#2 Footprint: decarbonise & limit harm

Your journey might focus on greening your footprint, as a way to model best practice, to transform practices across your sector such as touring or catering, or because your operation is on such a large-scale that you will make a significant contribution by cutting your emissions and limiting harm from ecocide.

An example is the National Theatre whose emergency declaration involved setting ambitious targets to move towards net carbon zero, having already cut its energy, waste and water carbon impacts by a quarter since 2016.

Measure & reduce the footprint of your practice

Go beyond a focus on Carbon Footprint to include a wider ecological footprint, aiming to positively benefit people, place and planet.
For example, look at ways to improve air quality and reduce use of plastics. Or reduce use of materials that are obtained from deforestation or animal cruelty.
As well as energy consumption and waste, consider the impact of food and merchandise.
Encourage the re-use and sharing of materials and products.

Balance the needs of planet & cultural industries

Focus on ensuring that workers & communities have alternative means to thrive, as you reduce the footprint of your practice.
For example, reduce dependency on flight-based tourism and touring of arts productions, while enabling a just transition for cultural workers disrupted by pandemics.

Consider the impact of finance

Resist and work to end cultural sponsorship by harmful industries, particularly fossil fuels. Be aware of how ecocidal companies seek social licence to operate through support for culture and education.
How can you generate revenue from being more green? Support ecological enterprise within your cultural practice: develop, promote or sell products & services with green materials, designs and methods.

Think differently about the power of culture

Expand definitions of culture beyond notions of commodity, virtuosity or as a carrier of messages.
Include ideas of culture connecting people to place.
Consider the power of culture to overcome social attitudes that make it normal to harm nature and exploit people and animals.

Inspiration and Resources

Culture sector guidance

Julie’s Bicycle: Guidance, frameworks, leadership training, events and Season for Change. They run a Creative Climate Leadership course and an Accelerator programme.
Creative Carbon Scotland is putting culture at the heart of sustainability in Scotland.
Creative Nature, a partnership in Wales between culture and environmental bodies.

Degrowth and decarbonisation

Bending the curve: Ten scalable solutions for carbon neutrality and climate stability.
Architects Climate Action Network has 8 ‘working groups’ on themes towards three overarching aims. https://www.architectscan.org/about
Form or join a renewable energy co-operative, like Stokey Energy, to work for more renewable infrastructure and supply in civic buildings and new developments.

Decarbonising Finance

Ethical sponsorship: Make a pledge to be Oil Sponsorship Free, or find resources on Culture Unstained
Pensions and Divestment: Shifting investment into low-carbon options could increase global GDP by roughly 5% by 2050, if we take into account the creation of new opportunities and the avoidance of the human and capital costs of climate change, from air pollution, coastal flooding, storm damage, drought and more.