Norwich Theatre Royal - Our Environmental Impact

Reducing and improving our environmental

Celebrating our Industry Green Certification

Norwich Theatre Royal holds a 3 star Industry Green Certification from Julie’s Bicycle.

It is the highest award we could receive within the industry for our environmental work.

This booklet outlines our environmental work and how we intend to maintain our 3 star status.

Creative Industry Green certification is developed by Julie's Bicycle for music, theatre and the wider creative industries.

By achieving Creative Industry Green certification Norwich Theatre Royal is joining the UK creative industries' response to climate change and environmental sustainability You can download the full report from our website on the environmental page.

You will also find our environmental policy there too.

Since we started recording data in 2008/09 we have reduced 

Energy use by 20%



Emissions by 14.5%

Back to the beginning…..

During the 2007 modernisation we took the environment into consideration and started to make positive changes to the building to help us reduce our impact on the planet and safeguard the sustainability of the theatre.  The

windows installed on the front of the building provide

natural light and ventilation A

timer system was installed to only heat and cool inside the

auditorium when we had audience in  Movement

sensors on lighting were fitted in remote parts of

the building  Bulbs

were being replaced with low energy and LEDs

 Toilets were

fitted with dual flush and push button taps

Following this an Environmental Champion was employed to track the theatres progress, actively encourage staff and drive forward action plans for future improvements.

Between 2011-12  We

installed a heat curtain in the foyer to reduce heat loss

from the building  We

created a waste policy outlining in detail how staff should

Repair, Reuse and Recycle all waste before disposing to landfill  Replaced  Focused  Staff

disposable batteries with rechargeable ones

on sourcing food and drink locally

committed to shutting down and switching off, their

computers, lights and all unused equipment.  Increased

awareness of radiator use and ensured they are

turned off when the area is not in use

In November 2011 the first copy of Impact was issued to staff.

This monthly newsletter keeps staff up to date with new initiatives, shares useful information, encourages best practice and celebrates our successes

Between 2012-13  We

invested in a central colour printer, cutting down on

colour ink and encouraging staff to think before they print  We

replaced the boiler which was installed in 1972, with a

more energy efficient one  Signed

up to a 100% renewable energy tariff, which means our

energy sources largely comprise of wind, small scale hydro and biomass.  All

spotlights FoH were changed to LED light fittings

 We

changed from a national programme printer to a local

company and changed the paper so they are recyclable

We created an Environmental Work page on our website so we can communicate what we are doing with our audiences

Between 2013-14  During

the restaurant refurbishment we reused the

furniture in different parts of the building and made panto costumes from the old curtains.  We

ran a Save water campaign with the staff, adding

plugs to the sinks behind the bars and Eco Flush stickers in the toilets A

Watersmart meter was fitted which enables us to take

1/2 hourly readings of our water consumption. Highlighting peak times and flagging up potential problems  We

surveyed the staff on their use of transport to work,

using the results to inform us how to encourage carbon free commuting and reduce our staff travel emissions

The Green Team was founded.

Staff from different departments, at varied levels of responsibility, meet every 2 months to develop and champion improvements. Striving to engage, encourage and support our colleagues to reduce our impact on the environment

Between 2014-15  Plastic recycling

was introduced inside the auditorium,

alternating the bins behind the seats with Landfill bins  We

created a local travel information leaflet for the staff,

encouraging carbon free commuting and providing information about discounts on local public transport  We

changed our brochure paper to ensure we were using

FSC paper  We

collaborated with Hellesdon High Schools Green Team

to share ideas and advise on projects  We

created a film and case study to communicate our

commitment both locally and nationally

We have been Industry Green Certified for 5 years.

This year was the best result we could have wished for and now the hard work begins to make sure we don’t lose it!

All the worlds a stage, play your part.

Check before you chuck!

Separate your waste for recycling , the landfill bin should always be your last option

Shut down your computer and turn off your monitor and printer

Use Less paper Don’t print unless Absolutely necessary Store work electronically

Remember we pay

Use double-sided printing Print on the back of scrap paper Use emails to share documents

for every

save paper

drop!