Pollstar, the trusted voice and leading resource for the live entertainment industry, announces the creation of a groundbreaking new award: The Billie Eilish Award for Sustainability, named for Billie Eilish, a leader in championing sustainable practice in the industry. This first-of-its-kind award will be presented in its inaugural year to both Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA and GM of UBS Arena, Mike Sciortino, at the 36th Annual Pollstar Awards on Wednesday, April 16 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.
Pollstar is committed to celebrating the leaders and venues championing sustainability practices that enable the sustainability of live events. The physical venues that host our industry’s best experiences continue to refine their sustainability efforts to overcome challenges – including adapting to climate change – as innovations emerge and as we identify and share best practices across the industry. In addition to operational efforts like waste management, energy efficiency, and water conservation, these organizations are also elevating the topic through fan and visitor engagement, upskilling employees and staff, and increasingly finding ways to partner and support their local communities. To honor these achievements, Pollstar will establish The Billie Eilish Award for Sustainability, named after Billie Eilish, who has inspired the entertainment industry through her leadership and advocacy for sustainable practices not just in the live and touring sector but also in merchandise, physical music product, and all other aspects of her musical career.
This year’s winners were selected by a committee of sustainability experts in the live entertainment industry. In future years, this honor will be expanded to recognize a variety of market sizes and geographies and nominations will be solicited, as with any Pollstar Award. Nominees will be vetted by a committee of sustainability experts and voted on by subscribers and industry leaders.
Sustainability Champion: Mike Sciortino, GM of UBS Arena (Belmont Park NY)
Celebrating the individual leaders of the sustainability movement in sports and entertainment
Mike is an effective and passionate sustainability leader, always striving to learn more and reach the next level of impact leadership. He has spearheaded UBS Arena’s efforts in becoming carbon neutral for operations ahead of the venue’s initial targeted timeline, obtaining GOAL Medals, LEED Certification, and TRUE Zero Waste Certification, with the team having a successful 94%+ diversion rate since the initiative started. In addition to his day job, Sciortino leads their sustainability program called Sustainable Brilliance, Community Resilience, including facilitating a monthly Sustainability Committee, which brings various business stakeholders from across UBS Arena and the New York Islanders together to continue to chase their ambitious sustainability efforts. Sciortino is also pushing to find what more can be done and is never inhibited by challenges or barriers – he’s always collaborative and is open to sharing lessons learned across the industry.
Sustainable Venue: Climate Pledge Arena (Seattle, WA)
Recognizing the venues that enable all events that they host to have a positive impact on the environment and their community
Winning 38 Gold GOAL Medals, ranging in building design and operations-focused objectives, Climate Pledge Arena continues to operate as the most sustainable venue in the world. In addition to achieving the TRUE Zero Waste Certification and recycling rainwater on-site, the arena has earned the ILFI Zero Carbon Certification, which validates carbon neutrality in scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. Beyond the arena walls, Climate Pledge Arena, in partnership with its affiliated nonprofit, One Roof Foundation, leverages its platform with artists to support youth and communities most impacted by environmental harms, including a recent investment to provide potable water to students at a local Title 1 school.
Pollstar recognizes that providing actionable information at every level of the live entertainment business and promoting the positive impact facilities and touring are having in their local communities and beyond is central to this mission. In addition to this award, Pollstar is committing to a monthly print feature called “Sustainability Matters” which will shine a spotlight on successful sustainability efforts across the live entertainment industry that are helping to lead the way forward on this critically important issue and are adding sustainability education and practices to our industry.
A highlight of the three-day Pollstar Live! conference, the world’s largest gathering of live entertainment professionals, the Pollstar Awards recognize and celebrate the most innovative and successful artists, tours, companies, venues, and executives.
Previously announced 2025 award recipients include LA Clippers Chairman Steve Ballmer with The Visionary Award and legendary artist manager Gary Kurfirst with the Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition, the Pollstar Live! Hall of Fame class of 2025 will be celebrated during the awards show with honorees including iconic artist Stevie Nicks, historic Nashville venue Ryman Auditorium, legendary promoter Louis Messina, and esteemed promoter/agent Barrie Marshall.
