At Mayflower, we are committed to reducing our environmental impact and have embarked on a multi-year carbon-cutting programme to drive meaningful change. By working collaboratively with experts, colleagues, and partners across the industry, we are taking decisive action to reduce our carbon footprint and make sustainability a priority for our venues, operations, and productions.
Climate Action: Taking Steps Towards Sustainability
We are actively listening to expert advisors and industry professionals to guide our sustainability efforts. Our collaboration with Theatre Green Book, a leading organisation in theatre sustainability, is helping us transition to more environmentally friendly practices across our operations. Through accountability and sustainable initiatives, we are making a tangible difference and inspiring others to do the same.
Mayflower’s Environment & Sustainability Working Group meets every 6–8 weeks to assess progress, set new targets, and make recommendations on reducing energy consumption, water usage, and improving recycling efforts. Together, we are leading the charge towards a greener future for our theatre and local community.
In the past year alone, we have reduced our energy consumption by 9.8%.
Laying the Foundations for Change
We have already implemented several initiatives to enhance sustainability, including:
- New recycling points in our auditorium, alongside a partnership with Veolia, a company with a zero-to-landfill ethos, to improve waste management.
- Upgrades to our building management system, allowing better regulation of air conditioning and heating, reducing unnecessary energy use.
- Water-saving measures, such as new taps in our bathrooms that automatically turn off to minimise water consumption.
- Staff awareness campaign, encouraging everyone to Switch it off, Turn it down, and Sort it out – a simple but effective reminder to be mindful of our environmental impact.
Reducing Our Carbon Footprint
Within our venues, we are taking active steps to cut down on energy use and waste:
- Replacing tungsten lighting on our stages with high-tech LED alternatives, significantly reducing power consumption.
- Installing LED lighting throughout our front-of-house areas for better energy efficiency.
- Exploring the removal of gas heating from our auditorium, replacing it with more sustainable air source heat pumps.
- Planning for solar panel installation to generate renewable energy onsite.
- Phasing out single-use plastics in our bars and introducing products with fully recyclable packaging.
Over the last three years, we have more than doubled our recycling rates, increasing from 10.4% to 21%.
How You Can Help
Sustainability is a collective effort, and small actions can have a big impact. Here’s how you can contribute:
- Use our recycling bins correctly – signage has been introduced to make it easier to sort waste properly.
- Choose greener travel options – consider walking, cycling, car sharing, or using public transport when attending a show to help cut down on emissions, costs, and congestion.
Sustainability is everyone’s responsibility. At Mayflower, we are dedicated to making this transition, knowing that the road ahead is long but essential. We invite you to join us in creating a cleaner, greener future – together, we can make a lasting difference.
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