Signing Up

 

I am having trouble signing up for my organisation with my email address, why?

 

You cannot use the same address for both an individual and organisation account. If you have already signed up as an individual and wish to sign up on behalf of your organisation, please contact us on admin@staging.theatregreenbook.nl and we can delete the individual account.

 

How do I find out if my organisation is already signed up?

 

Please contact us and we can let you know if we have you on our system. You can also check if your organisation is already listed on the Communities page: if it is you are already signed up. If you have signed up in the past two weeks, we may not yet have uploaded you to the site.

 

I’ve signed up on your website – what do I do now?

 

Read Theatre Green Book! All of our resources and the guidance itself are available free of charge on our website. We recommend starting with the Theatre Green Book itself, and then delving into our case studies, toolkits and detailed guidance. We also have some great videos on how to get started with our tracker tools.  

 

Once you have familiarised yourself with the Theatre Green Book method, you can start implementing it and working through the four levels: Preliminary to Advanced.

 

I’m pretty confident that we are already working at Basic – do we need to complete the checklists?

 

If you are confident that you are already working at Preliminary standard across all 3 areas (Productions, Operations and Buildings) then please take a moment to complete and upload your Preliminary checklist to our website, and we will upgrade you to the next level.

 

Certification and Logos

 

Do you offer an ‘official’ certification programme?

 

Theatre Green Book levels are designed to be self-certified by you, and we do not officially audit or check organisations’ progress. As you work through the four levels (Preliminary toAdvanced), you can log your organisations progress and download our logos, to share their success with audiences and staff. 

 

Via your account on our website, you can complete and upload your checklists as you reach each level, and wewill then upgrade you. This is our light touch way of making sure that everyone understands the targets and is on the right track.

 

Will anybody check my documents before I can say I’ve reached a certain level?

 

We ask you to upload a checklist when you reach a new level, but we do not check organisations’ individual production calculators and tracker tools. 

 

There are videos on our website explaining how to use the tracker tools. Feel free to get in touch if you have any specific questions about them. 

 

Where can I find a logo I can use to show I’m using Theatre Green Book?

 

If you are an organisation using Theatre Green Book, please sign up and you can then find the logo for the level you are at by logging in and going to the ‘Subscriptions’ page. From there you can download a logo to use on your website, mailing lists, signage etc. We are currently reviewing a logo for those not working within organisations to be able touse.

 

Do I have to hit Basic in all three areas in order to achieve that level? What if we have only started using it in one area?

 

Yes. In order to help organisations make maximum progress towards reducing their environmental impact, we believe it is important that all 3 areas are addressed (Productions, Operations and Buildings). 

 

The exception to this would be if one area does not apply – for example if you do not have a building or you are a receiving house only.

 

Do I have to renew my certificate every year? Why does it have a date on?

 

Yes please! We ask that you renew your commitment each year to ensure that standards are maintained. 

 

How many productions in a year/season do I need to have achieved Basic at to be able to say we are ‘working at Basic for productions’?

 

For any level of Theatre Green Book, the guidance requires that you aim for that level on all productions in a year/season. However, you only have to achieve 75% at Basic to say you are working at Basic overall, to allow some wiggle room as you get used to working with Theatre Green Book. Please do read the checklists for further detail (you can download the checklists  once you’ve made an account).

 

Do you offer a certification for freelancers?

 

Not at present. Theatre Green Book recognises the enormous contribution of freelancers to our sector and their crucial role in making theatre more sustainable. We recommend that freelancers familiarise themselves with using Theatre Green Book, and let potential employers know they have those skills. 

 

Partnerships and Connections

 

I work for an organisation very interested in sustainability in the arts, can we form a partnership with Theatre Green Book?

 

Theatre Green Book is run by a very small team of part-time workers, and a great deal of in-kind support from a huge number of people working in the sector. At present, we have limited capacity to pursue partnerships, but please put your proposal in an email and we will reply within a week. However, if you have a specific request, such as someone to speak about Theatre Green Book at an event, then please do get in touch.   

 

If you are outside the UK and interested in our growing number of International Theatre Green Book networks, or you’d like to find out about creating your own translation in your country, please contact sustainability@renewculture.com    

 

I am studying sustainability in the arts. Can you help me by having a meeting or providing me with data?

 

As we are a small part-time team, we are unlikely at present to have the capacity for in depth conversations with students. However, we do have some great resources in the education section of our website, including a checklist for how to get started, and you are welcome to get in touch with specific questions. 

 

Can you come and deliver a talk at my organisation?

 

As we are a small team, often the answer has to be no as we don’t have the capacity. However, if you have a specific request it’s worth contacting us, in case a member of our network can come and speak with you.

 

We do hold regular introductory webinars, free 20 minute intro calls and also have some great explanatory videos on our website about how to use the Theatre Green Book tools.

 

Can you put me in contact with someone similar to myself already using the Theatre Green Book?

 

Please contact us at admin@staging.theatregreenbook.nl and we will see if we can connect you with a member of our network a little further along the journey. We find that people in the Theatre Green Book network are incredibly generous with sharing their knowledge.

 

Events

 

I want to attend one of your webinars, how can I do this?

 

You can book the webinars from the Theatre Green Book events page.

 

Translations

 

Is there someone in my country (outside of the UK) that is already using Theatre Green Book or has translated it?

 

Please check the International link on the main menu of the website to see if there is already a relevant translation. If not, and you would like to know more, please contact sustainability@renewculture.com   

 

Production Calculator

 

I want to be able to move elements of the calculator around to adapt it to my particular needs, but the spreadsheet is locked.

 

The spreadsheet can be unlocked using the password ‘TGB’. We just ask that you make sure that you relock it if sharing with anyone else, as the password is there to stop people filling in the wrong cells be accident.

 

Do I have to track everything?

 

No, especially when starting at Basic. The idea is to not sweat the small stuff, and to focus on the big items, certainly until you are confident your team are making good progress in the reduction of materials used in a production and their future life. So don’t worry about tracking every nail and screw, but do consider how fastenings, paint and so on can make it harder to disassemble and reuse materials (eg, if you screw wood together you can dismantle and reuse it, but you cannot if you have glued it). 

 

What is meant by a ‘net zero accredited supplier’

 

We are in the process of gathering clearer guidance on this, but at the moment it means that you are  able to get reassurances from the supplier that they are working at net zero (usually with certification). At this point in time, few suppliers are able to provide this (which makes reaching Advance reliest partly on how your suppliers develop over time), but you can still choose suppliers who can give you reassurances on sustainability credentials through certification, B-Corp status, transparent supply chains, Scope 1 and 2 monitoring, and clear green transportation.

 

How do I track consumables?

 

New consumables should be counted as new prop items (eg, flowers and food). Disposal would usually come under score 3 as you are likely to be able to recycle (ie compost) the item. Again, don’t worry too much if it is a small item, but if you have a production which requires large amounts of fresh food or flowers on stage every night, consider if there might be any alternative options.