Mayor helps fund new ‘green guide’ to improving sustainability across the arts
Culture organisations across the country are being encouraged to take steps to be more sustainable thanks to an innovative new guidebook supported by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
The Arts Green Book: Sustainable Buildings provides organisations with clear, structured guidance to help make cultural buildings – which can be major carbon emissions contributors – more sustainable.
The Mayor and Arts Council England have supported Renew Culture and Buro Happold, authors of the Theatre Green Book launched in 2021, to create the guide to help all culture sectors be more sustainable.
It provides guidance across all sectors of the cultural industry from museums and galleries to music venues, cinemas and libraries. Aimed at owners, operators and renters of cultural spaces, it explains the purpose of pursuing sustainability, is open about the hurdles it presents, and breaks down actions into clear, logical steps. These includes three practical steps towards becoming more sustainable:
- BE LEAN – retrofit walls and roofs to lose less energy
- BE CLEAN - retrofit services systems to use less energy
- BE GREEN - draw energy from renewable sources
The guidebook will provide the UK’s cultural sectors with the tools they need to accelerate urgent journey towards net zero, and has been developed through intensive consultation and feedback with cultural organisations of all sectors and scales, and in collaboration with global sustainability experts Buro Happold.
This is the latest in a series of steps taken by the Mayor to support the culture and creative industries in becoming more sustainable. Last month, the Mayor’s London Business Hub published a guide for opening, running and growing a cultural or community space, including practical advice to help organisations more sustainable. In September he pledged £1.2m to London’s nine Creative Enterprise Zones encouraging them to become greener and providing creatives with energy efficient workspaces across the capital. He also declared a ‘retrofit revolution’ in 2021 with a package of measures to create ultra-low carbon buildings, tackle the climate emergency and create green jobs.
Deputy Mayor of Culture and the Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE, said: “Getting to net zero is everyone’s responsibility. So it’s brilliant to see this clear practical guide alongside great leadership from across the arts, driving us towards sustainability. It’s a really important part of our work to build a greener, better London for everyone.”
Paddy Dillon and Lisa Burger, Directors of Renew Culture said: “We’re immensely excited to launch the Arts Green Book: Sustainable Buildings, which we believe will transform UK culture’s response to the climate emergency.”
Andrew Wylie, Partner at Buro Happold, said: “We are very excited about the introduction of The Arts Green Book. Having worked extensively within the cultural sector to support theatres through their sustainability journey, this latest publication has been written specifically for art galleries, museums and cultural venues focusing on the journey to achieving sustainable buildings. Broad reaching and freely available, The Arts Green Book is a melding of industry expertise purposefully brought together to empower change and equip the sector as it tackles this critical issue. I believe that with dedicated adoption, this book has the potential to accelerate the UK Cultural Sector’s response to the Climate Emergency.”
Neil Darlison, Director, Theatre, Arts Council England, said: “Arts Council England are delighted to support the publication of the Arts Green Book: Sustainable Buildings. This practical and accessible guide will be a vital resource for the industry in responding to environmental responsibility, a crucial part of our ten year strategy, Let’s Create. We appreciate how enthusiastic organisations are to engage in sustainable practice and to find low carbon solutions in their work; this new book will support a broader range of cultural buildings, including museums, performance spaces and libraries, to be able to respond to the climate emergency.”
Notes to editors
The Mayor has provided £12,500 to support The Arts Green Book. It is available from www.artsgreenbook.com
For more information about the London Business Hub guide visit: https://www.businesshub.london/open-run-grow-culture-community-space/
Further quotes:
Elaine Bedell, CEO, Southbank Centre, said: "The Green Book really helped us think about taking shorter term, smaller and more achievable steps, so that it all felt less impossible and unachievable."
Will Gompertz, Artistic Director, Barbican, said: “The climate crisis requires urgent and collective action. The Arts Green Book is a vital resource that brings the cultural sector together in a united response to stimulate change, from sharing best practice to using our platforms to help amplify the issues.”
Carolyn Forsyth, Executive Director and joint CEO, Talawa, said: “In continuing our aims to work sustainably in our theatre to have minimal environmental impact for current and future generations, The Green Book has been a welcome and invaluable resource, guiding us through a variety of steps and ideas to aid our journey."
Michelle Terry, Artistic Director, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, said: “For us at the Globe, the Green Book is an indispensable guide towards the essential and urgent net zero target.”
Alex Beard, Chief Executive, Royal Opera House, said: "The Green Book is a brilliant resource and we are putting its recommendations at the heart of our drive towards net zero.”
Maria Balshaw, Director of Tate and Chair of the National Museum Directors' Council, said: "The Arts Buildings Green Book will be a valuable tool to support museums in becoming more sustainable and working towards net zero. Tackling the climate crisis is a priority for all museums and galleries, who face particular challenges in caring for collections in often historic buildings. It's therefore fantastic to see the development of this new resource to help the sector address this crucial agenda."
Lucy Bird, Environmental Sustainability Manager, Rambert Dance Company, said: “The Green Book provides a comprehensive set of suggestions to enable decarbonisation and resource efficiency in arts buildings. It’s accessible and the actions are explained clearly and simply. This is a vital step towards a sustainable future for the arts.”
Jon Morgan , Director, The Theatres Trust, said: “The Green Book has been an invaluable tool in helping us not only assess our sustainability performance, but in guiding us to improve and deliver reduced carbon emissions.”
James Connor, Senior Policy Manager, Cinema UK, said: “The Green Book provides a range of easy-to-understand practical tips and suggestions which arts venues – including our members, cinemas – can consider when thinking about the future and sustainability of their physical buildings.”
Daniel Boulger, Head of Venue Partnerships, NEC Group, said: “We really want to improve our venue’s sustainability, and it’s the first time I’ve seen such clear guidance specific to our type of venue.”
Phill Brown, Head of Risk & Safety, Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and UK Theatre, said: “The Green Book is an invaluable tool for producers & operators to help imbed a proactive culture towards sustainable best practice.”
Abigail Pogson, Managing Director, Sage Gateshead, said: “The Green Book has inspired us in the work we’re making for stage and in the way we run our building. It has been an incredibly useful tool as we learn how improve our sustainability.”
Richard Mantle, General Director, Opera North, said: “The Green Book has brought real clarity as to how sustainability can shape our "green season" next autumn, not least the enthusiasm and passion adopted by our creative teams.”