Making Theatre More Eco-Friendly

Theatres could look beyond themselves to consider, then allow for transport options. I am fed up with websites and "You are coming to see" emails which go into great detail about driving routes and car parks but completely ignore those travelling by public transport. How about incentives for those who do; performances timed to allow patrons to catch trains home; accommodation suggestions near transport hubs etc?

This kinda thing:

www.arcolatheatre.com/about/sustainability/

Send less emails. The amount of c02 produced by server and host clients to send, process and store emails is contributing massively to the amount of pollution server farms and data centres produce.
I don't 3 emails from Liverpool Empire, Manchester Palace and Stoke Regent Theatre all telling me when Chicago is playing, despite having only subscribed to Manchester.
Likewise I don't need an email from Dear Evan Hansen, Delfont Macintosh and Whats on Stage to tell me open auditions are happening.
The negative side of GDPR is that companies with shared interests can't work together to reduce the amount of collective spam they produce. They could however work around this.
Theatres, producers and associations could also seek to employ data management and hosting from companies with an eco-fiendly policy.

Lighting. Tough one. There has actually been a campaign in place to maintain the production and use of tungsten lighting in theatre production (The EU sought to curb this completely by 2020 if I remember rightly). There is a big difference between the colour and output of tungsten light and LED and this can affect productions massively. Technology is getting better to improve colour temperature and brightness of LED technology but it's not cheap and designers are not altogether too favourable. By and large this LED is getting adopted as a preference though. Hamilton a good example, the vast majority of it's rig is LED.
Exterior lighting however. Do theatres really need lighting up like the Ritz at 4am? I think signage and exterior lighting could be adapted a lot more appropriately than current use. 

Solar Panels were mentioned. Nice idea but I think generally the cost vs long-term benefit for a big theatre is pretty negligible. Personally I'd like so see the implementation (where possible) of living/green roof areas. In particular the brutalist National Theatre could really soften itself with living 'areas' on it's upper level surfaces. I also think the Apollo, Sondheim, Gillian Lynne and even Apollo Victoria would like great with living walls out front. Helping to reduce the amount of smog from traffic etc.

This is also a bug bear of mine. Do keep them all and then put the two extra into recycling, but could save alot of resources (and cost their side!) if they didn't do this.

Every sector can always do more.

In terms of lighting, a lot of the stock used these days is LED based - thus reducing power usage and the use of gels (as they are often colour-changing devices) - of course, older lighting stock is still in use and the threat to ban the production of replacement bulbs has rescinded. It is surely better to keep these going as long as possible rather than forcing companies to get rid of existing, working lights.

Bio-glitter and make-up is very widely available these days - so there is no reason not to use it unless you need something very specific.

In terms of things like jewels used on costumes, given how many performances each costume serves, the impact is spread over a long life-span. Of course, companies can pass on their discarded costumes to hire companies or similar so that they have a life after any particular production. Yes, not all of them will be viable - but a good many of them would be. When I was running a student drama wardrobe, we were lucky enough to get costumes from a range of West End and other productions - and they got put to very good use over many, many years.

It isn't just about changing materials/suppliers, it is about changing the culture of disposing of things at the end of a run. Sell or donate props/costumes/set pieces - there will be theatre-makers (pro and am) who would be delighted to give them a new home

In terms of marketing, paper brochures are still a valuable sales tool. That will change - but it will take time. GDPR has affected how effective email marketing can be for smaller companies who have seen their mailing lists shrink significantly since the new rules came in. Do away with paper-based marketing and you will see an increase in online activity - which isn't always well targeted. Of course, shift to recycled paper or pay for offsets with new tree planting.

Buildings are going to need to be updated - we are almost certainly going to need better aircon in major public spaces like theatres. That will have an impact. But if we want to go to the theatre in comfort, we are going to have to accept that airconditioning is part of what is necessary for a significant part of the year.

I never understood why theatres were so insistent on no glasses in the auditorium. I was never aware of a rash of glass-related injuries in the years before that particular culture change. I suspect it was a perceived rather than real issue. But I think we can cope with being allowed glasses back into our theatre spaces.

An award is a brilliant idea. That’ll make them take notice.

You can! I can't specifically remember the benefits of doing this but I feel like it's theatre organisation specific. eg, if you got a cup from a Shubert Theatre on a Tuesday, then saw a different show at another Shubert Theatre on Friday and use the same cup at the bar, you'll get a discount. Not a lot of people are aware of this, I don't think, but it's good that they offer it. I think at some theatres you can even get a free refill of soft drinks at the interval when you have the cup, but I could be wrong there.

At the Royal Court last year we used 62,000 plastic cups. This year we haven't used one single throwaway cup. Every cup has been reused again and again and again. We've gotten rid of takeaway coffee cups now too.

Charing Cross Station has become one of my most visited places in central London for the free water when I'm in the area. I'm very glad they do that now as sometimes you do drink a whole bottle of water quickly and need more.

I think that digital programmes are a fantastic idea. The only issue is that commercial theatres would still want to charge a lot for them which would be a rip off.

Could abolish free printed cast lists as well perhaps (or make them available on request at the box office?) - all of that info is on the website these days. 

So we should just maintain our use of plastics because it's convenient, should we? Just because we can doesn't mean we should.
No offence but if this widespread lethargic approach continues, we're destined for even more trouble.

Why? It's fundamental science. Glass can be broken down and burnt and turned into more glass, as with aluminium. The chemical properties of the elements allow it so. Plastics are made of compound elements, polymers, which an irreversible bond. Once a polymer exists, it can not be broken down. You can change it's shape by melting it or crushing it, but it won't ever regain it's properties that you started with.

Theres also the issue of where these materials come from. Plastics are made from oil etc, of which there is only a finite amount.

On the subject of drinks. Alcohol (beer) comes in 500ml cans. A regular drink in a plastic bottle is 500ml also. I see no real reason why drinks manufactures can't adapt and swap bottles for large and small cans - other than them having to invest in a change.
It'd cost a bit to implement but I'd love to see soft drink refill stations in shops and service stations. Like where you fill your cup yourself at say McDonalds.
£1 in, 500ml dispenses into your bottle. Once rolled out it would actually be cheaper for suppliers to buy/sell soda and syrups than bottled drinks.