From LA to the Industry: Five Signals That Sustainability Is Shifting Gears
Reflections from LA Climate Week and the Music Sustainability Alliance Summit, where collaboration, leadership, and resilience are redefining what it means to go green in entertainment.
By Zena Harris, Founder & President, Green Spark Group
Los Angeles was truly alive with intention. Between the panel stage at Planet in Mind's LA Climate Week event and the halls of the Music Sustainability Summit, it became clear: the entertainment industry isn't just talking about sustainability anymore, it's beginning to act with strategy.
Here are five signals worth paying attention to.
The interest is real, and it's broad. Across conversations with industry stakeholders, from film and TV production to live music, genuine enthusiasm for sustainability surfaced again and again. This isn't a trend driven by optics alone. People want to do this work.
Leadership is the missing lever. The 2026 Green Spark Group Leadership Survey points to something important: we need to celebrate and cultivate leaders who enable sustainable practices. When those individuals are visible, others follow. The industry needs more champions, and it needs to name them.
The ecosystem has never been stronger. Organizations doing meaningful work, Green Film School Alliance, EcoSet, Every Day Action, Sustainable Entertainment Alliance, Green Spark Group, and others, are multiplying and maturing. For any production or venue asking "where do I start?", the infrastructure now exists to meet them where they are.
In live music, the generator era is ending. The Music Sustainability Alliance Summit made one thing crystal clear: the goal is to eliminate supplemental diesel generators and move fully to electric and battery-powered solutions. The proof of concept will be festival-driven. Power reliability, demand management, and vendor trust are the critical variables, and the industry is working through them methodically.
The next phase is resilience. Sustainability in live events is maturing past the basics, food, power, transport, waste, into a more sophisticated conversation about resilience and value creation. The question is shifting from "are we doing this?" to "how do we make this last, and who does it serve?"
Green Spark Group returns from LA with a sharpened strategy and renewed confidence that the industry is ready. The momentum is here. Now it's time to build on it.
