How We’re Championing Climate Action At Spotify
One often hears that it takes a village to raise a child, and the same goes for combating climate change. At Spotify, we’re committed to reaching net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and inspiring others to make positive change.To succeed with this, we need to involve and engage the Spotify band members to incorporate climate actions in their work and leverage all the expertise and skills in different business areas.
Engaging Internally: The Spotify Climate Champions
A company’s climate actions are important for talent when evaluating a potential workplace, and they impact employee engagement and retention too. At Spotify, we are lucky to have climate-passionate and innovative band members. However, we also know that Spotifiers might find it hard to know where to start when making climate action part of their mindset, or part of their work.
To help Spotifiers incorporate climate change initiatives to their day-to-day role, our Sustainability team acts as a centre of excellence. We set out and communicate the course, and we coordinate initiatives (internally and externally) that are dedicated to providing the right skills, knowledge and inspiration. For example, by hosting role-specific skill-buildings sessions and inspirational speakers at our offices, and integrating climate content during company All Hands.
For extra momentum, and to encourage Spotifiers to take an active role, we’ve also built an engaged network of Climate Champions across all of the business. Spotify Climate Champions can take various different forms – from formal working groups and steering circles, to smaller project teams creating and driving grassroot initiatives. They are focused on finding different ways to engage other Spotifiers in making climate-positive choices and behaviours. Regular meetings are held with Climate Champions in different business areas for members to share experiences and best practice.
For example, bandmates from our R&D Climate Action program have created role-specific handbooks and video learning materials to educate engineers and designers about the company’s climate action goals, what net-zero means and how tech and product teams can get involved. Another example is our facilities Climate Champions that set up lots of local initiatives, from vegan and locally-sourced lunches, to clothes swap events, plant workshops and movie screenings. It was great to see the impact that these initiatives can have, and even greater to see band members coming together to celebrate our planet and be more engaged in our climate journey.
If each band member can incorporate climate action into their daily work, we’ll be more innovative, and solutions-focused, and will reach our net-zero goals faster. That’s why we’ve stepped up the pace when it comes to engaging, educating and inspiring Spotifiers to make climate action initiatives part of their every day.
Inspiring externally: NATURE Becoming An Artist
A successful internal climate movement also needs employees to take pride in what the company is saying, and most importantly doing, to solve the climate crisis. Spotify’s largest impact on nature and society is through its platform and millions of creators. After all, we’re not only trying to reduce our negative climate impact, but leveraging our platform to raise awareness, inspire and drive climate action.
A big part of inspiring Spotifiers with our creativity and where we can take action is the recent example of an on-platform initiative. In April, we launched Sounds Right, our first global climate action partnership with the Museum of the United Nations/UN Live, EarthPercent and other climate organisations.
Sounds Right is a music movement to recognise the value of nature and inspire millions of fans to take action, whereby NATURE has now officially been listed as an artist on Spotify. NATURE has her own tracks of ecosystem and pure nature sounds – perfect listening for those who love the sounds of nature. NATURE has also been featured by several renowned global artists like Brian Eno, Ellie Goulding, Aurora, Tom Walker and Anuv Jain who have created tracks featuring NATURE is credited for her work and receives royalties for each stream. The ambition is that not only will streaming these tracks generate income, but also music fans will be nudged to take more action, helping build a wider movement for change.
With this partnership, Spotify is leveraging our platform to fuel climate activism in a way that feels true to our brand: through the power of sound and music. Also, Sounds Right is a great example of how cross-organisation teams, where members have varying levels of climate knowledge and engagement, can come together and create impactful change. Together, we will instil a sense of agency to protect our planet, igniting a new era of environmental stewardship.
It Takes A Company
The Sounds Right initiative is a great example of band members across teams and business areas working together and bringing their expertise to a climate action initiative. In addition, our aspiration is that collaborations such as Sounds Right act as great role-modelling and inspiration to our own band members. Our commitment to becoming a more sustainable and equitable company continues and employee engagement and involvement will continue to be key for success. As you know, it takes a company to solve the climate crisis.
If you want to know more, our climate strategy, activities and progress during last year is shared in our recently published Equity & Impact report here. And when you think about how you can go about incorporating climate action into each person’s every day role, why not listen to Spotify’s oldest artist, as 4.6 billion years ago a star was born: NATURE.
