Welsh venues set to become ‘leaner and greener’

Forty-two arts venues in Wales are set to become ‘greener and leaner’ thanks to a new initiative to help them reduce their environmental impact, funded by a grant from the Welsh Government’s Support for Sustainable Living scheme. The venues, which range from a former miners’ institute and an Edwardian theatre to iconic Lottery-funded new-builds, are all members of Creu Cymru, the development agency for theatres and arts venues in Wales, whose project will help them to examine their use of resources. It will also provide tools and advice to become more energy and resource efficient, thereby saving them money. Energy consumption and treatment of waste; the environmental impact of theatre production and touring; and ways of communicating the issues and potential solutions all form part of the initiative, which in turn is part of Emergence, an on-going programme of work led by Cynnal Cymru-Sustain Wales and Volcano Theatre Company that aims to make sustainable development a core organising principle of the arts in Wales. The Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society at Cardiff University, and London-based arts and environmental sustainability experts Julie’s Bicycle will be providing the technical expertise. The information and learning that comes from the work will inform the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Development Bill.