Just got back from The Secret Garden Party and as always had a fab time.

However as the question of sustainability increasingly affects me I took a long hard look and mine and my fellow revellers behaviour and I wondered if it made any sense.

If we are honest we still the hedonists of old, from a world of plenty, able to afford to rally against the establishment. Getting drunk, taking drugs and spouting socialist ideals whilst building tent villages, generating huge amounts of rubbish and selfishly having a good time?

Or is it selfish?

When something is awkward or difficult to address do we still tend to bury our heads in the sand and hope that nagging question will just go away? Is life for the living, do we have any control over our destiny and is this kind of entertainment a way to kick back, stop thinking about where it may all go wrong in years to come?

Lets face it – what are festivals about; entertainment with no responsibility. For some its about throwing off the shackles of day to day life and taking some risks with booze, drugs, fags, people – is that so wrong? Is it part of the human condition or does it beg the question: if we can’t even look after our own personal well being how on earth do we think we are going to take enough action to look after the planets, if indeed that is what we think we actually want to do.

Today festivals goers are almost professional in the execution of their attendance. Many build homes from home with awnings and living rooms, we arrive in cars, often there are few alternatives and we leave our rubbish every where. It doesn’t matter how right on, free spirited, trendy left we are we still leave cans, food and fag butts, overflowing rubbish bags etc, on the ground.

At TSGP plastic supermarket bags were blown into fields of corn, there appeared to be little consideration given to recycling rubbish and large amounts of cans and plastic ended up piled up in the general rubbish. It cant be that hard to give everyone who enters the festival a recycling bag for cans and designate drop off points for such items.

The other striking thing is the layer of fag buts that litter the ground, increasing as the days go by. Surely someone could invent personal ashtrays for people who smoke so that fags don’t end up polluting, often rural ground, by the last day anywhere you sat was like sitting in an ashtray. That is despite the fact that the guys who were picking litter were hard at it all day.

Practical information on reducing our impact on the environment should be an essential part of the festival information. There are no excuses for the damage we can cause to the land we party on. Someone does have to pick up the plastic bags and the shit we drop on the floor or walk past and put it somewhere. What we take to a festival and how we transport and dispose of it should be thought about.

On a positive note Festivals are one of the most transparent ways possible to see with our own eyes how much rubbish and sewage 20,000 people can generate with relatively little effort and it’s sobering. What we do about that is another question.

Perhaps if booze and food sold at festivals was cheaper and in the main sourced locally and people were encouraged to bring the bare minimum with them and rubbish was easily separated and recycled and public transport was effective and people had personal ashtrays and didn’t want to set up their semi detached lifestyle on a campsite festivals we would not be quite so environmentally damaging.

To my mind there is still far too much rhetoric and not enough action, we are not prepared to change our lifestyles enough to make an impact, even in our own back yards. Hardly surprising then that big industry and corporations continue to grind on, and do very little to reduce their emissions.

As far as we the general public are concerned the green economy is capitalism with a shiny, new, more easily digested label, what difference will it really make is anyone’s guess?

Without a change in mindset and behaviour we cannot effect the change we need. It is only when people stop wanting the shit the world produces that it will stop producing it. It is not up to someone else to take responsibility for it, it is up to us.

Music festivals talk to huge swathes of people from all backgrounds, they can deliver a message, they have an opportunity to change things from the grass routes up, from the next generation.

“It’s political” Chief Superintendent tells BGG Director

Chief Superintendent Paul Richards admitted to a Big Green Gathering Director that the decision to shut down the Big Green Gathering was political and confirmed to the Chair of the Big Green Gathering that orders had come from the highest level.

During a meeting today between the police and directors of the Big Green Gathering, the superintendent said the decision to shut down the BGG was taken over a week ago, confirming the statement from the BGG lawyer that the ‘injunction was a red herring.’

Directors from the BGG are horrified at this partisan interpretation of licencing law.  Big Green Gathering Chair Brig Oubridge said, “At the multi-agency meeting on Thursday 23rd July, we were still negotiating with the police and the council under the genuine belief that things were progressing and we were continuing to spend money on infrastructure, wages and security.  If they knew they were going to cancel the event, we can only conclude that this drive to increase expenditure appears to be a deliberate attempt to bankrupt the Big Green Gathering.

