Global Impact

Music. It’s the universal language. It inspires us, moves us, thrills us, heals us and ultimately unites us all. As the world’s leading music company, we nurture a culture that respects music and fosters artistry and self-expression.

Through the Global Impact Team, UMG amplifies its vision for positive change through community engagement, environmental sustainability, events and special projects. It drives positive impact across the company, industry, and local communities in which UMG operates. The Global Impact Team is comprised of members of UMG’s Social Responsibility and Sustainability Teams, as well as The Universal Music All Together Now Foundation (ATNF), all of which partner with organizations around the globe that are working towards meaningful positive change.

Sustainability

Universal Music Group is committed to environmental sustainability in our business and across the industry, collaborating to improve our environmental impacts and leverage our cultural platform to motivate others to take action.

Reducing Our Footprint

Our purpose is to shape culture through the power of artistry, and we believe we have the opportunity to help influence culture’s response to climate change. We are committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and achieving our Science Based Targets.

UMG aims to partner with suppliers who share our sustainability goals, and we incorporate our Supplier Social Responsibility Policy into all global manufacturing agreements. We have developed sustainability strategies for Universal Music Manufacturing & Logistics and Bravado, UMG’s merchandising arm. We also encourage our suppliers to take increasingly meaningful sustainability action.

Creating a Positive Handprint

UMG’s ambition is to create opportunities for our artists, employees, and fans who want to engage in environmental improvement. Through UMG Sustainability Summits, we invite our employees and key sustainability partners to engage together in addressing the issues that matter most and look to create pathways to support our artists to elevate the global causes they are passionate about.

UMG’s CHANGE FUND

The Global Impact Team is also responsible for development and implementation of the strategy for UMG’s Change Fund, which was established in 2025 as part of the company’s long-term commitment to thoughtful change across the industry and in society at large.

The Change Fund continues the work previously under the auspices of UMG’s Task Force for Meaningful Change (TFMC), which was founded in 2020 for the significant and sustainable advancement of social justice. Initially established as a five-year program, TFMC engaged hundreds of UMG employees and community organizations in internal and external programming across TFMC’s core bodies of work. These efforts are now part of the fabric of the company’s business operations and philanthropic strategies. These include:

  • Enhancing accessibility of the music industry for artists and employees, especially focused on young people from historically marginalized communities.

  • Partnering directly with internal leadership to address and expand UMG’s commitment to promoting tolerance and equality across the company.

  • Supporting philanthropic organizations.

  • Launching industry-wide campaigns and initiatives aimed at advancing inclusivity.

  • Building partnerships with some of the country’s leading civil rights organizations, including the NAACP, The King Center and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, among others.

  • Focusing on an annual “Super Priority” issue based on the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals to achieve a better and more sustainable future for everyone.

Our Path Forward

Together with leaders across the company (including, but not limited to UMG’s All Together Now Foundation and its People, Inclusion and Culture and Public Policy teams), we will expand this work across the business and work with the communities in which we operate to:

  • Further the foundational purpose and principles of the Change Fund by continuing and expanding some of TFMC’s successful programs, such as the TFMC x AMPAS program and Pull Up to the Polls.

  • Reflect the company’s core values, guiding pillars and verticals of work in its approach to these activities.

  • Implement additional coalition-building with values-aligned partners and allies equally committed to a shared vision.

UMG x REVERB AMPLIFIER AWARD

The UMG x REVERB Amplifier Award celebrates artists who use their music, their reach, and their actions to create positive impact for people and the planet.

UMG Logo

The annual UMG x REVERB Amplifier Award is a joint effort between UMG and the environmental nonprofit, REVERB, to recognize artists that have shown an outstanding commitment to creating positive change through their music and their reach. We believe music has the extraordinary power to unite, shape culture, and empower millions to take action on the issues our world faces. Each year, we honor artists who have shown a remarkable dedication to realizing the unmatched power of music to create a better world.

2024 Recipient: boygenius

In 2024, boygenius – Julien Baker, Lucy Daucus, and Phoebe Bridgers – was recognized for their efforts on their 2023 tour to support LGBTQ equality, reproductive justice, Indigenous land rights, and climate initiatives, on both a local and national level.

View the press release about boygenius’s Amplifier Award win here.

2024 Amplifier Award Winner: boygenius

(L-R) boygenius’ Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker. Photo by Max Webb for UMG.

2024 Amplifier Award Winner: boygenius

(L-R) Adam Gardner, Co-Founder & Co-Director of REVERB; Phoebe Bridgers; Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker; Sir Lucian Grainge, UMG Chairman & CEO. Photo by Christopher Polk for Billboard.

2023 Recipient: Billie Eilish

In 2023, Billie Eilish was selected as the first-ever recipient of the UMG x REVERB Amplifier Award in recognition of her work setting a new benchmark for sustainable touring, raising over $1 Million for climate causes, and using her platform to empower millions of her fans to take action on environmental and social issues.

View the press release about UMG’s partnership with REVERB and Billie Eilish’s Amplifier Award win here.

2023 Amplifier Award Winner: Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish. Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for UMG.

2023 Amplifier Award Winner: Billie Eilish

(L-R) Sir Lucian Grainge; Billie Eilish; Lara Seaver, Director of Projects at REVERB and Adam Gardner. Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images for UMG.