Pollstar Awards to be presented include Major Tour of the Year, with nominees including Coldplay’s “Music of the Spheres World Tour,” Morgan Wallen’s “One Night At A Time 2024,” Noah Kahan’s “We’ll All Be Here Forever Tour,” Olivia Rodrigo’s “Guts World Tour,” Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour,” and Zach Bryan’s “The Quittin Time Tour.” Additional tour, event, and artist categories include Rock, Hip-Hop, R&B, Pop, Country, Latin, and Comedy tours of the year; Support/Special Guest Act of the Year; Residency of the Year; Family, Event or Non-Music Tour of the Year; and New Headliner of the Year. Venue and festival awards include Music Festival of The Year, International Music Festival of The Year, Nightclub of the Year, Theatre of the Year, Arena of the Year, Red Rocks Award for Outdoor Concert Venue of the Year, Stadium of the Year, and more. The awards also honor venue executives, talent buyers, promoters, agents, agencies, talent managers, tour managers and more.
Award recipients are chosen by Pollstar’s editorial team based on touring and live event hosting success as quantified by Pollstar data, as well as qualitative factors such as historical impact, cultural significance, critical acclaim, and multiple Pollstar Award wins voted upon by the live industry.
The world’s premier event for live entertainment professionals, Pollstar Live! returns to the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on April 15-17, 2025. Boasting a distinguished reputation for attracting industry titans and superstar artists, last year’s conference featured Jon Bon Jovi, Steve Ballmer, Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament, James L. Dolan, Rob Light, Tim Leiweke, as well as the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, among others. Previous years have included Dave Grohl, Nicki Minaj, Garth Brooks, Pitbull, Mark Cuban, Irving and Jeffrey Azoff, Michael Rapino, Scooter Braun, Sharon Osbourne, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and many more.
About Pollstar Live!
With over 30 years of history, this three-day event offers compelling discussions led by industry visionaries, beginning with Production Live!, a full day dedicated to those “in the trenches” in live events. Starting Wednesday, Pollstar Live! takes center stage, delving into the most relevant and informative topics for live entertainment professionals. The conference will focus on artist development, data, research, and the visionary strategies driving the global live entertainment industry to unprecedented heights. A perennial highlight of the conference, the annual Pollstar Awards celebration will commemorate the year’s top achievements. Go to Pollstar.live to register and for the latest announcements about keynote speakers, panelists, session topics, and more.
About Oak View Group
Oak View Group (OVG) is the global leader in live experience venue development, management, premium hospitality services, and 360-degree solutions for a collection of world-class owned venues and a client roster of arenas, stadiums, convention centers, music festivals, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions. Founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015, OVG is the leading developer of major new venues either open or under development across four continents. Visit OakViewGroup.com, and follow OVG on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.
About Pollstar
Since its founding in 1981, Pollstar, “The Voice of Live,” has been the premier trade publication dedicated to covering the worldwide concert industry.Pollstar data is the leading resource for the touring industry encompassing box office numbers, routing, and directories. Pollstar produces a weekly magazine, publishes daily content to Pollstar.com and its “Daily Pulse” e-newsletter, and produces the world’s largest gathering of live music industry professionals — Pollstar Live! Follow Pollstar on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.
About Climate Pledge Arena
Climate Pledge Arena, located at Seattle Center, is the complete redevelopment of an historic landmark, originally built for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. The arena is home to the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, WNBA’s Seattle Storm, and the world’s biggest performers of live music and events. Climate Pledge Arena is owned by Seattle Hockey Partners and Oak View Group (OVG), a global leader in live experience venue development, management, premium hospitality services, and 360 venue solutions.
The arena is named after The Climate Pledge, an initiative founded by Amazon and Global Optimism asking global corporations to become net zero carbon by 2040. Climate Pledge Arena has one of the most progressive sustainability programs of any building its size, including being the world’s first Zero Carbon Certified arena. Climate Pledge Arena opened October 19, 2021. climatepledgearena.com
MEDIA CONTACTS
Scoop Marketing for Oak View Group
Larry Solters, | solters@solters.com
Sam Threadgill | sthreadgill@solters.com
Erik Stein | estein@solters.com
Climate Pledge Arena
Rosie Selle | rselle@climatepledgearena.com