The injunction served on the Big Green Gathering was primarily addressing the fact that the Big Green Gathering did not obtain the necessary road closure despite the fact that the Highways Agency had previously indicated that this would be done.

The Big Green Gathering has been running an event since 1994 and never before has public safety been an issue.  The BGG has an exemplary record on health and safety and crime levels have always been low for the number of people on site.

Despite the concerns over the behaviour of the Council and the Police, event organisers will work with them to ensure the safety of those at the premises and ensure that they leave the land in an orderly fashion.  Brig concluded, “We are very aware of our responsibilities to those already on the site and very sad for all those who were coming to enjoy one of the most peaceful festivals in the UK.”

Coming soon . . . . If you have a project or case study whether you’re a company, venue or arts organization that has made inroads into developing sustainable practice or improved building system efficiencies please do get in touch – I would be happy to visit your venue and write a feature on its activities.

email: sarah@ecotheatre.co.uk

It’s been a long time since I contributed to this blog, mainly because I’ve been mad busy trying to keep my hand in as a journalist, attend family dos, keep up with my MSc in Architecture, remain on top of my communications and PR responsibilities and live in Edinburgh and Brighton.

Anyway here I am back from ABTT where I had some interesting discussions with a variety of industry professionals relating to incorporating micro power generation into the fabric of buildings and my pet subject – how much longer can we justify building venues such as cinemas, theatre and arenas that are 100% closed to natural light and rely entirely on artificial lighting to function?

After all there are still many people in developing countries who go to bed when it gets dark and get up when it’s light with no access to electric lighting, even for the most essential of activities!

Surely it’s every sectors responsibility to find tangible ways to prevent unnecessary or indulgent use of energy and thus reduce societies relentless use of fossil fuel and pollution of our atmosphere.

This brings me back to the argument for lighting auditoriums with natural light when they’re not being used for performance or technical rehearsals. In the present economic and environmental climate it seems a flagrant waste of energy and money to purposely design any part of a building with no access to natural daylighting.

Given that the total energy pull of lighting in commercial buildings lies anywhere between 25-40%, and that energy costs aren’t about to go down, fossil fuel resources aren’t increasing and the environmental damage resulting from GHG emissions is grave, it’s surely common sense to reduce the use of artificial lighting in all commercial buildings, as far as practicably possible.

In theatre, as in many other business sectors, there’s a tendency to seek solutions that allow business to continue as usual, rather than taking an entirely fresh approach. Theatres and their designers would prefer to replace traditional lighting fixtures with low energy, often-ugly light sources, rather than take the trouble to rethink venue-building design from scratch.

It’s not just theatres either, consider the range of purpose built, blacked out rooms: lecture theatres, cinemas, exhibition halls, arenas and arts centres to name but a few. Within each of these sectors there are further sub sectors of use. All are used in different ways, some just for performance in the evenings with a couple of matinees during the week, others such as repertory or producing houses often rehearse on the stage in the morning sometimes with stage lights sometimes not, others may have events occurring that don’t actually require specialist lighting.

The ingress of daylight into auditoriums may also have a positive effect on the workforce. Scientific evidence suggests that humans are considerable more efficient and happier if they’re exposed to daylight. Of course there are plenty of examples of auditoriums that benifit from natural daylight but not enough and even those who have access to it do not always use it.

I remember at Glyndebourne – where I was deputy lighting manger for some years – how refreshing it was, after a mornings rehearsal, to see the stage stripped, the back iron go out and the daylight stream in. A whole day in a dark auditorium can be an oppressive thing and maintaining concerntration can often be a challlenge.

So for an industry that prides itself on innovation and invention it comes as a surprise to find that auditorium design has remained largely the same since the advent of electric lighting.

Time to really start thinking outside the black box then?

Sometimes it would be easier to believe that the whole global warming issue is a great big worldwide conspiracy by corporations and governments to fleece the trusting public out of their hard earned cash whilst they make themselves look like our salvation.

Unsurprising reaction given the hypocrisy that surrounds many of those claiming to be at the forfront of the great global warming debate. The mantra seems to be – don’t do as I do, do as I say.

There is no industry that escapes this cynical approach, not even ours! In this industry alone I have watched companies and industry organizations use the green issue to generate positive PR with little or no substance or positive action to back it up.

