While across Europe the spotlight is on the automotive industry to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, Berlin's clubs, backed by politicians, are already helping to reduce the city's carbon footprint.

Thanks to a new environmental project launched by the NGO Friends of the Earth and the association clubliebe, which advises nightlife venues on sustainability practices, more and more clubs are putting green measures in place. Their transition to clean energy, funded by the Berlin city administration, includes replacing conventional lighting with LED lights, reducing water consumption, adopting more energy-efficient cooling and heating systems, and improving waste management, with the gradual phasing out of plastic.

How much do Berlin's clubs pollute, and why they can help the climate

According to calculations by the German NGO, a Berlin club emits up to 30 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year, and also requires the same amount of electricity in a single weekend as an entire family uses in a year. In short, Friends of the Earth Germany's representatives argue that nightlife has so far been far from any kind of climate balance.

Fortunately for them, a highly active Green Party representative, Georg Kössler, has spoken out about how important it is for Berlin's clubs to become eco-sustainable, both to help save the environment and to motivate citizens to do the same. "I think Berlin clubs are trendsetters, not only in terms of music but also in terms of lifestyle," the politician told Deutsche Welle. "Thousands of young Berlin residents go to clubs and thousands of tourists come to Berlin for the clubs, so we can really reach a lot of people by working with the clubs and making them greener."

Unlike what happens in cities such as Sydney, or worse still Tbilisi, where closures tip into oppression, Berlin's politicians and clubs have forged a solid, lasting alliance, working in symbiosis in the shared awareness of the value nightlife holds for the city's economy.

Berlin is changing, Berlin is no longer the same

Those who have lived in the German capital for years, across all its facets — from cultural initiatives to nightlife — are increasingly lamenting rising rents and, more broadly, the cost of living. Since 2011, around 170 clubs have been forced to close due to violations of safety or noise pollution regulations. Despite the threat of closures, Berlin is adapting to change better than other European capitals, drawing on the economic contribution of entertainment-related activities that the city administration is committed to protecting and promoting.

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Last year, the government allocated one million euros through the Noise protection fund for Berlin clubs to install adequate soundproofing systems, in order to preserve club culture and ensure its long-term compatibility with local residents.

From the sustainable dancefloor to pyrolysis: initiatives for greener clubbing

One of the most radical ideas currently being discussed by Berlin promoters is investing in dancefloors that generate electricity. The sustainable dancefloor, invented around ten years ago by Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde and already in use in Rotterdam, makes use of special tiles that capture the kinetic energy of people moving on the floor and convert it into electricity.

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"The problem with such technology," explains Konstanze Meyer of clubliebe to DW, "is the cost — it requires a high initial investment for clubs, which tend to have short leases on average." Hope is nourished by Berlin's remarkable ability to spark political and social movements and campaigns, as demonstrated by the Love Parade and the many initiatives for a more open and plural society, and this momentum could well resonate at an environmental level too.

A study carried out by Meyer herself among club-goers, for instance, shows that over eighty per cent of them would be willing to support clubs by taking action themselves. Kössler echoes this sentiment; he has made available to the city a multi-million-euro climate protection fund: "There is still a lot of money left, available to any club that puts forward an innovative project to save energy or become greener."

Other German locations are following Berlin's example. Two hours from the capital lies Ferropolis, a former coal mine in the state of Saxony-Anhalt where giant industrial carcasses still stand, and where eco-sustainable events such as the Melt festival are held. The venue, which accommodates 30,000 people and already generates seventy per cent of its energy from solar power, is exploring the possibility of producing energy from waste using pyrolysis — the thermal decomposition of organic materials — through prototype toilets that separate liquids from solids.

Cover image: evening view of Berlin © Sean Gallup/Getty Images