Introduction

This document contains a set of guidelines and sustainable practice recommendations for event organisers, artists and their teams in the music industry. These guidelines have been developed to work in conjunction with the Sustainability Clauses included in artists' booking contracts to aid all parties in using best endeavours to achieve a desired lower impact business practice.

How to use this Rider

 The LIVE Green Clauses sit in the contract and bind both sides. This Rider is the Artist's practical companion to them. Artists, attach it to your own hospitality or technical rider, delete anything that does not apply to your show, and fill in the square brackets.

Each section names the Clause it supports, so the promoter and venue can see the Rider asks for nothing the contract has not already agreed. Everything here is subject to the same reasonable endeavours standard as the Clauses. It asks for a genuine, proportionate attempt and nothing beyond it. 
 

Part A. What we commit to

These are the Artist's own commitments under Clause 4 and Clause 5. They are here so the venue and promoter know what to expect from us.

Catering in our rider

  • Our hospitality rider is [fully plant based / plant forward / plant based by default, with the following exceptions: ...].
  • Please source locally and seasonally where you can. We would rather have less, sourced well, than more.
  • Reusable serveware, cups and bottles for artist and crew catering. No single use plastics backstage.
  • Leftover food goes to [donation / composting], not landfill. We are happy to be told how you handle this.
  • Rechargeable batteries wherever feasible. Where single use batteries are unavoidable, please provide a collection point.

Merchandise 

  • Our merchandise is made by [supplier] in [materials, for example organic cotton, recycled paper]. We prioritise sustainable and ethical manufacturers and materials.
  • We order to demand and avoid speculative overstock. Please let us know your expected attendance early so we can size the run.
  • No single use plastic packaging on merchandise or at the merch stand.

Transport and freight 

  • We route the tour with emissions as one of the inputs and design the show to fit into as few vehicles as practical.
  • We prioritise electric or lower emission vehicles for people and equipment where practical and feasible. Where alternative fuels are used, we ask suppliers for evidence of sustainable, certified sourcing.
  • We will plug into grid or shore power at the venue rather than run on-board generators. Please see Part B for what we need to make that work.
  • Where we can, we use public transport for artist and crew movements on show days.

Communication 

  • We will talk about sustainability at this show honestly and proportionately. We will not describe the show as green, carbon neutral or net zero.
  • We would like to give [one or more environmental organisations] space to engage with the audience, for example a sign up stall, a joint announcement, or a partnership mention. Please tell us what is possible at your venue.
  • We are happy to share what the venue and promoter have done on sustainability in our own channels, and we will ask you first.

Audience travel 

  • Please send us your Know Before You Go travel information, including public transport, cycling and walking options and any shuttle or park and ride, so we can include it in our own communications to ticket holders.
  • We would like clear public transport information on the ticket page and in event emails.

Single use plastics 

  • We reduce single use plastics year on year across the tour, and we will support the venue's own reduction. Please tell us what you have already removed so we do not bring it back in.

 

Part B. What we ask of the venue and promoter

Under Clause 3 the Purchaser has agreed to use reasonable endeavours to pass these commitments into the venue hire agreement. This section sets out what that means for our show, in practical terms.

Energy 

  • Sufficient grid or shore power to plug in all our tour trucks and buses. Please confirm the number of hook ups, the amperage available, and where they are, at the advance stage. Our requirement is [number and type of connections].
  • A no idling policy in the loading bay and vehicle areas, enforced by a named person on the day.
  • Energy efficient lighting and equipment front and back of house, and a renewable energy tariff on the venue supply where commercially available.
  • Where temporary power is unavoidable, mains, batteries or hybrid systems over diesel generators.

Waste 

  • Separated waste streams back of house as well as front of house, clearly labelled, for recycling and food waste.
  • Food waste routed to composting or anaerobic digestion. A labelled bin is not the outcome. Treatment is.
  • A reusable cup scheme front of house where commercially available and feasible, and reusable serveware backstage.
  • A proper route for hazardous waste including batteries and gaffer offcuts, and a plan for reusing or recycling set materials at the end of the run.

Water 

  • Water refill points front of house and back of house, working on the day, suitable and accessible for all users including wheelchair users. Please tell us where they are so we can tell the audience.
  • Water efficient facilities and no bottled water backstage unless there is no alternative.

Food and catering

  • At least one full plant based meal or main available per trader, at price parity with the meat option, and significantly reduced red meat across the offer.
  • Plant based provision increasing year on year. We would be glad to hear what has changed since last year.
  • Sustainable, ideally reusable, packaging from food and drink traders.

 

Part C. The advance checklist

Please send the following at the advance stage, or tell us who to ask. It saves a difficult conversation on the day.

  • Named sustainability contact for the show, with a phone number for the day.
  • Shore power: number of hook ups, amperage, location, and whether it is on a renewable tariff.
  • Waste: which streams are separated back of house, and where food waste goes.
  • Water: refill point locations front and back of house, and confirmation they are accessible.
  • Catering: the plant based options and their prices alongside the meat options.
  • Audience travel: your Know Before You Go information and any shuttle or cycle parking.
  • Access: how access requirements have been considered in the sustainability arrangements above.

 

Part D. Access and inclusion 

  • All parties to the contract have agreed to acknowledge the Attitude is Everything toolkit No Climate Action Without Us, Version 2 (2025). We ask that every sustainability decision for this show is checked against it, in particular refill point placement, straws and single use alternatives, and travel advice.
  • Our access requirements are set out in our Access Rider [attached / at link]. If you do not have one, the Musicians' Union guide to Access Riders for Musicians is a good starting point.

 

Part E. Measure, account and review 

Proportionately, and focused on the biggest impacts. For most shows that means power, travel and waste. We would like to receive the following after the show, where you have it.

  • Venue electricity used on the show day (kWh) and the tariff.
  • Generator hours and fuel used, if any.
  • Waste by stream, with weights or volumes if you record them.
  • Any audience travel data you collect, for example a post show survey or car park counts.

We will share our own figures for touring vehicles, freight and crew travel. Where impact is unavoidable, we account for it by [supporting climate initiatives / donating a share of income to climate organisations], and we would be glad to hear what you do.

We would like a short review conversation within a month of the show, covering what worked, what was harder than expected, and what to change next time. Nobody is auditing anybody. The review is how the Clauses improve.

 

Part F. Crew and touring party

  • Sustainability is part of our tour planning. We brief crew through [green memos / a tour meeting] and we welcome the venue's own briefing.
  • Equipment is powered down and unplugged when not in use. Show design uses energy efficient lighting and equipment.
  • Reusable bottles and containers for all crew. Please help us by making refill points easy to find backstage.

 

Contacts and resources

 

The LIVE Green Clauses and this Rider are reviewed periodically by the LIVE Green working group. Take the current versions from the LIVE Green hub rather than copying from a previous contract.