Of course anything that serves to stem the relentless and obscene consumerism and waste we generate as a species and the social injustice that is its result has to be a good thing, whatever the driver might be.

Getting the balance right between individual efforts and big business responsibilities is a complex issue and one not easily solved. In the entertainment industry alone the green issue has generated a quagmire of politics and arguments with individuals and organizations seemingly wanting to own their very own chunk of the green movement. Even here it can be about who you know not always what you know. If your face fits then its fine, if it doesn’t you’re not welcome.

The more it’s percieved to be a PR tool or a corporate status symbol, the more we find organizations and individuals scrabbling to be at the top of the pile. I’m surprised, when as a journalist I ask questions, how wary individuals are about talking about specific issues or ground level action their companies are taking when it comes to combating big manufacturing and recycling issues.

There’s much rhetoric being bandied about and not much action. Big gestures with little substance underneath. Many seem to capitalize on a lack of critical reasoning and thinking from those they preach to.

Take the Live Earth concerts for instance – I know for a fact that backstage there were no facilities for recycling waste – plastic bottles were used in abundance and litter was treated very much in the way it always is. Suppliers were not asked to, and thus made little effort to, improve their usual supply systems and as much plastic tape and consumables were used as on any other gig – alternatives were not sought or used. Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong!

Many organizations claiming to be at the forefront of sustainability still haven’t even addressed the basics of recycling their own organizations waste – why because it requires an individual to take on that responsibility and as yet that drive and money is simply not there.

Take set construction and design. Sets can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to manufacture, often expensive changes are made throughout the build process and much waste is generated. Worse still what happens to those sets once they’re finished with? It goes into storage or gets tipped – both of which have their own pollution issues.

Thankfully there are companies such as Scenery Salvage around which will take your set away and recycle or reuse as many of the materials as possible, However there are still plenty in this industry not using these services.

Essentially it is at the design stage the trouble begins and it seems to escalate from there. Lets face it once a set is designed and built we can only react. Designers rarely think about the materials they use, how they can be recycled or reused at the end of life and where. How much is being taught on design courses today?  I would be interested to know.

There has to be a way to achieve better efficiency without compromising the creative process but as yet we are seeing little evidence that this being addressed head on. Inappropriate materials are still being specified by designers only to be replaced at a later date when its discovered that – as the designer was no doubt told by the construction co – they would not stand the test of time or be fit for purpose. Hundreds if not thousands of pounds are wasted in this process, never mind natural resources and time. If I was so inclined I could name numerous West End shows where it continues to go on today.

Designers need to be able to take advice from their set builders and set building need to know where they can source alternative sustainable materials. Directors and producers need to ask their designers to give more responsible consideration when it comes to specifying materials.

If we all had to look at the supply chain from the growing to the chopping down of the trees to the manufacturing of the steel frames of our theatre and event sets perhaps we would think and act a little more responsibly. We still seem to think there’s an endless resource out there to do with what we please.

It’s hard to equate that the very people who machine and mill some of the wood we use in theatres still live in inadequate housing in the third world countries. We still merrily strip contries of their natural resources in order to build stage sets and think little of it. Materials that would better serve locals as building materials for a shelter instead find themselves on yet another huge west end musical. If it flops will be scrapped. In this producers should shoulder much more responsibility.

In a way lighting, sound and AV  are some of the most sustainable elements of the process. Often kit is hired, it will have been used before on other shows and it will be used again once the show is finished with. It is not as quickly bought or manufactured for individual shows and even if it is it can often be disassembled and reused.

Yes we need to look at the sort of kit we use, its power consumption and look to use the lowest consuming product we can without compromising the creative vision. It simply takes a little more thought and a little less ego. We also need to look at delivery, where we hire it from. Hire companies would do well to serve a specific radius and perhaps sub hire where possible from other companies nearer to its client.

Of course it’s not all doom and gloom, there are those who are working extremely hard to achieve this but as the recession starts to bite, instead of saying that its tough enough to keep our businesses alive maybe a little eco-housekeeping could be just what the business doctor orders.

So how do we get those teaching the art to relay the importance of energy and resource efficiency to our upcoming directors, designers and artists. How do we encourage our industry associations to be more transparent in what they are doing and less clunky and slow in their delivery of information. How do we ensure that people who can really make a difference but may well be asking difficult questions are not frozen out by those using the green machine to feather their own nests?

