Plant a tree with a laugh: How your comedy night out can help the environment

Have you ever considered how much impact the line-up of a comedy show can have on the environment with comedians travelling from all over the UK?

Local events promoter Ace Lips has given this thought careful consideration – and has come up with a unique solution to offset the environmental impact of bringing comedians to Rochdale.

Looking at the carbon footprint of a comedian, Ace Lips turned its attention to trees – which can offset the CO2 emitted by vehicles by converting carbon dioxide to sugar and oxygen through photosynthesis.

To tackle the issue, Ace Lips – which has been running comedy night for almost 10 years across Rochdale and Oldham – will be donating a tree for every comedy show it hosts, to be planted within the Rochdale borough.

Rick Attwood, founder of Ace Lips, said: “Comedians have travelled from all over the UK to appear at the show here in Rochdale and around the local area that we host.

“The best comedians don’t always live in the next town and audiences have had enough of on-line performances and shows, so how can we try to make amends for bringing some of the best acts on the comedy circuit to Rochdale?

“It got us thinking: how many miles does a comedian travel to appear on a stage, how much does this cost the comedian in fuel, what impact does this have on the environment?”

Rick continued: “A young tree absorbs about 5,900g of CO2 each year, whilst a 10-year-old tree absorbs almost 22,000g – or 22kg – per year.

“Based on travelling 225 in a 2018 Audi A3 hatchback, a comedian travelling from London to Rochdale spends about 0.05 tonnes of CO2.

“By taking these numbers we can calculate the average CO2 that is absorbed by a tree during his lifetime.

“To make this more substantial we convert the absorption per tree, to the CO2 capture per acre.

“When you run the numbers, it turns out that one acre of forest absorbs about 2.5 tons of CO2 per year, we don’t have that many acres of forest, so Ace Lips wanted to help by donating a tree for every comedy show we host, through The Woodlands Trust, to be planted within the borough of Rochdale.”

Ace Lips comedy nights is planning to open a permanent comedy club in Rochdale town centre above the Flying Horse Hotel.

At every show, Ace Lips will be accepting donations that will be given to the Woodlands Trust, and, from profits made on the night of a comedy show, a tree will be purchased to be planted within the borough of Rochdale.
 

Read more: A permanent comedy club night is coming to Rochdale town centrePublished: 22 April 2022