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Lyric life

Lyric wins Sustainability Award at The Stage Awards

We were delighted to win the Sustainability Award at the recent Stage Awards. It was a great way to kick off our current green campaign #FoodforThought where we are taking a closer look at the environmental impact of food.

The Stage said:

‘The Lyric Hammersmith’s commitment to sustainability has seen it become one of the most engaged theatres for tracking and reducing its carbon emissions, which it has been carrying out for nine years. This year it became the first theatre to be awarded a five-star rating – the highest possible – by Julie’s Bicycle. It is only the second arts organisation to be given this award.

Among the achievements that earned it such a certification were a reduction in its energy use and emissions by 50% since 2015, becoming a zero waste-to-landfill venue and installing a low energy lighting grid as part of its recent auditorium refurbishment. It also installed three beehives on its roof, in partnership with the local business improvement district.

Earlier this year, the Lyric also ran the #PlasticFreeLyric campaign – a four-week project to cut down on single-use plastics. This included themed weeks and talks to encourage staff to change habits around coffee cups, plastic bags and plastic lunch containers. The theatre has also removed all single-use plastic bottles from its cafe and bar as a result.

The Lyric’s sustained work on its environmental impact is consistently impressive, but this year’s Julie’s Bicycle rating marks it out as an industry leader in this area. The #PlasticFreeLyric campaign, which received support from David Attenborough as well as major research bodies, was a highly visible and commendable project, propelling an important message to the wider sector.’