'We are doing our best': Coldplay hits back at backlash for partnering up with Finnish oil company Neste in a bid to halve tour emissions
Coldplay has hit back at criticism surrounding their partnership with Finnish oil company Neste, in which they pledged to half their touring emissions.
The British rock band announced a partnership with the Finnish oil company last week in a bid to make their Music Of The Spheres World Tour 'as sustainable as possible'.
It is part of the band's ongoing efforts to make the tour more eco-friendly after they paused touring their last album due to environmental concerns.
![Green: Coldplay has hit back at criticism surrounding their partnership with Finnish oil company Neste, in which they pledged to half their touring emissions](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/05/11/20/57700045-10806859-image-m-128_1652299107759.jpg)
Green: Coldplay has hit back at criticism surrounding their partnership with Finnish oil company Neste, in which they pledged to half their touring emissions
But campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E) called on Chris Martin and his team to drop the partnership as it claimed Neste 'sourced from palm oil mills linked to deforestation'.
T&E alleged the oil company's 'sustainable fuels are based on used cooking oil' and claimed it used 'dubious biofuels' for its renewable energy.
But both Coldplay and Neste hit back and said T&E's claims were wrong, because the company use 'renewable waste products' not 'virgin materials' including palm oil.
Neste also hit back at T&E's allegations it has links to deforestation, saying it responded to claims its suppliers were involved in deforestation between 2019 and 2020 and investigations found no evidence of 'serious sustainability violations'.
![Renewable energy: The band announced a partnership with the oil company to make their Music Of The Spheres World Tour (pictured: Chris Martin performing on the tour) sustainable](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/05/11/20/57698329-10806859-image-a-126_1652299066005.jpg)
Renewable energy: The band announced a partnership with the oil company to make their Music Of The Spheres World Tour (pictured: Chris Martin performing on the tour) sustainable
Commenting on the partnership, T&E senior director Carlos Calvo Ambel said: '[Neste] is a company that is linked to the kind of deforestation that would appall Chris Martin and his fans.
'It's not too late. Coldplay should drop their partnership with Neste now and focus on truly clean solutions instead.'
But Coldplay hit back at T&E's claims and insisted they are doing their 'best' to make their tour - which has kicked off in the US - as sustainable as possible, saying it was a 'work in progress'.
The band also responded to criticism about Neste's biofuel products, saying they received the company's guarantee they do not use 'virgin materials' or palm oil in production.
Coldplay said: 'When we announced this tour, we said that we would try our best to make it as sustainable and low carbon-impact as possible, but that it would be a work in progress. That remains true. We don't claim to have got it all right yet.
![Criticised: But campaign group Transport & Environment called on Chris Martin and his team to drop the partnership as it claimed Neste 'sourced from palm oil mills linked to deforestation'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/05/11/20/57700071-10806859-image-a-130_1652299198794.jpg)
Criticised: But campaign group Transport & Environment called on Chris Martin and his team to drop the partnership as it claimed Neste 'sourced from palm oil mills linked to deforestation'
'Before we appointed Neste as supplier of these biofuel products, we received their guarantee that they do not use any virgin materials in their production – most especially not palm oil.
'It's still our understanding that they use renewable waste products only, like cooking oil and byproducts from wood pulp manufacture.'
And Neste also hit back at T&E's allegations as it insisted that it is a 'leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel'.
It said T&E's claims it uses 'dubious biofuels' were wrong as the raw materials it uses for production 'always meet the legal sustainability requirements set by local authorities'.
It added: 'Neste has developed a robust system to ensure its renewable products, and the raw materials it uses in its production, always meet the legal sustainability requirements set by local authorities in our markets.
!['Work in progress': Responding to the criticism, the band insisted that they were doing their 'best' to make their tour as sustainable as possible. Pictured: Coldplay's Chris Martin on tour](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/05/12/16/57700085-10806859-_Work_in_progress_Responding_to_the_criticism_the_band_insisted_-a-1_1652371100460.jpg)
'Work in progress': Responding to the criticism, the band insisted that they were doing their 'best' to make their tour as sustainable as possible. Pictured: Coldplay's Chris Martin on tour
'This includes that we always only use those renewable raw materials that are accepted in the local legislation.'
