from the ground up, it's extremely helpful.”

Also, “there's not a lot of burden or responsibility on the artist unless they really want to dive in,” he says. Artist activist management partner and head of sustainability Kris “Red” Tanner, who oversees REVERB's collaborations for clients such as The Lumineers and Dead & Company; “They help execute and control everything. We as artists can say, “We support this, we want it to happen,” but we channel it [REVERB] and make sure we really deliver on what we promise.”

Crucially, REVERB's programs are tailored. “I can't imagine telling an artist, 'It's cookie cutter and it's our way or the highway,'” says Sullivan. Some artists want to go green but aren't sure how. others have specific environmental priorities (one year, Dave Matthews asked REVERB to dedicate their messaging to protecting rhinos), while others still capitalize on the intersection of the climate crisis by asking REVERB to coordinate advocacy social issues (such as homelessness and addiction for The Lumineers and indigenous land rights for boygenius).

“It's a really great, low-impact way for us to allow artists to make an impact without a lot of heavy lifting on their part,” says Tanner. “Just using their pulpit is a great way to help spread the word.”

REVERB researches and brings together local and national nonprofit partners, often numerous enough to create “action villages” at events that fans can interact with. For example, during their 2023 tour, boygenius hosted 50 non-profit organizations. Since its inception, REVERB has facilitated 7.7 million total fan actions, ranging from voter registration to using #RockNRefill program, a ten-year partnership with Nalgene that rewards donors with collectible, reusable tour-specific water bottles — and offers all fans free filtered refill stations. “If you have 100 people on a tour, doing everything perfectly – you have the lightest tour ever – and you compare that to the power of 20,000 fans at a show, it's very clear where the biggest impact potential is.” Seaver explains.

It's worth noting that since REVERB's inception, sustainability has gone from an afterthought to an industry priority. “People are realizing that if these kinds of implications are considered from the beginning, the effectiveness of these solutions goes through the roof,” says Tanner Watt, a 12-year veteran of REVERB who works with artists, nonprofits and brands as a director collaborations. “We can usually save time and money and also increase the potential positive outcome and positive impact of these programs when we engage in the entire conversation around a tour or event.”

These conversations extend to venues and supporters. Mike Luba, president of Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, began a partnership between the venue and REVERB in 2017. “We followed their plan,” he says, and the facility became climate positive, meaning it offsets its carbon by more than it produces . “REVERB have changed the narrative, where people now go to concerts expecting these things to be in place,” Luba continues. Some artists do, too: Neil Young, who will play two dates at Forest Hills in May, isn't an official REVERB partner, but he has plenty of green requirements for any venue he plays. When we held his shows, “if we hadn't already checked a bunch of boxes, it was a no-go,” Luba says.

Many tourism frontiers remain to be conquered. Last year, REVERB launched a major initiative, the Musical Decarbonization Project, to eventually eliminate the carbon emissions created by the music industry, and Sullivan cites fan travel and inefficient tour itineraries as areas for improvement. But in general, REVERB has already completed some of the most demanding tasks.

“We're continuing to show venues, promoters and other stakeholders that this is possible – the fans want it, the artists clearly want it,” says Sullivan. “And if there's a will, it can happen.”

This story will appear in the March 30, 2024 issue Advertising sign.