Bicycle

Green Theatre Network Meeting held at Arcola Theatre and Tent on 24th November

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The event was an opportunity for members of the Green Theatre Network to meet up, share progress, discuss issues and find new ways to improve sustainable practices within theatres. The morning consisted of discussions and updates, particularly from members of the network who gave brief summaries on their latest sustainability initiatives. There were also discussions on the future of greening theatre and what we can ideally achieve by 2025.

The variety in projects ranged from new LED lighting techniques, introducing Green Riders into contracts, energy monitoring and measuring, Climate Week 2012 progress and more. It was inspiring and exciting to see how each theatre or company is using different initiatives to be more sustainable.

The event was organised by Julie’s Bicycle, an organisation working to integrate sustainability into the arts.

Go to Arcola Energy

Better Batteries

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BETTER BATTERIES

Better Batteries is a UK-wide campaign encouraging the music and theatre industries to make the switch to using rechargeable battery systems, particularly for portable sound equipment, and increase battery recycling rates in line with government regulations.

WHY?

  • Rechargeable batteries have 32 times less impact on the environment than disposables.
  • Rechargeable batteries are completely reliable.
  • Significant cash savings can be made from using a rechargeable system.

Julie’s Bicycle invites you to find out more and get involved at www.BetterBatteries.info, they are launching the nationwide campaign to raise awareness to the environmental and financial benefits of using rechargeable batteries.

Recycle your Batteries

In 2009 only 10% of batteries were recycled in the UK and in February 2010 regulation was put in place requiring this to increase to 18% in 2011, and 45% by 2016. Recycling batteries is crucial to reuse finite natural resources and prevent the release of harmful chemicals such as lead, mercury or cadmium.

Case Studies and more information available here

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Arcola joins the theatre DEC pool

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The Theatres Trust and Julie’s Bicycle have joined together to undertake a comprehensive survey of environmental and sustainability issues facing performing arts venues in the UK.

Arcola is participating in the Theatres Trust Ecovenue project, which is improving the environmental performance of 48 London theatres by providing theatre-specific advice and awards of Display Energy Certificates. The Theatres DEC Pool will compare the performance of participating London venues with national theatre building performance.

The Theatres DEC Pool will cover all theatres throughout the UK and enable venues of similar types to compare approaches and share best practice. Theatres will also be able to see where they can contribute to promoting a more sustainable theatre sector. Analysis of the data will inform the next series of Government DEC benchmarks so they can be relevant to the theatre industry as a whole and will be incorporated into the Trust’s established Theatres Database.

See the Theatres Trust press release for further information: HERE

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Arcola Theatre’s Carbon Footprint, April 2011

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We are working with Julies Bicycle to monitor our carbon emissions using their Industry Green Tool, which involves entering figures for our consumption of electricity, water, and consumables as well as figures on staff and audience travel in to their website on a monthly basis. April was the first month in out new building on Ashwin Street where we have had enough data to start using their monitoring tool again. Arcola Theatre’s carbon footprint for April 2011 was equal to 3 tonnes of carbon dioxide, that’s 0.38 kg CO2e per seat, per show. The average person in the UK will emit 10 tonnes of CO2e per year, if Arcola Theatre continues with these emissions throughout the year our annual carbon footprint would be 36 tonnes of CO2e.

We don’t think that’s good enough, over the month of May we will be working to reduce our carbon emissions further. We will start by ensuring that we are not heating the building unnecessarily over the warmer weather and ensuring all electrical outlets are switched off when the building is closed. The Industry Green tool assumes an average travel emission for each audience member per show, unless we enter data regarding audience travel. The estimated average travel emissions are the biggest contributor to our carbon footprint at present and we’d like to be able to provide the site with more accurate data on audience travel therefore we are conducting an Audience Travel Survey this month. If you would like to help us with this then please click on the link at the end of this article.

Travel Survey

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Going Green

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This post comes to you from EcoArtScotland

Julie’s Bicycle just launched a publication, developed with the Mayor of London and Frieze Art Fair, on the visual arts.  This is one of a series of ‘how to’ guides across artforms.

Starting with work in 2007 that looked at the Greenhouse Gas emissions of the UK Music Industry, Julie’s Bicycle has researched and produced guides on CD Packaging, Audience Travel to Festivals, Performing Arts Touring, as well as Promos and Green Riders.

All organisations should be looking seriously at these issues, not only in terms of management of buildings, but also management of programming.  Whilst the recent glut of plays about climate change may have been met with some criticism, there are artists making interesting work focused on environmental crisis across all artforms.  The question in the end is whether this is didactic or whether it opens up dialogue.

ecoartscotland is a resource focused on art and ecology for artists, curators, critics, commissioners as well as scientists and policy makers. It includes ecoartscotland papers, a mix of discussions of works by artists and critical theoretical texts, and serves as a curatorial platform.

It has been established by Chris Fremantle, producer and research associate with On The Edge Research, Gray’s School of Art, The Robert Gordon University. Fremantle is a member of a number of international networks of artists, curators and others focused on art and ecology.
Go to EcoArtScotland

The green roots of carbon-neutral comedy | Culture | The Guardian #edfringe

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This is Comedy in the Dark, a late-night comedy revue at the Gilded Balloon performed, as the title indicates, with the lights off. It’s one of a number of Fringe venues and shows forging an unlikely link between comedy and the green agenda. At the (Almost) Carbon Neutral Comedy Club, at the Counting House, comics perform without microphones, and all flyers are printed on recycled paper and must be recycled at the end of the festival (the “almost” has crept in because some lights are kept on). And at the Pleasance Courtyard, a large, brightly painted ark – made of reclaimed materials and powered, in part, by children energetically riding a small, bicycle-driven dynamo – is providing an unusual, eco-friendly venue for children’s comedy and storytelling.

via The green roots of carbon-neutral comedy | Culture | The Guardian.

The Stage: Carbon footprint of touring theatre revealed

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An exclusive story over on THE STAGE, so we can’t give it all away, but please do head over there at the link below!

Moving sets, transporting casts and lighting hotel rooms for British touring theatre companies creates as many greenhouse gas emissions every year as flying around the world 2,680 times, new research has revealed.

According to a new report to be published by green arts organisation Julie’s Bicycle next week, and seen exclusively by The Stage, British touring theatre companies caused around 13,400 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions within the UK and globally in 2009.

The Stage / News / Exclusive: Carbon footprint of touring theatre revealed.

Eco-bling: why the arts sector needs to lead on climate action

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How should the artworld be responding to the issues of sustainability and the environment? Dialogue editor Lucy Gibson looks at why the arts should be leading the way on climate action, rather than looking to corporations and science for moral leadership. But in a sector made up of many individuals and small organisations, alongside enormous institutions, why and how can change really be affected?

Eco-bling: why the arts sector needs to lead on climate action is an interesting article from Lucy Gibson. Take a look at the source when you have a moment.

It should make the art world blush to hear a leading arts and environment activist stating that Walmart, followed by Coca-Cola, Unilever and Tescos, have done more than most in dealing with the impact of climate change. But that is exactly the message from Alison Tickell, Director of Julie’s Bicycle at the Arts Council England’s ‘A Low Carbon Future for the Arts?’ consultation meeting in February. ‘Why do we expect moral leadership to come from corporations and science?’ asks Tickell, ‘Surely the meaningful nature of the arts in society puts it in a position to take a lead on climate action?