Our updated logo reflects our ongoing journey and continued commitment to position the arts and culture sector as a driver of sustainable societies.

The refreshed design brings together familiar elements: a leaf, book, and flower, symbolizing growth, learning, and the many ways sustainability lives within the arts and culture sector.

In this newsletter, we’re looking back at where the CSPA began and how far we’ve come.  We hope you enjoy the new look as much as we do, and discover more about our programs.

About the CSPA

The Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts (CSPA) was created in 2008 to bring together several initiatives focused on supporting sustainable practices in the arts. In fact, the CSPA was born out of different programs that existed before the organization itself. When we came together, those early activities naturally became our programs.

Our work began with a focus on consulting, certification, and sharing best practices, which is the core of what we still do. Since then, we’ve grown to include research and advocacy for ecological and sustainable artwork across a variety of channels. The one constant since the beginning has been our Quarterly publication, our longest-running program, launched in 2009.

Our current offerings include:

Research and Publications

We publish, electronically and in print, associated research in this field  to reflect the myriad ways in which sustainability in the arts is discussed, approached and practiced.

Resources and Tools

We provide carbon calculation and reporting tools for cultural organizations and share free courses to foster imaginative and relational skills for the kinds of joyful and sustainable futures we want to work toward.

Consulting Services

We offer consulting and training services, which can include tailored guidance on sustainability strategies, climate adaptation and resilience, and resource use.

Open Calls and Catalogues

We amplify our network’s initiatives by sharing their open calls, projects and resources.

Events

We organize in-person and online convening that gather industry leaders, educators, students, Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and the general public to share ideas and innovations in the sector.

The refreshed logo is part of several changes we are embracing. We will share more about this with you soon!

Thank you for being here and being part of our journey.

Learn about the changes to the board of directors at the CSPA here.

Changes to the board of directors at the Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts (CSPA).

The Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts (CSPA) is proud of the role it has played in advancing environmental sustainability in the arts across Canada and beyond. Through its flagship programs—such as Creative Green Tools Canada, Climate Change Theatre Action, Fireside Chats, The Department of Utopian Arts and Letters and Convergence—and research publications—such as the CSPA Quarterly, the CSPA has supported thousands of artists, arts organizations, and cultural institutions in measuring and mitigating their environmental impacts and building climate resilience.

The Creative Green Tools now have over 1000 users in Canada, with representation in almost every province and territory. The recently launched Futureproofing the Arts project—which aims to build a framework for the mitigation of climate-related disaster risk within the sector—has seen an overwhelming amount of engagement from across the country, with over 120 organizations vying for 10 funded places in the participatory process. By fostering cross-sector collaboration and providing accessible tools and education, the CSPA has helped embed sustainability as a core value in artistic practice, policy development, and cultural infrastructure planning.

It is with a mix of excitement and reflection that we announce significant changes to the board of directors at the Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts (CSPA). Founded in 2008, the CSPA operated for many years as a for-profit corporation, offering consultancy and research services in close partnership with nonprofit organizations committed to sustainability in the arts. In 2021, we transitioned to nonprofit status in order to better support the development of the Creative Green Tools in Canada. This shift enabled us to work more directly with public funders and to provide free, accessible tools for measuring environmental impact across the arts and culture sector.

With this change, we welcomed our first board of directors—charged with offering strategic guidance and helping us remain ambitious in our efforts to support artists and organizations as they integrate sustainability into their work and operations. As this board’s inaugural term comes to a close, we recognize that the evolving landscape of arts funding, capacity, and policy demands a new kind of support from our governance body. The CSPA now requires a more engaged, working board—one that can help sustain and strengthen our commitments to providing open environmental data tools and promoting climate-conscious approaches to cultural practice in Canada.

While the commitment to a more sustainable arts sector is as strong as ever, securing consistent resources to support this work has proven more challenging than expected. Our current board members, though deeply committed, are unable to provide the level of operational support required at this moment of transformation. In mutual agreement, all members of the current board will be stepping down to make way for a newly formed board focused on reimagining governance, establishing sustainable revenue models, and ensuring the CSPA continues to model the very values it promotes. This change comes with the full support of the outgoing board, in recognition that accelerating progress sometimes requires passing the torch to those with the time and expertise to meet the needs of today.

We are immensely grateful for the leadership and dedication of our outgoing board. 

We’re pleased to announce that longtime collaborators Meghan Moe Beitiks and Chantal Bilodeau have agreed to join the new board. Meghan served as lead editor of the CSPA Quarterly for a decade before passing the role to Jamie Morra and Evelyn O’Malley. Chantal, director of the Arts and Climate Initiative and co-producer of Climate Change Theatre Action, has been a key partner in our work over many years. We look forward to deepening these relationships and are actively seeking additional board members with expertise in administration, finance, fundraising, legal affairs, and governance to support this next chapter.

