Opera North Scoops Major Green Award

Opera North’s commitment to environmental sustainability has been recognised with the award of Best Newcomer at the 2019 Creative Green Awards in London.

The Creative Green Awards are organised by the pioneering charity Julie’s Bicycle to recognise climate action leadership within the cultural sector. The judges were particularly impressed by the range of initiatives Opera North has introduced over the past year, from recycling stage sets and moving to a renewable energy tariff, to reducing electricity usage and food waste by encouraging company-wide behavioural change.

Looking to the future, there was also an acknowledgement of Opera North’s aim to create an environmentally sustainable and efficient estate as part of its £18m site redevelopment on New Briggate in Leeds. Photovoltaic panels will be used on the building to generate energy and there will be a major investment in digital infrastructure to increase efficiency and reduce environmental impact.

 

Jamie Saye, who heads up Opera North’s Green Team, comments:

“We’re delighted to have had our commitment to reducing our environmental impact and inspiring change recognised in this way, particularly as we were up against some really stiff competition including the Barbican Centre, Bow Arts, and HOME Manchester.

“We set up our Green Team to advocate internally for environmental aims and to keep them at the top of the agenda. Not only has this proved to be good business practice from a green perspective, but it has also led to savings across the company as people have become more aware of the impact of their actions and have started to think more carefully about the resources they use.”

The awards took place at Curzon Bloomsbury as part of the Mayor of London’s inaugural London Climate Action Week. They were an opportunity to share environmental success stories, celebrating how conversations around climate change are being translated into real and meaningful action in the arts and creative sector.