Environmental Responsibility

We recognise the power of the arts to inspire and imagine a positive future and to help people transition to a low carbon world, and we recognise our responsibility to reduce our negative environmental impact on the world that generation will inherit. We seek to work in partnership within the national dance and South West arts sectors and within our local area of Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole (BCP) to further our ambitions and impact.

We recognise the urgency of the climate issue and have joined with others to declare a Climate Emergency.

We will work to influence positive environmental change amongst our beneficiaries (artists, participants, audiences, staff and volunteers), suppliers and stakeholders.

Our commitments for 2022 – 2027

Our strategic goals to improve our environmental sustainability 2022-2027 are:

  • Take key steps to achieve Net Carbon Zero in our building-based operations by 2030
  • Inspire, equip, engage and empower our staff to drive change
  • Upskill, enable and platform the work of artists engaging with environmental issues
  • Work in partnership to increase our impact and communicate our work
  • Lay the foundations for Net Carbon Zero across all our activities

Accountability

We will communicate our work and progress publicly including to our audiences, and publish an annual report that summaries our performance against the targets we have set.

Progress achieved in 2023-24 included: 

  • Accepted onto Arts Council International Touring & Environmental Responsibility programme,  funding secured for project with UK and Danish partners, testing alternative touring methods in summer 2024
  • Toby Marden appointed as Board Environmental Champion and enrolled in Julies Bicycle Trustees Programme
  • Awareness-raising World Ocean Day beach dance class held July 2024
  • Monthly feature generated by staff Green Team in Team Newsletter encouraging environmentally sustainable behaviour changes such as post-Christmas recycling tips
  • Paper cups phased out from use in bar/coffee machine/water fountains and replaced with mugs and reusable plastic glasses
  • Travel Decision Tree introduced to encourage consideration of environmental impact in business travel choices

We began measuring our carbon emissions in 2012 and by 2023/24 figures provided by our landlord showed that our energy use had reduced by 66% from a peak of 118 tonnes CO2e in 20215-16 to 40 tonnes CO2e. 

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