Orchestras

In 2010 Julie's Bicycle published the Green Orchestras Guide, unpacking actions that the orchestral sector can take to start greening their activities. Since then, a Green Orchestras Charter has been developed by key membership associations in consultation with orchestras, to provide a sector-wide framework for Orchestras, Concert Halls, Promoters and Agents to understand and reduce their impacts. The Charter will be launched to the sector during Autumn 2012.

The Charter is included in full below and the linked pages provide top tips for environmental action. For any further enquiries regarding signing up to the Charter, please contact Keith Motson: keith@abo.org.uk

Green Orchestral Charter

DOWNLOAD THE GREEN CHARTER AS A PDF >

In the UK we can be justly proud of our orchestral tradition: our performers, orchestras, concert halls and all those that make up the orchestral community have a shared commitment to creative excellence. Protecting and nourishing our sector to ensure it thrives is our first joint priority. And as a diverse community comprising performers and composers, administrators, artistic directors and agents, venue operators and festival promoters of all sizes, we also understand that protecting our environment is the first principle of sustainability – including our own. Being mindful of our environment will effect all aspects of our work so understanding and acting on our own responsibilities will have a real and positive impact, protecting our shared natural resources and reducing the effects of climate change. But our Charter also recognizes that we can become a better community in other ways too: a ‘greener’ way of working often reduces costs, reassures our audiences and artists of our ethical commitments, preempts compliancy and builds resilience into our future business models.

Without due care of our planet’s rich resources we risk imperiling all our work. The orchestral community is keen to play its part. We have some of the best ensembles in the world, we attract the most talented performers and conductors to our shores and our music reaches audiences all over the world. Transforming the orchestral sector so that it becomes  a green beacon, and joins the wider creative community in the concerted commitment to a shared future will have an amplified effect and inspire great things.

Our Charter is for the orchestral sector including tours, concert halls, promoters and agents. We will review and update our charter as compared to our achievements annually and we will seek  to extend its influence wherever we can.

We commit to recognising environmental sustainability in our planning, performance and promotion of orchestral music in the UK first and, as a joined community, we all agree to using the following four principles of good environmental stewardship:

Commitment

Understanding the environmental impacts of our work, why it matters and what we can do.

Measuring

Recognising that we can be more effective if we know our carbon footprint  of our activities (buildings, tours, offices, festivals) and using that evidence to benchmark our performance and inspire improvement. 

Improving

Making the changes in all our activities which will  reduce our environmental impacts  where ever we can.

Communicating

Communicating our environmental charter commitments, and our impacts to our staff, governing bodies, funders, sponsors, artists, and audiences.

This Charter was developed by

       

Headline Recommendations

These recommendations have been adapted from the Green Orchestras Guide (2010).