The company also hit back at allegations it was linked to deforestation as it said an investigation found 'no evidence to support allegations on serious sustainability violations'.
Neste said they responded to claims their suppliers were involved in deforestation between 2019 and 2020 when the issues were first brought to attention.
The statement added: 'We issued a follow-up statement after our investigations found no evidence to support allegations on serious sustainability violations within Neste's raw material supply chain.
'Although our investigations on these allegations have all been completed, we continue to monitor the palm oil industry players mentioned in the claims.'
Speaking directly about their collaboration with Coldplay, Neste said it was wrong to claim that palm oil or vegetable oils were used for its supplied renewable fuels.
It said: 'For our collaboration with Coldplay, conventional palm oil or other virgin vegetable oils were not used as raw materials for the supplied renewable fuels.
'As we transparently communicate on our website, we do use sustainably-produced vegetable oils, such as 100% certified and traceable palm oil to produce renewable products for specific markets according to their preferences.'
Coldplay announced the partnership with Neste last week and pledged to cut their direct GHG tour emissions by 50 per cent compared to their last tour.
Announcing the partnership, Coldplay said in a Facebook statement: 'We're proud to partner with Neste to make our Music Of The Spheres World Tour as sustainable as possible. Their ultra low-emission renewable fuels will play a major part in our efforts to minimise the tour's climate impact.'
![Sustainable: The backlash comes after Coldplay announced in October they planned to power their global tour next year using 'the world's first rechargeable show battery'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/05/11/21/57700091-10806859-image-a-144_1652299261896.jpg)
Sustainable: The backlash comes after Coldplay announced in October they planned to power their global tour next year using 'the world's first rechargeable show battery'
Lead singer Chris, 45, added: 'We've tried to put sustainability at the centre of this tour because it just feels like the only option.'
Their latest partnership comes after Coldplay announced in October they planned to power their global tour next year using 'the world's first rechargeable show battery'.
In a bid to make their gigs more eco-friendly, fans will stand on 'kinetic flooring' generating electricity as they jump to the music, while concert-goers can also hop on bikes to provide extra energy.
Chris told the BBC at the time: 'When they move, they power the concert. And we have bicycles too that do the same thing.
'The more people move, the more they're helping. You know when the frontman says, 'We need you to jump up and down'?
'When I say that, I literally really need you to jump up and down. Because if you don't, then the lights go out.'
The performances will be supported by a 'show battery', supplied by BMW, which will be recharged using solar power and generators powered by hydro-treated vegetable oil.
Coldplay will still fly on private jets but solar energy and waste cooking oil fuel will also be used for the tour, which kicked off earlier this month in the US.
It is part of the band's 12-point plan to cut their carbon footprint, two years after they paused touring their last album due to environmental concerns.
![Efforts: It is part of the band's (pictured: Chris Martin) 12-point plan to cut their carbon footprint, two years after they paused touring their last album due to environmental concerns](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/05/11/21/57700127-10806859-image-m-146_1652299321363.jpg)
Efforts: It is part of the band's (pictured: Chris Martin) 12-point plan to cut their carbon footprint, two years after they paused touring their last album due to environmental concerns
Chris added: 'We're trying our best, and we haven't got it perfect. We always have backlash for everything.'
Coldplay aim to plant a tree for every ticket sold and Chris previously said the band 'still have a long way to go' in their aim to have one of the greenest tours in history.
He said last year: 'In some areas, there's still not enough possible, like how do you get people to a venue without consuming any power? That's still really hard.
'Or flying - there's still a lot of offsetting we have to do, because even sustainable aviation fuel isn't good enough yet.
'So we know where we still have a long way to go. But in terms of the show itself, the whole show is powered from renewable energy, which is amazing.'
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