pop band
“Useful idiots”: Coldplay wants to reduce CO2 with a questionable deal – and is criticized for “greenwashing”.
Coldplay at a concert.
© Picture Alliance
The pop band Coldplay tours the world a lot – and that’s why they want to reduce their carbon footprint. There have already been some good ideas. Now the partnership with a dubious energy company is causing criticism.
Coldplay around singer Chris Martin not only makes successful catchy pop (“Paradise”), but is also considered to be ecologically committed. At the beginning of the current tour, the quartet announced that they wanted to reduce the resulting CO2 emissions to as little as possible.
Like many other big bands, Coldplay consumes a lot of energy due to traveling all over the world, the electricity consumed by light shows and sound technology and the commutes of fans. Coldplay felt bad about it – and decided to do something to offset their carbon footprint.
What was initially just a vague idea has now become very concrete. For example, the band plants a tree for every ticket sold. In addition, a special floor is laid out in the arenas during the shows, which generates electricity when the fans dance on it.
And now the musicians had another idea to do something good for the environment: they entered into a partnership with Finnish energy company Neste (not to be confused with food producer Nestlé), which promised to reduce the band’s emissions by using biofuels to decrease by half. But it is precisely this deal that is now causing heated debates.
Coldplay want to reduce their emissions
Because while Neste is trying to create an ecological image, environmentalists are accusing the group of having cleared huge areas of land in Indonesia and other countries for the production of palm oil.
“It’s a company associated with deforestation that would normally shock Coldplay,” said a spokesman for environmental group Friends Of The Earth. “Neste is cynically using Coldplay to ‘greenwash’ its reputation.” Numerous environmentalists call on the band to get out of the partnership with the energy company.
The band says: “Before we chose Neste to supply these biofuels, we were guaranteed that they would not use any non-recycled ingredients. Certainly no palm oil. This is how we still understand the deal: they only use waste products for energy production, such as oils from the catering industry or wood waste.” But the musicians point out: “We don’t claim that we’ve already found the perfect way.”
Is the band a good influence?
While the band’s dedication and efforts are recognized and praised by all, there is now concern that Chris Martin & Co. will be used by corporations like Neste as “useful idiots” whose notoriety can burnish any company’s image . The accusation of “greenwashing” is in the air. On the other hand, the band seems to have an influence on their partners: Neste, for example, announced that it would completely stop using conventional palm oil by the end of 2023 at the latest.
Source: “The Guardians”