Climate change: how music groups can get involved

Making Music’s Climate Change Network brings together leisure-time music groups, musicians and campaigners to discuss what we can do to tackle climate change. We have created this open resource page to collate ideas, links and useful information to help groups play their part.

This is everyone’s page – to add new items, email info@makingmusic.org.uk

Climate change network events for leisure-time music groups

We hold a twice annual meeting for leisure time music groups to get together and discuss their challenges and successes facing the climate crisis. We are often joined by guest speakers from the creative sector and beyond.

Watch the previous events:

Climate emergency - what can music groups do? (8 October 2021)
Climate change - spring network meeting (18 February 2022)
Climate change - summer network meeting (15 July 2022)
Climate change: what can music groups do? (4 July 2023)
Climate Change Network - music projects (11 April 2024)
Climate Change Network - success stories (2 December 2024)
Climate Change Network - sustainability tools (9 May 2025)

What can we do and what should we be thinking about?

Trying to make your group more climate conscious can be daunting. So, we have broken it down into three different approaches you can take. You might want to choose to focus on one of these or incorporate bits of all of them.

Your group’s carbon footprint

The impact the running of your group has on the environment e.g. how much energy a typical rehearsal/performance uses; how much waste is produced by your activity etc. What can you do to measure this and what can you then do to mitigate? Some examples of actions towards this might be implementing a car sharing system, having a conversation with your venue about whether they are using green energy suppliers, or cutting down the amount of single use plastic you use as a group.

Your community influence

It is important not to forget that as a music group you have the privileged position of having a voice among your local community.

When audiences come in to watch you perform you have the opportunity to educate and influence their views on challenges such as climate change. You obviously want to avoid becoming preachy or hypocritical but maybe a note in your programme about the actions the group have taken could get people thinking and on the right path to making their own positive changes.

The Act Green Report (2024) found that 72% of respondents think that cultural organisations have a responsibility to influence society about the climate emergency.

The report also found that 68% expect organisations to provide information to help audiences act more sustainably e.g. you might be able to provide information on you website/tickets about the local public transport routes that serve your rehearsal and concert venues.

Allowing time and encouraging your members to share their own climate change successes and challenges with one another could also inspire change.

Your musical influence

Music has a way of tugging at people’s heart strings like nothing else does! If your group are passionate about getting people listening about the climate crisis, don’t underestimate the power you can have as story tellers by playing/singing a piece of music. See further down this resource for repertoire inspiration.

Making Music Green Award – examples from our members

For examples of leisure time music groups taking responsibility and making a change there is no better place to look than our very own Green Award. This award was introduced in 2023 to celebrate music groups that have made an outstanding effort to improve their environmental sustainability - find out more.

Nominees and winners:

Derwent Brass, who launched six sustainability pledges in 2022 with meaningful and measurable impact on their day-to-day operations, and have since made a wide range of changes to improve their environmental sustainability (2023 winner)
Maldon Orchestra, who methodically analysed their carbon foot print and where and how it could be reduced in small but practical ways which can be copied by many other groups (2023 runner-up)
KJV Community Children’s Choir, who put on The World Around Us, a concert that championed all things green with songs about environmental themes, including commissioning two new compositions (2023 shortlist)
Sheffield Brass Network, who published an online guide to help brass bands adapt to a sustainable, resilient, and climate-changed future (2023 shortlist)
Big Noise Chorus, who created a Sustainability Policy, a Sustainability Action Plan and have appointed Green Reps in each of their choirs (2024 winners)

Tools and resources

Here are some useful tools and resources, some of them might be useful for your group activity and some of them may just be interesting personally (and worth sharing with more people).

Tools and resources

Search our Music Bank for pieces you are planning to perform to borrow sheet music from other Making Music members to share resources and reduce your consumption.
Oxfam have an online collection of second-hand sheet music for sale.
The Carbon Literacy Project offers everyone a day’s worth of Carbon Literacy® learning, covering climate change, carbon footprints, how you can do your bit, and why it’s relevant to you and your audience.
Choirs for Climate have put together some guidance on becoming an eco-friendly choir
Orchestras For All’s 13 smart ways to become a greener musician
SAIL (Sustainable Arts in Leeds) - campaigning network, also offers support and training
Switch It Green – information on greener financial providers
Digital Sustainability Card Game – resource to get you thinking about the impact of your digital activities
Ecosia – search engine plants trees to offset power used
Carbon footprint calculator
Julie's Bicycle – resources, case studies, events
Climate Stewards - resources and carbon calculators for individuals and different size organisations
EcoChurch - resources for churches
Hope for the Future - national charitable organisation that offers free training for anyone who is interested in engaging with their local MP or Council about climate change
Newzik – offer technology to manage and read sheet music on your digital devices
Music Mark have launched This Is Not A Rehearsal, their campaign which aims to raise awareness and encourage action around the climate crisis within the music education sector
The Scottish Classical Sustainability Group bring together Scotland’s classical music sector to promote sustainability and share best practice.
Classical Declares Emergency works to bring awareness of the climate emergency into professional music circles and help facilitate discussion about what can be done to address it.

Climate themed repertoire

We know from speaking with groups that one of the ways our members feel they can have the most impact is through educating and enabling conversations about climate change through their repertoire choices. We have put together a list of repertoire resources and creative ideas to get you started. If you have performed any music that is not on our list, please let us know!

Repertoire links

Enough is Enough, originally produced in response to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) is a piece of music composed for choirs, street bands and community groups.
Choirs for Climate have lots of free music for choirs to download and perform.
Liz Hodgson has many nature inspired songs on her website.
‘Cry of the Earth’ is a large-scale choral/orchestral piece on the theme of climate change, composed by Tony Biggin, first premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in London in 1990.
‘Change The World Together’ is a musical for children (9+) about a young person determined to make a difference in the face of climate change.
‘Wye!’ is a choral piece written by Eloise Gynn inspired by the eutrophication of the River Wye, premiered by Monmouth Choral Society.
Ona’s Flood written by Harvey Brough and commissioned by Bradford on Avon Community music touches on ‘our unquenchable urge to consume combined with our refusal to recognise that we are destroying our world’.
The Musica International Virtual Choral Library allows you to search for works on a specific theme.

Projects and creative ideas

Composer Matthew Elderton-Lewis is developing his project EcoMelodies, that aims to educate audiences on environmental issues through the performance of repertoire inspires by wildlife, nature, and climate change
Farewell Symphony – Haydn

Books and reports

If you, or anyone in your community, is interested in doing some further reading here are some of the reports and books that have helped inform our thinking around climate change.

Reports

Culture, Climate and Environmental Responsibility Report 2023/24, a report by Arts Council in collaboration with Julie's Bicycle, to celebrate the successes of creative and cultural organisations in acting on national and international climate targets.
Scottish Classical Sustainability Group produced the Scottish Classical Green Guide in 2021 and a report on Classical Music and Train Travel in Scotland.
Act Green 2024, a report by Indigo on understanding audience attitudes towards the role of cultural organisations in tackling the climate emergency.
Making Music slides about the previous Act Green 2023 report, presented at a Climate Change Network event. It includes a summary of the key findings of the report.
Talk Like a Human, an useful guide on how to effectively communicate about climate change

Books

Updated edition of How bad are bananas? The carbon footprint of everything by Mike Berners-Lee, published September 2020
How to avoid a climate disaster by Bill Gates
There is no planet B by Mike Berners-Lee
Our Iceberg Is Melting by John Kotte