Moving Orchestras
"Tonight sees the first performance of this year's BBC Proms, and a total of 50 orchestras will be playing at the Royal Albert Hall over the next 59 days. But what is involved in moving an entire orchestra from rehearsal space to performance venue - and how is it possible to make sure nothing is damaged in the process?" - so asks the BBC, profiling one of the biggest cultural annual events in the UK, hosted at one of Julie's Bicycle founding associate members, the Royal Albert Hall.
The decision-making behind transporting an orchestra's instruments and equipment is critical - not just for ensuring the safety and well-being of musicians and instruments but also for determining the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that will be emitted in the process. Our most recent research "Moving Arts - Managing the carbon impacts of our touring: Volume 2 - Orchestras" investigates the movement of people and production involved in UK orchestra performances across the globe, and the ramifications these decisions have for environmental impacts, particularly GHGs. We found that UK touring orchestras released approximately 8,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in 2009. A large UK orchestra travelling to the Proms from outside London, amounts to approximately 4 tonnes CO2e per performance (that's just under a third of the emissions produced by an average UK individual in a year).
Our research also offers a series of recommendations that will enable orchestras to tour with minimal environmental impact. We have also developed a green orchestras guide with tips for taking practical actions, and a series of free online tools, such as the IG touring tool, which enables orchestras to measure the emissions of a tour during the planning stages, as well as after the tour, to help inform their decision-making, particularly regarding the chosen mode of transport.
