Greener Live Performances is Live Performance Australia’s initiative to develop sustainability resources, case studies, training and assessment tools for the live performance industry – including performing arts companies, producers, promoters, festivals, venues, touring coordinators and suppliers.
The strategic objectives of the Greener Live Performances initiative include:
• Foster long term commitment to sustainability in live performance businesses
• Provide training and tools for live performance businesses to embed sustainability into their operations at every level
• Harness the power of the live performance industry to be a catalyst for change within the wider community
• Provide a platform for government and industry to work together to develop sustainability criteria for integration into future funding arrangements
Click here to read LPA’s Sustainability Commitment Statement.
The first phase of the project was funded by the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection through the ClimateSmart Business Association program. LPA engaged Lisa Erhart from Dynamic Eco-Solutions to undertake key aspects of the project.In order to best understand the operational environment of LPA’s members, LPA and Dynamic Eco-Solutions worked with a pilot group of participants drawn from different membership sectors and situated throughout Queensland to ensure a good geographic spread.
The pilot group included:
Theatre
Queensland Theatre Company
La Boite Theatre
Harvest Rain Theatre Company
Dance
Queensland Ballet
Dance North
Opera and Classical Music
Opera Queensland
Queensland Conservatorium
Festival and Events
Australian Festival of Chamber Music
Gympie Music Muster
Venues
Queensland Performing Arts Centre
Brisbane Entertainment Centre
The Arts Centre Gold Centre
Conrad Jupiters
Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre
Service Providers
ArTour
Stage & Audio
Phase 1 of the project was conducted from October 2011 – April 2013, and you can read the Final Project report on the trial group here.
An extract from the Conclusions of our final report to the Department appears here:
Overall, Greener Live Performances has achieved some tangible results, with a notable shift occurring throughout the trial group in their commitment to improved sustainability. It has been encouraging to gain engagement with all levels and aspects of the industry, including Management, Artistic Professionals, Technicians, Designers, Marketing and Sponsorship staff and Building Owners / Managers. LPA views this project as the first step in a much longer journey for the industry. It will take time and more resources to increase momentum and achieve greater results overall.
The industry has recognised the importance of data collection but wants the support of better data collection systems. Various tools, such as Julie’s Bicycle’s IGTool, SEMS and EarthCheck were trialled during the project, and will continue to be explored. The project consultant has also developed bespoke tools at the request of industry. Whatever tools we settle on will need to be relatively easy to use, as members are too time and resource poor to dedicate hours and hours of time to data measurement or analysis.
Electricity/energy consumption can be difficult for the industry to measure, due to the operational structure of the industry. In many cases, arts organisations occupy building owned by another larger entity such as government or a University. Over the course of the project, venues have recognised the benefits of sub-metering but the cost of implementing such changes sometimes hinders progress.
Waste and recycling have been a significant focus of the project, with excellent results. Production companies have a culture of reusing materials wherever possible, but this is challenged by the volume of shows produced by companies each year and limited storage space. A longer term aim will be to share production resources between companies more to further reduce waste.
Procurement processes, particularly in production companies, are increasingly being reviewed for improvement opportunities. Designers are starting to think more about waste at the front end of the design process rather than 'someone else' dealing with the waste at the backend (generally unseen by the designer).
There has been significant interest in the Queensland project nationally, with LPA members around the country seeking information and participation opportunities. With Queensland only contributing around 12% to the industry’s annual revenue and attendance figures, there are significant opportunities to achieve broader industry change when more focused work in undertaken in NSW and Victoria in particular.
The project has revealed skills gaps in developing a sustainability policy and implanting sustainable practices through the organisation. LPA has worked with the Project Consultant to develop a training program to support skills development for consolidation of sustainability processes.
LPA will encourage and reward best practice through the planned Greener Live Performances Recognition Program (GLPRP). The program will provide a pathway a third party certification schemes such as EC3 Global/Earthcheck, SEMS and Industry Green. We are also exploring the option of adding an additional Award to the annual Helpmann Awards® for live entertainment and the performing arts which recognises sustainable practice.
Have Your Say
Industry Consultation: Proposed Greener Live Performances Recognition Program
LPA is proposing to establish the Greener Live Performances Recognition Program (GLPRP) to provide an opportunity for practitioners within the live entertainment industry to be recognised for integrating sustainable practices into their operations and/or performances.
The program encompasses a self-assessment process, which is then submitted to LPA for final endorsement. Once approved, program participants will be permitted to display one of the Greener Live Performances Recognition Program logos (still to be announced).
We are seeking industry feedback on the proposed Program, along with the Third Party Accreditation programs already available.
Please click on the PDF document to learn more and then email your feedback to Suzanne Daley.