Green Gigs
Building a more sustainable future for live music
At Bristol Beacon, we believe that music has the power to inspire change. Green Gigs are our pioneering live events designed to test new ideas, trial innovative approaches, and share what we learn on the journey to becoming the UK’s first Net Zero concert hall by 2030.
What is a Green Gig?
A Green Gig is more than a concert. It’s a real-world case study in making live music more sustainable. Each event includes practical actions – across production, operations, and audience experience – that reduce environmental impact and explore what the future of greener touring and venue practices could look like.
Some of the things we might test at a Green Gig include:
- Using in-house or locally provided equipment to cut transport emissions
- Plant-based and locally sourced artist catering
- Reducing single-use plastics and promoting reuse
- Supporting sustainable travel choices for audiences with incentives
- Hosting talks, workshops, or partnerships with climate organisations
Every Green Gig is different. Each one helps us learn, adapt, and share ideas with artists, audiences, and the wider music industry.
Why Green Gigs Matter
Live music is joyful, powerful, and communal – but it also creates emissions. Around 62% of our carbon footprint comes from visitor travel, with another 30% from our supply chain. Green Gigs allow us to experiment, measure impact, and inspire change – together with artists and audiences.
These events are one of the ways we’re tackling Scope 3 emissions, the hardest but most important part of reaching Net Zero.
How you can take part
When you attend a Green Gig, you’re part of the experiment. You can help by:
- Choosing low-carbon travel options (bus, train, bike, walking)
- Paying our £1 Green Levy (when offered) to offset the carbon emitted if you’re unable to use low-carbon travel options (petrol or diesel car)
- Refilling your water bottle at our stations
- Taking part in audience surveys to help us measure impact
- Joining pre-concert conversations about climate action in music
The Green Levy
As part of Green Gigs, we’re introducing an optional £1 Green Levy on ticket purchases. This voluntary donation will be passed directly to onboard:earth, who invest in projects that tackle the root causes and impacts of the climate crisis.
Your contribution will support two key initiatives:
- Trees+ – planting trees, protecting habitats, restoring ecosystems, and supporting communities most affected by climate change.
- Energy Revolution – funding community-led renewable energy projects that reduce reliance on fossil fuels, provide clean energy education, and create training opportunities for young people.
Why £1?
We based the amount on data from our audiences:
- The average car journey to Bristol Beacon (24km) creates 4.34kg CO₂e.
- Offsetting this journey costs around £0.13.
- With 60% of audiences travelling by car, and only some choosing to donate, we set the suggested donation at £1 to balance the impact fairly.
This means those who can’t travel by low-carbon transport can still help reduce emissions and invest in climate-positive change.
What’s on
Upcoming events in our Green Gig series
Environmental Sustainability
Environmental Sustainability
Discover our roadmap to becoming the UK’s first Net Zero music venue and how we’re building a more sustainable future for live music.
About us
About us
Bristol Beacon is a music charity, renowned venue and award-winning music education hub. Find out more about us and our work.
Support Bristol Beacon
Support Bristol Beacon
As a charity every donation makes a difference. Help us to support the amazing artists of the future and deliver our pioneering music education programme.