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THE GREEN AWARD To mark the inaugural presentation of the Green Award at the TPi Awards 2022, we hear from this year’s winner, SLX, along with other notable nominees.
With sustainability now higher on the agenda than ever before and more artists aiming to be more environmentally conscious while out on the road, it has fallen to the live events industry to create solutions to lower the carbon footprint for live entertainment, with everyone from manufacturers to rental companies and touring teams coming up with innovative initiatives to do just that. Having seen and reported on many of these measures in action over the past year, TPi introduced a new category for the TPi Awards 2022 to recognise the important work being carried out in this area: The Green Award. Open to individuals, companies or organisations that have gone above and beyond to make the events industry more sustainable, the award was judged by a panel of industry experts such as Production Manager, TPG Sustainability Facilitator and Head of a Greener Touring, Jamal Chalabi; Shambala CoFounder and Sustainability Lead and Chair of Vision: 2025, Chris Johnson; Julie’s Bicycle and Project Lead for Vision: 2025, Chiara Badiali and Vision: 2025’s Graham Brown.
SLX: GREEN AWARD 2022 WINNER This year’s winner was Bristol-based, turnkey production provider, SLX, which was credited for its dedication to putting sustainable practices at the heart of its business model. This includes the recent appointment of Phoebe Currie, SLX’s full-time Sustainability and Social Values Manager, and a commitment to reach Net Zero by 2030 under the Bristol One City Climate Change Ask. “SLX has shown leadership and an in-depth understanding and commitment to reducing climate impact and has an impressive track record of taking action to reduce emissions,”
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commented Green Awards Judge, Chris Johnson. “If only all companies were as forward thinking and effective as our winner.” The Green Award was accepted by Phoebe Currie, who commented: “It was fantastic to see sustainability front and centre at the TPi Awards – it really shows a movement is taking place within our industry,” Currie said. “I am thankful to work for a company that is so receptive to change and conscious of the climate change challenge.” Since taking on the role at SLX, Currie has overseen a companywide initiative to calculate its 2020/2021 carbon footprint and a baseline of emissions. From this data, the company has pledged to the Bristol One City Climate Ask to be Net Zero by 2030. The organisation has already invested in two electric company cars,
three electric car chargers, and has prioritised hybrid generators run on HVO over diesel for all its events. SLX has also almost completed switching its rental stock from energy-hungry and inefficient tungsten to LED fixtures. However, the company’s largest sustainability investment this year is on a 120KW solar panel system, which will sit on the roof of its warehouse in Avonmouth. CEO, Alastair Currie, added: “Sustainability is a core pillar of the business here at SLX. It is deeply embedded into everything we do, and this is why sustainability was one of the key focuses of the rebrand, which we launched earlier in 2022. We will continue to invest in sustainable policies and technology.” www.slx.co.uk
