Decarbonising classical music’s international touring

A new international travel report was launched by The Scottish Classical Sustainability Group on Wednesday 5 March 2025 to coincide with day 1 of Culture for Climate Scotland’s event – SPRINGBOARD: Assembly for creative climate action 2025.

Classical music needs to reduce its impact on the planet. International touring is an essential part of the modern industry and it’s been part of the artform for hundreds of years. But it’s currently being done in an unsustainable, carbon-intensive way that contributes to climate change. Why and how classical music is toured needs to shift.

The Scottish Classical Sustainability Group noticed that musicians’ voices are often left out of the sector’s discussions and plans around environmental sustainability. They wanted to hear directly from musicians in order to build a more nuanced picture of things. The group’s members designed and drafted a survey about international touring in the first half of 2024. It was piloted with a small group of musicians in spring 2024 and then launched publicly in June.

Over 115 musicians were surveyed – working primarily in classical music, but also folk, jazz, pop, electronic and punk. From the survey’s 50 questions, this report shares eight key findings, accompanied by data, quotes and case studies.

Read the report: International travel report for musicians