Outgoing board chair Marie-Claude Mongeon will provide transitional support as we establish the new board. Marie-Claude provided the following statement:

“ The essential work of the CSPA—advancing practical climate action in the arts and culture sector—has never been more urgent. At the same time, this sector is facing increasing challenges, from unstable funding to the escalating impacts of the very climate crisis we seek to address. This moment demands bold, decisive action. Originally conceived as a think tank to support strategic guidance, the CSPA board must now evolve into a more hands-on, proactive body—one capable of dedicating time and securing resources to ensure the organization’s vital work can not only continue, but thrive. In response, we made the collective decision to take radical action and reimagine the board to meet these present realities. As the current board steps aside and a new one takes shape, I’ll remain involved to support a smooth transition. This shift does not reflect a lack of confidence in the CSPA’s direction. On the contrary—it is a powerful gesture of trust and alignment, echoing the IPCC’s urgent call for “immediate, rapid, and large-scale” action on climate. We believe stepping aside is part of making space for the next necessary phase of this work. ”

– Marie-Claude Mongeon, Outgoing Board Chair

If you would like to join the new board or have any questions, please reach out to contact@sustainablepractice.org

Are you interested in exploring how the arts and culture sector can respond to climate-related disasters and be resilient in the long term?

Thanks to the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, we’re inviting Canadian arts and culture organizations of all kinds to help us develop a climate adaptation and disaster risk mitigation framework tailored to the sector!

We’re seeking representatives from arts and culture organizations to participate in a collaborative workshop at the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts in May 2025 and to test the resulting framework in fall 2025.

Travel costs and accommodation to the workshop will be covered, and participants will receive a $1,000 honorarium for their time and expertise.

Applications will be open until February 3rd, 2025.

Follow the link in bio for more information and to submit an application.

For more information and to submit your application click here.

For questions, please contact Emily at emily@sustainablepractice.org

Help us build a stronger, more resilient future for the arts!

Vous souhaitez explorer comment le secteur des arts et de la culture peut répondre aux catastrophes liées au climat et devenir plus résilient sur le long terme ?

Grâce au généreux soutien du Conseil des arts du Canada, nous invitons les organismes artistiques et culturels de tout le Canada à contribuer à l’élaboration d’un cadre d’adaptation au climat et de réduction des risques de catastrophes, spécialement conçu pour le secteur !

Nous recherchons des représentants d’organismes artistiques et culturels pour participer à un atelier collaboratif au Ross Creek Centre for the Arts en mai 2025, puis pour tester le cadre proposé à l’automne 2025.

Les frais de déplacement et d’hébergement pour l’atelier seront pris en charge, et les participants recevront un honorarium de 1 000 $ pour leur temps et leur expertise.

Les candidatures sont ouvertes jusqu’au 3 février 2025.
Pour plus d’informations et pour déposer votre candidature, cliquez ici.

Pour toute question, veuillez contacter Emily à l’adresse suivante : emily@sustainablepractice.org

Aidez-nous à construire un avenir plus fort et plus résilient pour les arts !

Nous sommes fermés pour le temps des fêtes!

Holiday Closure Notice: The CSPA will be closed on Monday, December 23rd, 2024 – January 3rd, 2025. Reopening on January 4th, 2025. 

Avis de fermeture pour les fêtes: Le CSPA sera fermé lundi 23 décembre jusqu’au 3 janvier 2025. Réouverture le lundi 4 janvier 2025.

As the winter break approaches, we want to thank you!

Whether you’re taking part in our programs, exploring our free courses, reading our publications, or following along on our journey this year—thank you for being here.

We wish you a wonderful start to the year! We can’t wait to share our upcoming projects with you!

Alors que les vacances d’hiver approchent, nous tenons à vous remercier !

Que vous participiez à nos programmes, exploriez nos cours gratuits, lisiez nos publications ou suiviez notre parcours lors de cette année — merci d’être là.

Nous vous souhaitons un merveilleux début d’année! Et avons hâte de vous partager nos prochains projets!

Dear Friends and Supporters,

We’ve been able to resolve our situation and we are in the process of restoring our services. 

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this might have caused and deeply appreciate your understanding.

You can always help us by advocating for the support of the Creative Green Tools with your funders. 

If you have any questions, please send us an email to contact@sustainablepractice.org

Thank you for your continued support of our work.

Sincerely, 

The CSPA Team

Dear Creative Green Tools Canada Users,

We want to inform you of an upcoming, temporary disruption in service that may affect your access to support for the platform. Due to delays in the disbursement of funds that have been allocated for the ongoing maintenance and development of Creative Green Tools Canada, there may be interruptions in platform availability and support services starting from Monday, September 30, 2024, until we receive the delayed funds.

While the necessary funding has been approved by our partners, the transfer process has unfortunately been delayed. We have worked diligently to manage these delays internally, but we’ve now reached a point where it is unavoidable. We are in close communication with our funders, who are aware of the urgency of the situation, and we are hopeful that the issue will be resolved. We will keep you updated as we receive more information.

In the meantime, we encourage you to reach out to your municipal, provincial and federal arts funders to advocate for the importance of having tools for the arts and culture sector to take climate action.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this causes and deeply appreciate your understanding.

Thank you for your continued support of Creative Green Tools Canada.

Sincerely, 

The CSPA Team