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Lyric Hammersmith Awarded Highest 5 Star Creative Green Certification by Julie’s Bicycle

We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded a 5 Star Creative Green certification from arts and environment agency Julie’s Bicycle for 2017/18.

We are only the second arts organisation, and the first theatre, to announce a 5 star rating. We also achieved the highest score ever awarded under the certification scheme which includes maximum scores for our environmental commitment and understanding.

The Lyric has been at the forefront of UK theatres becoming more sustainable tracking and reducing its carbon emissions successively for 9 years.  In 2011/12 we became the first theatre to achieve the previous highest rating of 3 stars from Julie’s Bicycle, and also the first to maintain this rating for four consecutive years prior to the scheme’s revision.

In the year to March 2018 we decreased our energy use by a further 7% and our energy emissions by a further 15%. Water use saw a 17% reduction per visitor. We are also a zero waste-to-landfill theatre working with First Mile and Scenery Salvage. Overall, we have reduced our energy use and emissions by more than 50% since reopening in 2015.

We have also just completed the refurbishment of our main house and studio theatres, which includes the installation of a low energy lighting grid and fixtures in the Studio.

Highlights from our green strategy over the past year include the following:

  • In 2017 we switched to Ecotricity and now procure 100% renewable electricity and green gas.
  • We won Best Campaign at the 2018 Creative Green Awards for our #PlasticFreeLyric campaign which tackled single-use plastics.
  • Our current capital project to refurbish the Main House and Studio includes a focus on new low energy lighting, the reuse of materials and zero waste to landfill.
  • We are linking our work on sustainability to our creative programming, including in the Little Lyric programme, LYRICFEST, and through hosting events and workshops such as ‘The Research Behind Blue Planet II’ in partnership with the University of Exeter.
  • In April 2018 we took part in a roundtable for Greater London Authority on single-use plastics to help recognise the cultural sector’s voice in London’s Environmental Strategy.
  • We undertook an energy audit and created a new energy management group internally to continue to drive down energy usage
  • We continue to issue reusable water bottles to all new staff and company members
  • In July 18 we installed 3 beehives on our roof, in partnership with the local Business Improvement District, Hammersmith Bid, and is now home to 180,000 Buckfast Bees.