Call to theatres to join in the Theatres DEC Pool and Green Database Survey
17th May 2011
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.
All performing arts venues (whether currently holding a Display Energy Certificate or not) are invited to participate in the survey. Plymouth Theatre Royal, the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield, Hereford’s Courtyard Theatre and the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse are among the first venues in the DEC Pool.
Led by The Theatres Trust, the national advisory body for theatres, the Theatres DEC Pool will bring together evidence on the energy performance of theatres and support the evaluation of its Ecovenue project, funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Through the provision of theatre-specific advice and the awarding of Display Energy Certificates, Ecovenue is improving the environmental performance of 48 London theatres. 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.
Julie’s Bicycle will compare survey data with information gathered via the online tools SMEasure and Industry Green, to also help improve the Government’s DEC benchmarks. SMEasure helps buildings monitor their weekly gas and electricity use against weather conditions, while the Industry Green (IG) tools offer a monthly or annual carbon calculation of energy, water, waste and travel impacts. Users of these tools are contributing to a valuable benchmarking exercise that will help provide feedback and intelligence across the sector, while also improving national standards.
Julie’s Bicycle will also include eligible theatres that complete the survey in a web-based Green Database for environmentally friendly services and suppliers in the music, theatre, visual arts and performing arts sectors. Julie’s Bicycle’s 2010 “Moving Arts” report into the carbon impacts of theatre touring identified a need for better signposting of such services and suppliers. Venues are a critical hub in the touring supply chain, and those with positive environmental performance will be promoted via the free online Green Database.
Mhora Samuel, Director of The Theatres Trust, said “The Theatres DEC Pool is an important part of our Ecovenue project. As well as providing a base line for evaluation, by linking it into our existing Theatres Database we will create a publicly available resource of UK theatres architectural history and environmental performance.”
Alison Tickell, Director of Julie’s Bicycle, said “Having identified recently that the theatre sector could save at least £8m in energy efficiencies up to 2015, we are delighted to be partnering with Theatres Trust on this survey that will help us support theatres to achieve these efficiencies, improve standards against which success is measured, and promote their successes. Despite the disappointingly mixed signals we are getting from Government on green issues, more and more theatres are recognising the manifold benefits of building environmental considerations into their core business priorities.”
Venues wishing to participate in the online survey should contact either theatresDECPool@theatrestrust.org.uk or info@juliesbicycle.com
