UK’s live production industry sets sustainability goals

Commitments to family-friendly working provisions, a “zero loss” approach to waste, and a guarantee for “fair rewards” instead of “exploitative transactions” are among the ten goals that the Sustainability in Production Alliance (SiPA) aims to achieve by 2025. Formed around three ‘pillars’ of sustainability: social, economic and environmental, they aim to be an “aspirational, active and practical framework that is common to all” in the live production sector.

SiPA is a cross-industry body that was created last year in response to an Association of Lighting Designers panel discussion that concluded there had been no progress on sustainability since 2008.

The first of the three ‘pillars’, concerned with social sustainability, aims to guarantee equality and an open ‘stage door’ to everybody in the industry. The goals include valuing wellbeing as highly as skills and profits, and promoting the right to family life by recognising that “burn out” is not a badge of honour.

The goals focused on environmental sustainability include ensuring responsible resourcing, lack of waste, and renewable energy use. And economic sustainability aims to be achieved via wide-ranging commitments to the triple bottom line (social, environmental and financial) and a “culture of fair rewards” – though this stops short of minimum pay guarantees.

SiPA’s Craig Bennett praised the universality of the goals: “For twelve months, SiPA has partnered with over 70 individuals and organisations from all areas of the live production industry… We have explored the stories of the live production industry and together we have uncovered ten major shared goals.”

Juliet Hayes, Risk and Sustainability Manager at Ambassador Theatre Group – one of the organisations providing material assistance to SiPA – emphasised the necessity of have a collective response to the challenges of sustainability: “With SiPA entering the picture, it's a very good opportunity to join these very strong, like-minded people together – all passionate about the goals SiPA has put forward. We need collective expertise in response to these challenges so I'm very much for SiPA and what it stands for.”

The sustainability goals were devised in collaboration with industry membership organisations, professional bodies and environmental sustainability organisations including Julie’s Bicycle. They will be ratified at the PLASA trade show in October and individuals, businesses and organisations will be invited to declare a commitment to them.