Meet our Brand-New Environmental Consultant

To mark Earth Day on the 22 April, we thought: What better time to introduce Nicolás Conde who has taken on the newest (and possibly greenest) role at BOV!

Hi Nico! Can you tell us what an Environmental Consultant does?

This role aims to support everyone at BOV in identifying solutions to the environmental challenges we face as an organisation, and to work together to implement them. From the shows we see on stage to the snacks that can be found at the bar, everything has an environmental impact. The choices we make, and when we make them, can make a huge difference in terms of carbon emissions.

Is this a normal role to have in a theatre?

It wasn’t! But it’s very encouraging to see that more and more cultural organisation across the UK are creating roles focused on this necessary transformation. Every theatre is different, and environmental solutions need to acknowledge the specific characteristics of the company and the local context.  

Why are we focusing on this now?

This decade is crucial in the fight against Climate Change and theatres have a unique opportunity to inspire communities around the world to act now. For this reason, we invited BOV audiences to answer a nation-wide audience survey about the role of cultural organisations in tackling the climate emergency. The responses were overwhelming and an inspiring call to action. Most cultural audiences (86%) are worried about the climate crisis and many (77%) think cultural organisations have a responsibility to influence society about the climate emergency. The full report can be found on https://pointone-epos.co.uk/act-green/

go on....

At the same time, we asked similar questions to everyone who works at BOV and we discovered that many individuals have made changes to tackle climate change but they expect BOV to do more about it too - over half of responders (65%) think BOV could do more to address the issues of climate change and/or climate justice.

Both audiences and staff alike wanted us to prioritise things like reusing sets and materials, avoiding disposable packaging and single-use plastic, minimising food waste and ensuring our building is as energy efficient as possible.

We need to work on our own environmental impact and find ways, new and old, to make theatre in a sustainable way.

What sorts of plans are you working on?

At the moment, knowledge is power so we are prioritising a good overall understanding of the Climate Emergency within Bristol Old Vic staff and our collaborators. We're delivering Carbon Literacy Training in-house from April. This resource has been created by BOV, accredited by The Carbon Literacy Project, and will also be implemented by other regional theatres across the UK. 

We also have an Environmental Working Group where we regularly discuss and review our targets and ambitions. 

In addition, we are working to install solar panels above our offices and rehearsal rooms to produce our own clean energy and reduce our reliance on fossil fuel - more on that later!

What are the successes so far?

The most recent refurbishment of Bristol Old Vic gave us some amazing advantages in terms of environmental benefits: 

Our building is very efficient in terms of energy, and most of our offices and Front Of House areas have access to natural light throughout the day. 

To reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, we have switched all our electricity to a “green tariff”, which means that the energy comes from renewable sources (such as wind or solar). 

Last year, we also set up the Community Greenhouse on King St for various projects such as Homemade to flourish. This Greenhouse is looked after by staff members for various community groups across Bristol, and it’s also a space for us to compost organic waste.

 What is the big end goal you have?

The aim is for us to think that there’s no such thing as waste. When we throw something “away”, we need to ask ourselves “where is away?”. From costumes to ground coffee, everything can become something else and we can move away from raw materials and unsustainable practices. The goal is to develop an ecosystem where waste simply doesn’t exist. Simultaneously, we work with the most amazing storytellers to tell the stories that are needed to address the Climate Crisis. 

Isn’t it all a bit disheartening?

It’s true that the current trends, in terms of the Climate Emergency and International policy, can often be upsetting and discouraging. But we’ve never been better prepared to address these issues. Increasingly, more and more people are understanding the need for meaningful change, and the resources available make it even easier for everyone to make informed environmental decisions. Our job as a theatre is to look at the seemingly impossible and imagine what is possible through imagination and collaboration. We have all the elements to make this achievable.

What are your top tips for how we can all help to make our theatre experiences more sustainable?

If you are a theatre maker, there are many amazing resources available to create sustainable productions. To find out more, you can visit Julie’s Bicycle and The Theatre Green Book. 

When visiting the theatre there are many ways to help us reduce the experience’s environmental impact:

• Choose sustainable travel options when possible. Cycling, taking the train or bus, walking or sharing a car ride are great ways to reduce individual carbon footprints (and exploring the city!).
• Dairy and meat products have many environmental consequences. BOV Kitchen + Bar has an amazing range of delicious vegetarian and vegan options to choose from, as well as locally sourced food and drinks.
• If buying a hot drink to take away, you can also bring your own reusable cup.
• Choose e-tickets if possible – this helps us reduce paper and energy usage.
• If you see something that we could be doing better, please let us know! We really value everyone’s feedback to improve.