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An actor examines a trowel in a garden.

GREENING THE ALMEIDA

The Almeida Theatre is committed to reducing carbon emissions and minimising its environmental impact to support the Creative Green commitment to keep global temperatures below two degrees of warming. In 2019, the Almeida Theatre won Best Cultural Venue at the Creative Green Awards and has consistently received a five-star rating from environmental arts charity Julie’s Bicycle.

We make theatre that leads the cultural conversation in London, the UK and internationally. In coming to see a production at the Almeida you are taking part in that conversation, provoking us to consider how we lead our lives as individuals and as organisations.

Read our Environmental Sustainability Policy for 2022-2026

In recognition of our efforts at sustainability we were awarded a five star Creative Industry Green (IG) certification in 2018 from Julie’s Bicycle and we have maintained this rating for five years. We were also awarded Best Cultural Venue at the Creative Green Awards in 2019.

An actor is kneeling on stage whilst gardening. There are flowers in the foreground of the image.

Almeida Productions and the Theatre Greenbook

When producing more than six plays a year, it is important that each one has considerations about materials we use and what their future life may be, from our stage to touring across the country and beyond. We have been working to re-use or recycle parts of previous productions at the Almeida.

All of the candles used in Romeo and Juliet have been sent to the Recycled Candle Company where the wax will be re-used. The balcony used in A Streetcar Named Desire was originally built for They Drink It In The Congo in 2016. In addition, the rain effect was achieved with water that was recycled for every performance using an on-site filtration system underneath the stage. The kitchen set from The Clinic received a future life – a silent auction took place among Almeida staff for the props and furniture that didn’t become part of the Almeida stock.

We are making a commitment to the Baseline standard for Theatre Green Book – an initiative that sets standards for making productions sustainably – to ensure that 50% of materials used in each production has a previous life and after the show, 65% of materials are re-used or recycled.

The wall of the Almeida Theatre bar, with a large clock on the centre. Below we see a collection of wines and their prices, ad we can also see the food menu.

Almeida Café & Bar

Our Café & Bar is committed to reducing consumption of single use plastics. Our plastic cups are from recycled plastic and our coffee cups are compostable and we offer a 20% discount if customers bring their own. We keep our menu compact and order perishable goods daily. In our kitchen, Chef Tom Artiss aims for at least two-thirds of the recipes to be plant-based and we always go 90% vegan for Veganuary.

In our bar we serve Climpson & Sons Coffee, who source beans from farms with traceable environmental practices. Our wines are provided by Sustainable Wine Solutions, who work with winemakers who practice sustainable grape growing and winemaking techniques. Every bottle is returned, sterilised, and reused at least 30 times, reducing the carbon footprint of each bottle by up to 95%. We stock Toast Ale Beer – they use surplus bread to replace barley – and every piece of waste thrown away in the bar area is sorted by our staff to ensure it is reused, recycled or composted correctly.

A road sign reads

Almeida Buildings

Since 2013, we have made a 53% reduction in gas usage at our theatre and 50% reduction in electricity. Hand dryers were installed in the bathrooms in 2013 and have saved 115k paper towels per year. In May 2022, we decommissioned our gas boilers and switched to heat pumps in our rehearsal room and offices. In 2018, the installation of LED lighting reduced our energy usage by 20%. We are also in the planning and fundraising stages of a capital project to improve the insulation and energy efficiency of our offices.

Almeida guests walk through the foyer.

Almeida People

Our audiences help us reach our sustainability goals by using digital tickets and displaying them on their smartphones, and by travelling to the theatre by bicycle or public transport where possible. Hand dryers installed in the bathrooms in 2013 have saved 115,000 paper towels per year.

Staff transport emissions have been reduced by 87% since 2013. Many staff have purchased new bikes through the Cycle to Work Scheme. Our next steps include maintaining our commitment to the Theatre Green Book – an initiative that sets standards for making productions sustainably. We are committed to using this tool to create work on our stage which makes a smaller impact on our planet. We are also in the planning and fundraising stages of a capital project to improve the insulation and energy
efficiency of our offices.

We want to engage you in a discussion that gets you to think about your relationship with the theatre, from the way you book your tickets, to the transport you used to get to us. To do this, we’ll make it easy for you to change with us.

If you ever have questions or suggestions for our sustainability efforts, you are welcome to send us an email at info@almeida.co.uk, and we look forward to hearing from you.