Impala releases second report with insights from carbon footprinting independent labels, focussing on practical actions driving change in the independent music sector

12 December 2024 - Press release

IMPALA releases its second annual update on findings from the IMPALA Carbon Calculator, a free-to-use carbon footprinting tool for the recorded music industry, supported by Merlin and Murmur and powered by Julie’s Bicycle.
 
This year’s report focuses on new results as well as case studies of labels using the Carbon Calculator to improve their operations and reduce their environmental impacts. Readers will find testimonials from labels already using the tool, an overview of the updates made to the calculator in 2024, as well as the findings from this year’s carbon data return. This includes details of an average carbon footprint for independent labels using the tool, highlighting the emissions hotspots that labels should focus on for emissions reductions.
 
Updates to the IMPALA Carbon Calculator this year enable labels to see their emissions by Scope, reflecting best practice in carbon footprint reporting. IMPALA’s report displays the average label footprint across all activities in different metrics: per physical unit manufactured, per 10,000 euro of revenue and per full-time employee per year. (Note this is not how much carbon manufacturing a CD or LP accounts for, or an employee, it is simply a set of different metrics for displaying carbon across all label activities.)
 
Launched in 2022, the IMPALA Carbon Calculator is the first bespoke environmental impact measurement tool for the independent recorded music sector. The Calculator helps IMPALA’s members measure their carbon footprint with a standardised methodology that is aligned with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) Corporate Standard, the most widely used framework for reporting organisational greenhouse gas emissions.

(Note this is not how much carbon manufacturing a CD or LP accounts for, or an employee, it is simply a set of different metrics for displaying carbon across all label activities)

The more data that is entered into the free Calculator by IMPALA’s members, the more powerful it will become as an instrument to support business decisions and manage environmental impacts. This will also help to build a more accurate and representative picture of the overall carbon footprint for the independent recorded music sector. IMPALA members are invited to join more than 150 users already using the tool and start measuring their carbon footprint here. Findings of the Business Case for Sustainability report released earlier this year are also included in IMPALA’s latest findings.
 

Helen Smith, Executive Chair of IMPALA: “This is our second carbon calculator report, giving an overview of the emissions of labels using the tool. Thanks to support from Merlin and Murmur, we have made significant updates to the tool. These are also reflected in the way we depict the average footprint of labels measuring, which now includes three different metrics. Since April 2024, members are able to measure and view their footprints in different scopes, which is also reflected in the report this year. This is IMPALA’s fifth year of action in this area and we decided to mark that by putting the spotlight on Horst Weidenmueller and !K7 with IMPALA’s Outstanding Contribution Award. Horst’s pragmatic approach makes !K7 a model and a driving force for our work.”

 
Peter Quicke, Ninja Tune, co-chair of IMPALA’s sustainability task force: “It’s great to see so many record labels support the calculator's creation and development. This is an important part of the record industry addressing the climate emergency and showing that independent labels are serious about this challenge, along with many initiatives that go ‘Beyond Carbon’. The IMPALA carbon calculator has become an essential tool for Ninja Tune. We have recently completed our fifth annual report. Each year we have been able to add some extra areas, gradually building a more detailed picture of our footprint and giving us the information and impetus to address each area.”
 
Ian Stanton, Head of Sustainability, Beggars Group, Murmur Sustainability Advisor: “To reduce your impact you first need to understand what your impact is - the IMPALA calculator is a key resource to enable record labels to understand their impacts, identify improvements and track their performance in a science-based way. The data within this report is absolutely key to helping the independent record sector transition to a low carbon model. Using the IMPALA calculator is a great way to evidence that labels are taking a best practice approach to quantifying and addressing their impacts. Murmur is proud to be supporting such an important initiative.”
 
Jeremy Sirota, Merlin CEO: “Merlin is passionate about promoting a more sustainable music industry. Inspired by IMPALA and many of our members, we established a Merlin Green working group to coordinate our sustainability initiatives and integrate environmental responsibility into our organizational goals. In 2023, Merlin was proud to provide financial support for IMPALA to further develop, expand, and promote its Carbon Calculator — a tool that many independents, including Merlin, use to assess their carbon emissions. The path towards a more sustainable future involves all of us working together.”
 
Examples of reports produced with the Carbon Calculator
!K7 Music
Beggars Group
Ninja Tune
Involved Productions
 

What some of the tool users say about the Calculator:
The first stage of reducing your carbon emissions is measuring them in a way that is meaningful and aligned to best practice. The IMPALA Carbon Calculator allows users to apply the rigour of greenhouse gas accounting in a straightforward and easy to use way. At Beggars we have just entered our fifth year of data into the calculator which enables us to accurately report our impact and track our performance. The industry insight provided by the annual report is crucial to transitioning the industry to a low carbon future.
Ian Stanton, Head of Sustainability, Beggars Group, Murmur Sustainability Advisor
 
Our company is in a period of substantial growth, but we have the highest priority for reducing the negative climate effects in all areas. Using the Carbon Calculator has helped us better understand where our hotspots are and how to use this data to start making progressive decisions.
Torgny Sjöö, COO, Playground Music Scandinavia
 
Getting started was definitely the hardest part. Trying to measure our impacts felt very daunting in the beginning. But if you can get over that mental hurdle and start doing it, it's actually not that difficult. The first year was a little bit challenging, but we took a different approach this year where we're tracking things as we go. It's just a few extra minutes every time we are pressing up a record. So, at the end of the year, we're pretty much ready to go in creating a carbon footprint - we just need to enter the information into the calculator.
For anyone who is passionate and cares about our environment - tracking data and using the Calculator is a small thing to do for an important cause.
Andy Hsueh, Partisan, US
 
We at EMS have supported the Carbon Calculator project from the very beginning. The user-friendly interface coupled with the meaningful results motivate us year after year to achieve a positive impact on the environment and our entire surroundings. This motivates us to continuously work on multi-layered solutions that holistically reduce our energy consumption.
Andrea Radermacher, Encoding Management Service – EMS GmbH, Germany
 
Full report available here.