Universal Music Group – the world’s leading music-based entertainment company – has now seen its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets formally approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
It marks a first for a standalone major music company and one which boasts a major presence in the licensed product and merchandise sector spearheaded by its music merchandise arm, Bravado.
The milestone announcement reflects UMG’s dedication to addressing its environmental impacts and amplifies its determination to ‘continue delivering pacesetting change’ on one of the most important public health issues of this era. UMG is also a founding member of the Music Climate Pact, the global platform of music companies engaged in collective action combating the climate crisis.
UMG’s executive vice president, chief financial officer and president of operations, Boyd Muir said: “I am incredibly proud of the organization-wide efforts that have brought us to this milestone. By aligning our operations with science-based targets, we deepen our commitment to embed sustainability principles into our business practices and to innovate for a resilient future in which both global communities and music lovers thrive.”
The Science Based Targets initiative has validated that the science-based greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets submitted by UMG conform with the SBTi Criteria and Recommendations. Specifically, Universal Music Group has committed to achieving ambitious GHG emissions targets across all scopes (scope 1, 2, and 3) and has outlined a pathway to:
- Reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 58% by 2032 from a 2019 base year, an ambition which is in line with a 1.5?C trajectory.
- Reduce scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods & services, capital goods, fuel- and energy-related activities, upstream transportation and distribution, waste generated in operations, business travel, and employee commuting by 62% per EUR value added within the same timeframe.
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol defines Scope 1 emissions as direct emissions from owned or controlled sources, Scope 2 as emissions associated with the generation of electricity, heating/cooling, or steam purchased for the reporting organization’s own consumption, and Scope 3 as indirect emissions other than those covered in Scope 2 (such as a third-party supplier’s energy consumption, product manufacturing, and logistics).
As an extension of the commitment, UMG’s music merchandise and licensed consumer products arm, Bravado is part of the journey to reduce emissions and is currently working alongside Products of Change to draw up a sustainability roadmap and hit its targets along the pathway to a more sustainable way of operating.
Bravado’s md, David Boyne was one among a panel of esteemed brand and licensing industry executive and company representatives to be tackling the topic of mapping the pathway towards sustainability in licensing at the Sustainability in Licensing Conference 2023 earlier this month.
The session is available to watch, alongside the full programme of the days’ content online and on demand for all digital and in-person ticket holders. Those who did not watch the conference live can watch on catch-up by purchasing their digital ticket here.
