Theatre Green Book: Sustainable Operations Webinar SERIES

Each webinar in the Sustainable Operations Series will give you a brief introduction to the Sustainable Operations Theatre Green Book, and offer case studies and discussion on how UK theatre and performing arts organisations are improving their practice. 

We regularly are oversubscribed for our webinars, so please do only sign up if you are able to come. If your plans change, the Zoom link will have a cancellation button. We appreciate your help in allowing everyone who wants to join the session can!

Programmed by the Theatre Green Book Sustainable Operations Committee, the webinars are free and open to anyone working in the performing arts sector. Theatre Green Book is for students, freelancers and people at all levels of seniority working for an organisation making theatre, dance, opera, circus, live art, outdoor performances or anything in between. The webinars will be held in English, and are open to anyone across Europe and internationally. 

The webinars will be particularly useful if you work in a role that includes or focuses on operations, for example: Executive Director, Chief Operating Officer, General Manager, Venue, Facilities or Buildings Manager, Operations, Risk, Compliance or Sustainability Manager, Hospitality, Customer Services, Front of House Managers, and Officer, Coordinator and Assistant roles in these areas. The webinars are aimed at all size and scale of organisations, and will feature case studies and guest speakers from a range of organisations and levels of seniority. There will be time for Q&A in each webinar.  

You can find all our resources supporting Sustainable Operations here.

If you are completely new to Theatre Green Book, you might want to consider also attending one of our Introduction Webinars, to give you an overview and background before diving into Sustainable Operations.

Reuse, Recycling and Waste Management

This webinar will take a deep dive into all things bins. Reuse, Recycling and Waste Management are foundational to a more sustainable approach and supporting the growing circular economy. Following a brief introduction to Theatre Green Book: Sustainable Operations, guest speakers from the National Theatre and Recorra will take us through how they have been developing their approach, exploring the options available and how they work together to improve environmental footprint across their estate.

Hosted by Lilli Geissendorfer, UK Director of Theatre Green Book.

Paper & Digital

This webinar will focus on how we reduce the environmental impact of our digital use and paper. With AI increasing the need to understand and minimise our digital footprints, there is growing interest in how to work sustainably in the online space, from marketing to internal communications and sharing work through digital means. Following a brief introduction to Theatre Green Book: Sustainable Operations, guest speakers including from Manifesto will take us through how to approach to digital decluttering, low carbon websites and marketing campaigns. We will also hear from Recorra about advances in sustainable approaches to paper use.

Hosted by Lilli Geissendorfer, UK Director of Theatre Green Book.

Contracts & Procurement

This webinar will take a deep dive into supply chains and how we work with them to reduce our sector’s impact on the planet. While suppliers are outside organisations’ direct control, theatres have a significant influence on supplier behaviour and environmental responsibility through their contracting and procurement processes. Following a brief introduction to Theatre Green Book: Sustainable Operations, guest speakers including from Rachael O’Sullivan, Sustainability Manager at Royal Ballet and Opera, and independent consultant Phoebe Currie, will offer insights gathered over the past year working with suppliers to inform new ways forward to improve information sharing, understanding between suppliers and organisations, and accountability to support the sector to raise its collective ambitions and work more effectively together in this area. 

Hosted by Laura Sedgwick, Theatre Green Book Producer.

Food, Drink & Retail

Following a brief introduction to Theatre Green Book: Sustainable Operations, guest speakers including Mark Hollington, Group Hospitality & Customer Experience Director at Trafalgar Theatres, Will Ramsay from Sustainable Restaurants Association, and Victoria Harding Director of Food & Drink at the National Theatre, will share their experience of moving to more sustainable ways of working, from ditching paper napkins to menu engineering, vegan ice cream and whether there is a green alternative to sparkly plastic at Christmas!

Hosted by Lilli Geissendorfer, UK Director of Theatre Green Book.

Travel & Transport

This webinar will take a look at travel and transport: staff, artists and audiences. We know that moving people and things makes up the majority of most performing arts organisations’ environmental footprint. While this is an area of practice where organisations have less direct control over people’s choices, many are working to influence change in innovative ways: from using apps and improving information on travel options, to partnering with local councils and transport providers. Following a brief introduction to Theatre Green Book: Sustainable Operations, guest speakers including Steve Morris from Wales Millennium Centre, will share their experience of working in this area. 

Hosted by Lilli Geissendorfer, UK Director of Theatre Green Book.

Building Management

This webinar will take a deep dive into all sides of Building Management, looking at how to reduce energy use and consumption across a venue. Following a brief introduction to Theatre Green Book: Sustainable Operations, guest speakers including Grace Christie from Nimax Theatres, will share their experience and top tips from working in this area. 

Hosted by Lilli Geissendorfer, UK Director of Theatre Green Book.

Organisational Change

This webinar will focus on how to support staff teams and their culture to move towards more sustainable ways of working. Many of the changes theatres need to make in the operational space mean changes to how people do their jobs day to day, and with that comes unintended consequences and ripples affecting the wider organisations. Following a brief introduction to Theatre Green Book: Sustainable Operations, guest speakers will share their experience of what works to enable and motivate staff to change. 

Hosted by Lilli Geissendorfer, UK Director of Theatre Green Book.

Many thanks to Arts Council England and the Frederick Mulder Foundation for their support, which allows these webinars to take place.