Metta Theatre Declare a Climate and Ecological Emergency

We have always held social justice, diversity and all of the human and natural world around us close to our heart. That world, on which we all depend so completely, has been pushed to breaking point, and now is our is our last chance to pull back from the brink. In light of recently presented scientific evidence* we have decided to join the Climate Declares Emergency movement.

Our attention was drawn in particular to the IPCC’s 1.5ºC report in October 2018, as well as reading about the dire state of soil health across the world, the unbelievable drop in insect loss across protected areas in Germany and a growing acknowledgement that the destruction of the natural world now poses as grave a threat to humanity as climate change.

We pledge to work with and support our cultural community in tackling this Emergency, and we call on others to do the same.

These are our intentions:

1. We will tell the Truth
We must be honest with ourselves that ‘business as usual’ cannot continue.
We must communicate the truth about the Emergency and the systemic changes that are needed within our sector and our audiences.

2. We will take Action
We must work towards reducing our emissions to net zero* by 2025.
We must actively work to imagine and model ways that our sector and community can live and work within our planet’s means.
*Net zero means that on balance one's activities are zero emissions, taking into account all possible Greenhouse Gas emissions and actions taken to mitigate or offset those emissions.

3. We are committed to Justice
We must use our position as artists to imagine and forge shifts in the ways we relate to one another and the world, in our values and behaviours.

Creative Climate Leadership

We are proud to have been in the first cohort of ACE & Julie’s Bicycle’s ACCELERATOR programme, where we founded the Sustainable Touring Group, with members including Lyric Hammersmith, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, Blackpool Grand Theatre, Improbable and Storyhouse. Artistic Director William Reynolds has trained with the Carbon Literacy Project and worked with the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham on their climate and ecological crisis commission.

We work with the rest of our sector to increase ambition across the board - whether running workshops, speaking at conferences or providing creative climate consultancy through Metta Green.

We report our own impacts here, and have published our 2020 net-zero plan.

We bank with Co-op Bank, the only high street bank with a serious ethical policy & Triodos leaders in positive banking.

Our office is powered by 100% renewables from Octopus Energy, heated by a wood burner and we compost our food waste to go into our veg patch outside the back door!

Impacts calculated using Creative Industry Green by Julie’s Bicycle.