Is the indie sector now leading the way on climate emergency? Secretly Group has revealed their plan to significantly change its sustainability practices, and become ‘climate positive’ by 2026. “The Secretly Affiliates Sustainability Plan” is a comprehensive document outlining the environmental impact of the Secretly Affiliates (i.e. the group of businesses including Secretly Canadian, its publishing and distribution arms, as well as labels Jagjaguwar, Ghostly, etc) – and explaining the changes the companies will make. These wide-ranging changes include switching to renewable energy suppliers, and reducing packaging, employee travel and manufacturing.
The document is full of sobering details, such as the calculation that in 2019 (Secretly has calculated the data based on pre-pandemic behaviour), the Affiliates “created 150 metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (MTCO2e).” That’s the same amount of carbon as, “burning two tanker trucks’ worth of gasoline.” Secretly aims to compensate full the carbon emissions for its full existence: it estimates the company’s carbon debt since its inception in 1996 as equating to roughly five times 2019’s emissions.
The “ultimate goal”, the document states, “is to eliminate—rather than offset—the GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions that we create.” Secretly will do this by, amongst other things, “minimizing product packaging, encouraging greener commutes, and installing a 60-kilowatt solar array on the roof of our main office in Bloomington,” resulting in significant emissions reductions. The impact is also measured in financial terms: the solar array alone will “generate a net savings of $48,000 over its lifetime.
Secretly has also committed to being a founder investor and user in Impala’s bespoke Carbon Calculator for the music industry, and it’s noticeable that it’s the indie sector that is leading the way in the drive to grapple with – and take action – on the environmental impact of its businesses. Beggars Group and Ninja Tune also announced their aims to become carbon-negative this year, as part of around the UK’s Music Declares Emergency campaign.
Secretly co-founder Ben Swanson explained to Billboard the complexities of producing these calculations, saying, “You solve one problem and you open up six other problems.” But, as this effort shows, it’s not only possible, action positively affects the bottom line – saving money and making sound business sense. Maybe we’re cynical, but it’s this latter realisation that might convince others to take note and act boldly.
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Tools :: Wyng
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