Live Performance Australia is proud to announce the next phase of its environmental sustainability initiative, Greener Live Performances through Energy Efficiency.

Overview

Live Performance Australia is proud to announce the next phase of its environmental sustainability initiative, Greener Live Performances through Energy Efficiency.

Funded by a grant from the Australian Government’s Energy Efficiency Information Grants program, the project will deliver information specifically developed for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) throughout the industry supply chain nationally including:

  • Fact sheets
  • Checklists
  • Energy efficient venue and event design guides
  • Management templates
  • Case studies
  • Greenhouse gas calculator tools

We're looking at everything from how to get the most out of your building management system, to the latest improvements in energy efficient lighting for indoor and outdoor performances, to inspirational innovations like pedal powered generators.

If your organisation would benefit from being more energy efficient (and whose wouldn't?) or if you just want to stay informed as new resources and learning opportunities are made available - sign up by emailing your details to greener@liveperformance.com.au

We've chosen some great specialist partners to work with us. EC3 Global are translating their local and global learnings from the travel, tourism and convention industry to live performance venues. Festival and event specialists GreenShoot Pacific are sharing their knowledge of cutting edge practice in the contemporary music and festivals space. And we are delighted that Lisa Erhart from Dynamic EcoSolutionsare continuing on the sustainability journey with us following our successful two year pilot project in Queensland.

As energy prices continue to reach record heights, and hopes of constraining global warming to 2 degrees slip away, there is both a financial and moral imperative for all of us to do what we can to improve our energy efficiency. Greener Live Performances through Energy Efficiency is for the entire industry, not just LPA members. We look forward to achieving a more energy efficient future together.

Greener Live Performances - Queensland Pilot Results

Greener Live Performances started life as a pilot project in Queensland from September 2011 - March 2013. The project received support from the Queensland Government through the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection. 

An extract from the Conclusions of our final report to the Department appears here:

Overall, Greener Live Performances has achieved some tangible results, with a notable shift occurring throughout the trial group in their commitment to improved sustainability. It has been encouraging to gain engagement with all levels and aspects of the industry, including Management, Artistic Professionals, Technicians, Designers, Marketing and Sponsorship staff and Building Owners / Managers. LPA views this project as the first step in a much longer journey for the industry. It will take time and more resources to increase momentum and achieve greater results overall.

The industry has recognised the importance of data collection but wants the support of better data collection systems. Various tools, such as Julie’s Bicycle’s IGTool, SEMS and EarthCheck were trialled during the project, and will continue to be explored. The project consultant has also developed bespoke tools at the request of industry. Whatever tools we settle on will need to be relatively easy to use, as members are too time and resource poor to dedicate hours  and hours of time to data measurement or analysis. 

Waste and recycling have been a significant focus of the project, with excellent results. Production companies have a culture of reusing materials wherever possible, but this is challenged by the volume of shows produced by companies  each year and limited storage space. A longer term aim will be to share production resources between companies more to further reduce waste.

Procurement processes, particularly in production companies, are increasingly being reviewed for improvement opportunities. Designers are starting to think more about waste at the front end of the design process rather than 'someone else' dealing with the waste at the backend (generally unseen by the designer).