Asks, commitments & acknowledgements
01.
We acknowledge the urgency, scale and all-encompassing reach of the climate and biodiversity crisis, and we ask our fellow freelancers, employers, partners and producers to embed sustainable practice in all aspects of the industry.
02.
We acknowledge that progress is being made - that in many areas of life, society and work, transformation is underway. Our task at this moment is to champion and accelerate that change as we race against the effects of historic, current and future emissions and wildlife degradation.
03.
Those of us working in the theatre and live entertainment industry today acknowledge our responsibility to ensure that the possibility of continuing that work exists for the next generation, and generations to come.
04.
We acknowledge that the business of creating and running shows creates carbon emissions and causes harm to the natural world. We want to work with producers to develop ways of working which minimise that harm.
05.
We ask producers to acknowledge that alongside taking steps to reduce our emissions impact on the natural world, we also need to make reparations to the harm done to date, and to the harm our ongoing operations will cause. As such, we ask Producers to support organisations and schemes that re-wild, re-forest and repair the natural world and remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
06.
The existing linear, single-use model of production needs to change to a circular model featuring a “reclaim, adapt, reuse” approach to assets and materials. The Theatre Green Book (TGB) provides a methodology as part of that transition. We acknowledge that all organisations and producers will use TGB in ways unique to their operations. Making TGB the common standard will give freelancers working with multiple organisations a common framework within which they can play a full role in contributing to sustainable ways of working.
07.
The industry is made up of multiple individual service companies responding to client demand. Currently, that demand often follows single-use principles, making bespoke scenic items from virgin materials from around the world which are then used for weeks or months before sending to waste disposal. We support efforts to help these companies to move to a circular model with greater use of “reclaim, adapt, reuse” approaches, and also modular methods of construction.
08.
We ask organisations to share actively the actions they are taking, and details of their culture of sustainability, with all freelancers that are engaged to work on a project, and to make space for a conversation around this. For example, by including this in the conversation on the first day of rehearsals of a project, at the parameters meeting, and at other key introduction moments.
09.
To enable freelancers to understand and then be part of an organisation’s actions with regard to sustainability, we ask that organisations ensure their website’s sustainability statements are up to date, and honestly reflect the reality within the organisation. We ask that these statements are as ambitious as possible, but also honest and accurate.
10.
Carbon Literacy training is a key tool in ensuring that conversations around sustainable production happen with a broad-based understanding of the issues. In organisations where full-time staff have undertaken Carbon Literacy Training, producers should consider providing the same training to the freelancers they engage.
11.
We want to be part of an industry that embraces sustainability in its broadest sense, promoting sustainable practice which nourishes the environment while also nourishing those doing the work, and which acknowledges the planet, people, and the work environments we create as being worthy of care and respect.
12.
As we are still learning, and until sustainable practice becomes the new norm, we acknowledge that developing new ways of sustainable working can involve more work hours for those people involved in these processes. We ask that producers recognise the roles in which extra work is required, bring in specific support for those workers, and increase fees to reflect the additional hours worked.