Climate Change Data

Warner Music Group

Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2021, 2022-10 to 2023-09)

Reporting Period: 2021

Environmental Metrics

Total Carbon Emissions:19,000 MT CO2e (Scope 1 & 2) + 21,000 MT CO2e (employee travel) in 2019
Scope 1 Emissions:4,582 MT CO2e (2019)
Scope 2 Emissions:13,525 MT CO2e (2019)
Renewable Energy Share:60% at EMP office

ESG Focus Areas

  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion
  • Great workplace and culture
  • Health and well-being
  • Relationship with artists and songwriters
  • Social impact
  • Content responsibility and freedom of expression
  • Environmental sustainability
  • Responsible sourcing
  • Data privacy and security
  • Intellectual property and piracy

Environmental Achievements

  • Became a founding member of the Music Climate Pact, endorsed by the United Nations.
  • Created first green physical product and packaging guidelines.
  • Calculated WMG’s first global direct GHG emissions footprint baseline (Scope 1 and 2 and employee travel).
  • Worked with Coldplay to produce their album on recycled vinyl and FSC-certified packaging, saving over 46 tons of virgin plastic.
  • Helped other artists release recycled vinyl records.
  • Eliminated paper statements for artist and songwriter royalties, reducing over 1.4 million pages of paper per year.

Social Achievements

  • Launched a $100 million Social Justice Fund with the Blavatnik Family Foundation, supporting 24 grantees.
  • Donated to more than 20 philanthropic organizations to aid in the fight against the impact of COVID-19.
  • Received certifications as a Great Place to Work™ in the U.S. and France.
  • Recognized for LGBTQ+ equality by the Human Rights Campaign.
  • Improved policies with regional variations around paid leave and child care support.
  • Introduced WMG’s Go Contribute program.
  • Increased financial investment in strategic learning and development offerings by an average of more than 15% per year.

Governance Achievements

  • Established an ESG governance structure with an ESG Executive Oversight Committee.
  • Enhanced the Board’s diversity.
  • Reconstituted Board committees to increase the number of independent directors.
  • Implemented a robust compliance training program covering anti-bribery, anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, etc.
  • Appointed a Global Head of Data Privacy.

Climate Goals & Targets

Long-term Goals:
  • Reduce GHG emissions in line with climate science (Music Climate Pact commitment).
Medium-term Goals:
  • Achieve measurable and time-bound goals for DEI.
  • Triple annual learning investment by 2025.
Short-term Goals:
  • Build strategic environmental sustainability strategy.
  • Measure Scope 3 emissions and set reduction target.
  • Implement new travel policy to reduce travel by 45% from 2019 levels.
  • Develop a comprehensive responsible sourcing program.

Environmental Challenges

  • Climate change and its impact on the music industry.
  • The environmental impact of digital entertainment.
  • Maintaining strong relationships with artists and songwriters in a dynamic market.
  • Large-scale music piracy.
  • Ensuring responsible sourcing throughout the supply chain.
Mitigation Strategies
  • Developing a strategic environmental sustainability strategy.
  • Setting a science-based target to reduce GHG emissions.
  • Measuring Scope 3 emissions.
  • Working with cross-industry partners to tackle climate change.
  • Increasing investment in artists and songwriters.
  • Implementing a global Supplier Code of Conduct.
  • Conducting an assessment of the supply chain to segment suppliers into areas of risk.
  • Taking measures to thwart music piracy.
  • Protecting intellectual property rights.

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement
  • Developing a global Supplier Code of Conduct.

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, SASB, UN SDGs

Certifications: Great Place to Work™

Sustainable Products & Innovation

  • Recycled vinyl records

Awards & Recognition

  • Great Place to Work™

Reporting Period: 2022-10 to 2023-09

Environmental Metrics

Total Carbon Emissions:8,813 MTCO2e/year
Scope 1 Emissions:1,583 tCO2e/year
Scope 2 Emissions:7,230 tCO2e/year
Renewable Energy Share:0%

ESG Focus Areas

  • Empowering Our People and Creative Talent
  • Using Our Scale and Influence for Good
  • Reducing Our Impact on the Environment

Environmental Achievements

  • Set a goal of sourcing 100% renewable energy across our offices by 2030.
  • Introduced an industry-first method of creating greener vinyl in conjunction with Sonopress (EcoRecord, using recyclable PET and reducing energy consumption by up to 85%).
  • Launched a Vinyl Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to understand the GHG impacts of vinyl production.
  • Produced WMG’s first ever BioVinyl LPs using bio-based PVC.

Social Achievements

  • Expanded Employee Assistance Program to include employees and their families in Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, and the UAE.
  • Implemented industry-leading parental leave policy in the UK (26 weeks).
  • Introduced flexible time off plan in the U.S. (starting 2024).
  • Expanded partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the U.S.
  • Launched a Female A&R Internship program in the UK.
  • Launched the ‘Count Me In’ campaign for DEI data collection.
  • Partnered with Porter’s Call to provide mental health support to recording artists in Nashville.
  • Launched the legacy unrecouped advances program for artists and songwriters who signed before 2000.
  • Developed Level, an online platform for artists to independently distribute their music.
  • Hosted SheSounds initiative in Spain to amplify women’s voices.
  • Hosted Mono Stereo Groove/Lions Share camp in Los Angeles for emerging AANHPI artists.

Governance Achievements

  • Updated and rolled out the Global WMG Supplier Code of Conduct.
  • Automated certification processes for vendors to confirm compliance with the Supplier Code of Conduct.
  • Bolstered ESG governance process by having the ESG team report to the Strategy Operations team.
  • Established the ESG Executive Oversight Committee composed of cross-functional senior leaders.

Climate Goals & Targets

Long-term Goals:
  • Decarbonize entire value chain (Scope 3 emissions reduction target not explicitly stated, but implied).
Medium-term Goals:
  • Source 100% renewable energy for operations by 2030.
  • Increase public transportation utilization by 20% at Warner Music Live events.
Short-term Goals:
  • Roll out mandatory DEI Foundations course to all countries in 2024.
  • Complete accessibility audits and neurodiverse workplace assessments across UK offices and implement results.

Environmental Challenges

  • Climate crisis impacting concerts and festivals.
  • Supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic, climate change, and geopolitical crises.
  • Lack of representation for women and underrepresented groups in the music industry.
  • Need for robust IP protections and enforcement in the context of AI.
  • Measuring and reducing Scope 3 emissions across the value chain.
Mitigation Strategies
  • Setting science-based targets to reduce emissions across Scopes 1, 2, and 3.
  • Sourcing 100% renewable energy by 2030.
  • Developing sustainable products and merchandise.
  • Partnering with industry organizations to address climate change (MICC).
  • Implementing DEI initiatives and programs.
  • Collaborating with platforms to establish control, attribution, and monetization of AI-generated content.
  • Advocating for responsible AI legislation.
  • Developing sector-specific guidelines for measuring Scope 3 emissions.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: 299 new vendors certified in 2023

Responsible Procurement
  • Global WMG Supplier Code of Conduct.
  • Automated certification processes.

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks
  • Extreme weather events disrupting concerts and tours.
Opportunities
  • Development of sustainable products and practices.

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, SASB, TCFD

Third-party Assurance: Third-party auditor (name not specified)

Sustainable Products & Innovation

  • EcoRecord vinyl.
  • BioVinyl LPs.
  • Recycled vinyl records.
  • Cardboard CD packaging.

Awards & Recognition

  • U.S. Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index Equality 100 Award