Environmental Policy

Our Statement

Wherever possible, we try to commit to the highest standards of sustainable operation in our activities and to minimise the impact of our activities on the environment. We endeavour to continually improve our environmental performance, and aim to achieve standards that exceed minimum levels required by legislation and general codes of practice.

Some of our aims: 

• To conserve natural resources such as energy, water, wood, paper, especially where those resources are non-renewable, wherever possible.
• To use recycled or refurbished materials where possible to reduce waste, especially to landfill.
• To use existing and recorded data to calculate our annual carbon footprint, and disseminate this information to the public.
• To ensure that products are sourced from sustainable environments.
• To maintain fair pressure upon suppliers to develop environmentally friendly goods and services.
• To inform, train and motivate staff and volunteers to work in an environmentally responsible manner.
• To promote the use of public transport, both for employees, volunteers and audiences.
• To communicate our goals to contractors, and other non-employees working on our sites.

Key Achievements

Our Avenue new build extension onto our Grade II* listed building used sustainable materials, LED off-stage lighting, and efficient insulation and air handling. Our foyer roof supports a grid of solar panels which generates up to 5% of our annual electricity onsite.

Our garden at The Avenue is a long established urban green space with native trees and planting, including self-seeding hollyhocks and is a haven for wildlife including an extensive fox den.

Our new site for Theatre in the Forest at Sutton Hoo is a key National Trust site. Our new “pop-up” infrastructure used recycled and sustainable materials and LED off stage lighting.

Our productions are becoming sustainable, with extensive recycling of sets, costumes and props eg Macbeth at Theatre in the Forest was 95% recycled materials. Sustainable production is now a key consideration in our stage design process.