“In 2022 we pressed roughly 60% of our global vinyl products on 140g discs, reducing our output of virgin raw plastic by approximately 470 tonnes.”
“94% of frontline (Atlantic UK, Parlophone UK, and Warner Records UK) vinyl new releases were pressed on 140g vinyl reducing our output of virgin raw plastic by 27 tonnes.”
WMG has invested significantly over the years in reducing the environmental impacts from record manufacturing. In addition to our new efforts to produce and promote records without PVC, we’ve led the way adopting re-vinyl, a 100% recycled vinyl raw material made from production offcuts that would otherwise go to landfill. Avoiding the use of virgin materials vastly lowers carbon emissions, reduces plastic waste, and increases transport efficiency.
After experimenting in 2022 with a large-scale release of re-vinyl for Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres album, we produced re-vinyl for the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ European release of their new album, Return of the Dream Canteen, and for The Staves’ 10th anniversary album reissue of Dead & Born & Grown, thereby avoiding over three tonnes of virgin plastic from being produced and potentially ending up in a landfill.
In 2022, we also ran a workshop series on WMG’s Global Green Product and Packaging Design Guidelines, to help teams learn how to design products and packaging for vinyl, cassettes, and CDs to reduce their environmental impact. A top recommendation was to press new album releases on 140g vinyl instead of heavyweight 180g vinyl. We’re thrilled to report that in 2022 we pressed roughly 60% of our global vinyl products on 140g discs, reducing our output of virgin raw plastic by approximately 470 tonnes.
Additionally, we’re poised to produce nearly three times the number of discs in the U.S. for the U.S. market in 2023 (versus 2022). This will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from sea or air freight that would have otherwise come from European-based manufacturing facilities.
Read the WMG release here.