Music lovers going to the concerts of the Sinfonia Lahti, a renowned Finnish symphonic orchestra, can soon enjoy top of the range classical music and help protect the climate in the process.

Sinfonia Lahti has partnered with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat’s Climate Neutral Now initiative to enable concert-goers to purchase symphony tickets online which generate funding for climate friendly projects.

Buying tickets via Ticketmaster Finland’s ‘Green Button’ means that part of the proceeds go towards internationally certified development projects that aim to combat climate change.

“The internationally renowned Lahti Symphony Orchestra is now also acting as a global pioneer in climate responsibility. The Green Button makes it easy for concert-goers to participate in the global campaign to reduce greenhouse emissions,” said Saara Vauramo, Environmental Director of the City of Lahti.

To honor the Sibelius 150 jubilee year, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra became the first orchestra in Finland to join the Green Button campaign, in collaboration with Lippupalvelu Oy/Ticketmaster Finland and Myrskyvaroitus – “Storm Warning ry”, an official partner of the UNFCCC through Climate Neutral Now. This type of campaign will also be made available for other event organizers in the future.

Niclas Svenningsen, coordinator of the UNFCCC’s Climate Neutral Now initiative said, “We are delighted for this multi-partner collaboration, which shows how different individuals and organizations can work together to contribute toward a common goal: climate action. Congratulations Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Storm Warning ry, and Ticketmaster Finland for this innovative initiative."

The orchestra’s carbon footprint was calculated in cooperation with the Lahti-based Environmental Technology unit of the Lappeenranta University of Technology, and is based on a life cycle evaluation which was conducted by Ms. Pilvi Virolainen, M.Sc., for her master’s thesis.

See more about the Lahti Symphony Orchestra here.

To learn more, contact:

Ms. Hannele Eklund, Myrskyvaroitus ry - Storm Warning ry: hannele.eklund@wellspoken.fi

Mr. Teemu Kirjonen, Lahti Symphony Orchestra: teemu.kirjonen@lahti.fi

Ms. Lippupalvelu Oy, Tickemaster Finland: birgitta.kukkonen@lippupalvelu.fi

Climate Neutral Now: climateneutralnow@unfccc.int