‘take one invisible gas…”
- the visual arts &
environmental sustainability
GALA,Van Eyck,
Catherine Langabeer, Director of Arts,
Julie’s Bicycle
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Julie’s Bicycle
We make environmental
sustainability intrinsic to the
business, art and ethics of the
creative industries
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Taking change to scale
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Albany Alexandra Theatre Birmingham Almeida Ambassador Theatre Group Analogue Anne Minors Performance Consultants Arcola Arts Agenda Artsadmin Association of British Theatre Technicians BAC Bambu Brasiliero Barbican Battersea Arts Centre Big Brum Blast Theory Blind Summit Theatre Boat Ballet BPI Brighton Theatre Bristol Cast Bar Bush Cachella Cambridge Theatre Cameron Mackintosh Cape Fareell Cardboard Citizens Chapter Arts Centre Charcoal Blue Chats Palace Cheek By Jowl Chisenhale Dance Space Circus Space Cirque du Soleil Clod Ensemble Comedy Theatre Company of Angels Compass Theatre Complicite Cryptic Dance City Dogstar Theatre Company Donmar Dream Think Speak Duchess Theatre East Angles Theatre Company Edinburgh Playhouse Embassy Theatre Central School of Speech and Drama English National Opera English Touring Theatre Federation of Scottish Theatre Ferneham Hall Festivals Edinburgh Fevered Sleep Finborough Theatre Forced Entertainment Forrest Forge Theatre Company Fortune Frantic Assembly Fuel Theatre Gate Gielgud Glasgow Kings Glyndebourne Grand Opera House Greenwich and Lewisham Young People's Theatre Greenwich Theatre Grimsby Auditorium Hampstead Hawarth Tompkins Architects Headlong Theatre Highlander Hoipoloi Improbable Independent Theatre Council Productions Kabosh Kali Kenneth More Theatre Leas Cliff Hall Lemn Sissay Library Theatre LIFT Little Angel Live Theatre Liverpool Empire Liverpool Everyman London Bubble Theatre Company London Palladium London Theatre Consortium Lyceum Lyric Hammersmith Manchester International Festival Michael Clark Company Milton Keynes Miranda National Theatre National Theatre of Scotland National Theatre Wales Nederlander New Art Club New International Encounter New Perspectives New Theatre New Wimbledon Theatre Noel Cowrd Northern Broadsides Northern Stage Nottingham Playhouse Oh What a Lovely War Old Vic Oxford Playhouse Oxfordshire Theatre Company Paddington Development Trust Paines Plough Paule Constable People's Romeo Phoenix Piccadilly Pilot Theatre PLASA Playhouse Polka Theatre Prince Edward Prince Of Wales Princess Theatre and Breezes Cafe Bar Proto-type Theatre Quarantine Rambert Rasa Productions Really Useful Group Reckless Sleepers Red Shift Regents Park Open Air Theatre RGA Consultants Richard DeDomenici Richmond Theatre Rifco Arts Royal Albert Hall Royal Court Royal Opera House Royal Shakespeare Company Sadler's Wells Sage Gateshead Savoy Scenery Salvage Seven Stories Shared Experience Sherman Cymru Signal to Noise Society of London Theatres Soho Sound and Fury Southbank Centre Southport Theatre and Floral Hall Southwark Playhouse Station House Opera Stellar Quines Theatre Company Stephen Mottram’s Animata Stoke Regent Stoke Victoria Sunderland Empire Susan and Darren Tara Arts Tara Studio Terrapin Puppet Theatre School The Adelphi The Albany The Drill Hall The Duke Of York's Theatre The Fifth Estate The Future is Unwritten The Minack Theatre The Opera Group The Red Room The Sage Gateshead The Theatres Trust Theatre Absolute Theatre Alibi Theatre Royal Theatre Royal Plymouth Theatre Royal Stratford East Theatrical Management Association Third Angel Tipping Point Told by an Idiot Toynbee Studios Trafalgar Studios Travelling Light Theatre Tricycle UK Arts International Unicorn Uninvited Guests Victoria Apollo Volcano White Light Woking Theatre Wyndhams Young Vic
Sustainability
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Planetary boundaries
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GALA
What does it mean to make
environmental sustainability an
essential part of art practice?
What is the role of the arts and
sustainability? What responsibility
should it take?
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Does it matter?
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London’s Visual Arts 2009
Carbon Footprint: 220,442 T CO2e
It is in art that society finds its long horizons,
sweep of ages...with climate change the far-seers are a
requisite. Jay Griffith, 2010
Angela Palmer, Ghost Forest, Copenhagen 2009
Power of the artistic response
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The scientists need help…
Prof Julia Slingo, the Met Office's chief scientist:
“Decadal forecasts provide essential information
about natural variability and how it will evolve in the
next few years in the context of a globally warming
world, but they do not tell us anything about long-
term climate sensitivity (i.e. how much the planet will
warm for a specified increase in radiative forcing
related to greenhouse gases). There is no evidence
that current estimates of climate sensitivity produced
by the Met Office Hadley Centre have changed.”
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Jim Hansen – retiring to
campaign & communicate
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“the deniers want the public to
be confused. They raise these
minor issues and then we forget
about what the main story is.”
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Making the invisible visible
Source: Carbon Visuals
Purple is the new black
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Classic strategies…
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Bringing it home: “The Gift”
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Or?
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Where do we go from here?
• Profound transformation
• We need the arts to say AND do:
joining the artistic, ethical and
practical
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The practical response
Pragmatic and responsive to a changing context:
• Policy frameworks seeking to put a price on
environmental harm and properly value resources
• Increasing extremes in weather and insurance costs
• Rising energy and waste disposal costs
• Rising commodity prices
• Increasing demand from NGOs, audiences,
consumers for transparency and accountability
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Core environmental
impact areas
• Energy
• Water
• Waste
• Mobility
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Guiding principles
✳ Commit
✳ Understand
✳ Improve
✳ Communicate
Practical solutions
IG Tools carbon
calculators
Top Tips
Research
& Guides
Cross-industry
Campaigns
www.juliesbicycle.com
Benchmarks
Energy for buildings
• Electricity and gas use for offices, galleries, studios,
residencies
• We identified savings of £685,000 with 86 venues between
2010/2011 and 2011/2012
• Extrapolated to the entire UK sector: £10m of savings
• Huge potential, uneven progress: we analysed 12 similar
sized venues sharing data: one venue increased CO2e by
8%, another decreased by 16%
• Manchester Art Gallery and Battersea Arts Centre starting to
engage audiences and visitors
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Glyndebourne Opera House
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Energy for events
• Generators for temporary power
• 60% of generators we monitored at 8 events were
double the capacity required
• One festival saved 20% on its fuel bill by
implementing efficiency measures
• Frieze Art Fair has run on 100% WVO biodiesel
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Water
• By 2030 global water demand is predicted to
increase dramatically to a level 40% above current
supply.
• Theatre Royal Plymouth: water saving measures
(urinal control and percussion taps) saved 2,300
tonnes of water and £10,000
• Puma including water in its “true costs”
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Waste
• Start at the beginning not the end
• If “outsourced emissions” are taken into account, EU
emissions have risen not decreased
• Minimising waste from the outset by focusing on end-
use at the procurement stage
• London Theatre Consortium and a group of cultural
organisations in Manchester are both exploring
shared storage facilities
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Mobility
Eth
Thank you