From the bottom up, not from the top down as many critisized would like to see. Don’t get trampled on in the mad rush to be seen to be green. they can all talk the talk but there really is not alot of walking the walk.

I realize that costs, introducing new systems and developing new business processes does not happen over night but it is the simple things that need doing first, clean up your own backyards before you start telling others to clean theirs. Much of it is boring, not very glamorous and lacks PR impact. However in the long run it is likely to make businesses more streamlined, more efficient and less wasteful – surely the desired result for all. Less shouting more quiet, effective action please.

So I’ve finally landed, I’ve given up the house in Brighton and am to all intents and purposes a nomad, albeit living out of the back of my car which is far from eco as its a 3.2 litre Mercedes Benz. I can’t justify that, it’s just the way it is.

Since creating this website I’ve briefly moved to Ireland, visited N.G. Bailey’s brand new state of the art, energy efficient office block in Glasgow, attended the PLASA show where I had the privilege of being a judge on the Awards for Innovation, attended various seminars on Greening London’s theatres and started my MSC in Architecture: Advanced environmental and energy studies at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales.

It’s been a crazy and frenetic time. My week in Wales was fantastic. I met some wonderful people and I am slowly starting to get a more realistic perspective on what I want to say through this website. It’s also made me realize that there is a whole heap of good intentions and rhetoric being bandied about, not just in the entertainment industry but in politics, business and pubs. However when it comes to deciding between short term economic gain and the future of the human race most people sadly choose the former and I do wonder whether this will ever really change.

Words are all well and good and believe me i have listened to a fair few and written a lot more – or should that be the other way around. But for all that, what i have seen an awful lot of is over consumption redefined as green consumption and therefore labeled acceptable. The same product with a different label but still with the same message, this is better so replace what you bought a year ago with me!

Well what about all the embodied energy of the things you already have – which brings me back to my Merc, is it better to get rid of that car and buy a brand new more fuel efficient one or to keep it, be more discerning about when and where i drive it and use public transport as much as humanly possible. A simple dilemma but what I’m driving at is do we really need new green things to replace the things that already exist and if we do replace the things that are no longer considered efficient with more efficient things, how much energy does it take to manufacture and distribute those more efficient things, when will they realistically offset what it takes to make them by their use?

You see it’s not nearly as simple as many might have us believe, and generally speaking the many are those who will make money out of your good intentions to do something positive to combat climate change.

It’s clear then, that this time we cannot buy ourselves a clear conscience, this time we have to think, evaluate and not make knee jerk decisions based on limited information and the desire to be seen to be doing the right thing.

Simple suggestions for the theatre industry. Clean up your act, recycle everything you can, use less water, electricity and gas, insulate buildings, turn the heating down, service your systems, take public transport to work, car share, turn computer and lights off at night, switch your bloody dimmers, amps, consoles off – commonly not done. When you replace your fixtures with new more efficient ones, recycle the old ones any way you can. You can pass them on to other less well off venues and schools or modify lighting to take lower wattage or more efficient lamps – after all the Patt 23 is now a very trendy thing to have chromed and on a stand in ones living room!

Try to cut down on the deliveries you need, forward plan and ask the designers and production team to do the same.

Always look for alternative more efficient ways to do things, I know its often enough just trying to get through the day, but once efficiency is as incorporated at every level into standard practice as Health and Safety then we are on our way.

I realize that theatre is a relatively small contributor to carbon emissions, nevertheless it is one. Theatre can talk to large collectives of people from workers to the managing directors of huge corporations, school children to pensioners, in fact anyone looking for entertainment and a good time. i am not saying theatre should preach but it can teach and it can still be spectacular, fun and entertaining.

I had hoped to report back on the Green Theatre programme at PLASA but I’m going to save that until tomorrow, it’s been a heavy week reporting on the Olympic opening ceremonies in Beijing, the PLASA show and trends in Theatre Lighting for Lighting and Sound International and Lighting and Sound America.

I had also hoped to report on what I learned on the first week of my MSC but that would take up far too much space. I will say that I am very much going to tailor my research to the entertainment industry and plan to publish all research and essays along with my thesis on this website.

Ta ta for now

Sarah

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