Major theatres in 25 European countries have made a promise to reduce their carbon emissions to at least zero by 2030 as part of a plan, coordinated by the European Theatre Convention (ETC)*, to create a “more sustainable, conscious, mindful and just future”.
In 2021, the 46 theatres which were back then members of the European Theatre Convention (ETC) network, drawn from 25 countries, pledged to become climate neutral by 2030 – stressing that they will make changes to activity across their buildings and theatrical productions. This is part of a wide-ranging plan to create a “more green, sustainable, conscious, mindful and just future.”
“We, theatres in Europe, are committed to measuring, understanding, reducing, and offsetting our ecological footprint through information, mobilisation, and legalisation on the European level,” the theatres said in a new Sustainable Action Code.
The ETC Theatre Green Book (ETC TGB) is a collaboration between ETC, Renew Culture, and the renowned ‘Theatre Green Book’ initiative. The Theatre Green Book is a tool to guide theatres step-by-step toward net-zero emissions – across their productions, buildings, and operations.
The new procedures set out in the ETC Theatre Green Book include a self-certification process to energise both the public and policymakers about how much progress has been made on sustainability in their organisations. Four classifications are available: Preliminary, Baseline, Intermediate, and Advanced (equivalent to net-zero).
The ETC Theatre Green Book is being trialled in the 2023/24 season by a ‘Focus Group’ of 10 ETC theatres, who aim to reach Baseline standards by summer 2024. Their real-time thoughts and reflections are being shared with the network, as an invaluable resource in ETC’s ongoing sustainability programme and in the work to become climate-neutral theatres by 2030.
Following the network launch of the ETC Theatre Greenbook at the ETC International Conference in Nova Gorica, on Saturday 20 April 2024, the Network launched its call for interest for its members to be part of the ETC Theatre Green Book Season 2024/25!
* Founded in 1988, ETC is the largest network of publicly-funded theatres in Europe, with 63 members in 31 countries. The Network organises a wide range of activities to create new theatre, support and develop people working in theatre, and fight for the European theatre sector in a political context.
