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.

We have met our target of reducing our annual emissions from 1990s levels by 50% ahead of our 2030 target, thanks to a concerted effort to reduce our Scope 2 (energy) consumption and a switch by our landlord to 100% renewables electricity tariff.  In the period 2025-30 we will therefore focus on minimising the generation of Scope 3 (indirect) emissions by seeking to influence decisions made by our staff, customers and suppliers.

Our commitments for 2025-30 

Our strategic goals to continue to improve our environmental sustainability are: 

  • Take key steps to achieve a 40% reduction in our Scope 3 carbon emissions from our 2024-25 level of 62,366 kgCO2e by 2030 and lay the foundations for a 60% reduction in our Scope 3 carbon emissions by 2035
  • Continue to 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
  • Research carbon credits to offset residual emissions from 2030 

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 2024-25 included: 

  • International touring project delivered with UK and Danish partners, testing alternative touring methods and sharing our findings widely through articles and speaking at sector events
  • Artists Green Checklist created and incorporated into our Artists Handbook for all visiting companies
  • Enrolled on Julie’s Bicycle Board Environmental Champions programme
  • New Building Management System and LED lighting installed by landlord has allowed us to reduce our energy consumption by 10% through more direct monitoring and control
  • Sustainable Business Network level 6 accreditation gained (the highest level)
  • Initiatives generated by staff Green Team included litter picking in the Lower Gardens, trialling a Vegan Day, and organising a pre-performance plant & seed swop
  • All staff enrolled on Carbon Literacy Training  

We began measuring our carbon emissions in 2012 and by 2024/25 figures provided by our landlord showed that our energy use had reduced by 70% from a peak of 118 tonnes CO2e in 20215-16 to 36 tonnes CO2e. 

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