Bryan Adams' Tickets For Trees Eco Campaign

By Karen Bliss

Bryan Adams is shining a light on the environment with a simple but effective gesture for his current world tour in support of his new album, Shine A Light.   Teaming up with shipping partner and green logistics experts DHL, the Canadian rock singer will ensure one tree is planted for every ticket sold. Adams headlines arenas and is expected to play at least 80 dates in 2019, with a tree-tally of about 850,000.  He started in Europe back in February and just kicked off his North American leg.

"DHL are our Shine A Light tour partners for their 50th anniversary," wrote Adams on his Instagram page, with a photo of the branded plane taken by @eddmspotter at the Munich International Airport. "They plan to plant a tree for every ticket sold this year, which we estimate will be around 850,000 trees! That’s a small forest. I hope more artists do this kind of eco-partnership in the future, I’m proud to be part of this initiative."

Adams, whose albums have sold some 65 million copies worldwide, and made enduring hits of his songs like (Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Summer Of ’69, Run To You and Straight From The Heart, didn’t just get a philanthropic streak once he became majorly successful. 

At 15, he started volunteering for Greenpeace to stop the whaling. He became a vegan in his late 20s, which went hand in hand with animal rights and protection, and is a vocal advocate of healthy living. His involvement with causes extends beyond animals, from early support of famine relief (Tears Are Not Enough and Live Aid) and Amnesty International to fundraising for Shriners Hospital For Children on tour a few years ago where volunteers at each venue sold his Get Up CD.

In 2006, Adams registered his own foundation in the U.K. The causes supported by The Bryan Adams Foundation, whose motto is “helping people help people,” are varied, but his particular soft spot is for kids and education.

DHL, founded in America, is the international courier, parcel, and express mail division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post DHL, delivering over 1.3 billion packages a year. It has a corporate social responsibility mandate to achieve zero emissions by 2050.  “We utilize our expertise to make your logistics greener and more sustainable – giving you an edge over the competition,” it states on its web site. “We can also help you find ways to apply circular-economy principles to eradicate waste and retain more of the value that goes into your products.”

Germany’s Dirk Ude, head of global DHL advertising, Deutsche Post DHL Group, answered some questions via email for Samaritanmag about the company’s partnership with Adams and why it is a perfect fit. -- Continue reading the Bryan Adams feature by Karen Bliss on the Samaritanmag website.