Sustainability at the Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House aims to be a catalyst for positive change, working towards making our operations more sustainable, efficient and economical. Find out below more information on what we are doing to help secure a sustainable future.
Policy
Net zero by 2035
The Royal Opera House is committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2035.
This is in relation to emission Scopes 1 and 2:
Scope 1: The Green House Gas emissions we make directly. At the ROH this includes heating the building and running some vehicles.
Scope 2: The emissions made indirectly. At the ROH this includes the electricity that we purchase.
We commit to sustainably purchasing our electricity and permanently changing how we heat our buildings. We will also work with our suppliers to help them reduce their emissions and set Scope 3 emission targets by 2025. Scope 3 emissions are emissions not directly associated with us but we are indirectly responsible for as part of the value chains. This includes the suppliers we use, how we travel and the products we sell. Activity will be closely monitored and reported each year to ensure targets are on track.
You can find out more about what processes we have in place to make our building, operations, productions and staffing more sustainable in our Environmental Policy.
News
THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE IS THRILLED TO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEATRE GREEN BOOK VERSION TWO AND ACHIEVES BASIC STANDARD
The Theatre Green Book is an initiative of the theatre industry aimed at helping those in the sector work more sustainably by bringing a common standard for practitioners. The second version of the book has been a collaborative project that included teams from the Royal Opera House. This new edition is quicker and easier to navigate, making it more accessible to all users.
As part of this work, the Royal Opera House is proud to apply for certification of Basic Standards under the new version. This certification means that we commit to meeting certain standards regarding the reuse and recycling of our sets, props, and costumes. It also holds us accountable for how we care for our buildings and manage our back-of-house operations. Emphasizing our commitment to sustainability, we will work with our creative teams, staff, artists, audiences, visitors, and contractors to continue improving how we manage our organisation and reduce our environmental impact.
The Royal Opera House also played a key role in creating the Operations Tracker, a new tool for recording progress in the behind-the-scenes running of a theatre. Additionally, we have been trialling the use of the Production Calculator and the Buildings Tool Kit, both of which are included in the book.
Our sustainability team uses these tools daily to monitor progress and support teams across the organisation in making changes. These tools also aid us in planning for continual improvement.
We are delighted that we remain involved with continual updates to the Theatre Green Book, as this is such an important resource for our sector to move forward together.
ROH signs the Westminster City Sustainability Charter
The Royal Opera House was the first cultural organisation to sign up to the Sustainable City Charter, a scheme recently launched by Westminster City Council and Westminster Property Association. This scheme is for all businesses based in Westminster to show their commitment to combating climate change through adhering to eight pledges aimed at reducing the carbon emissions of buildings and improving overall efficiency.
The Royal Opera House has made commitments in relation to:
- Collaboration
- Energy emissions
- Procurement
- Construction
- Deliveries
- Transport
- Waste
- Implementation
Charter signatories can access exclusive networking and knowledge sharing events, an evolving toolkit of support and advice and the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to Westminster’s city wide 2040 net zero target.
The Royal Opera House are delighted to be part of this scheme and look forward to creating successful partnerships and developing new ways of working with other local businesses to reduce our impact on the environment.
More information regarding the Sustainable City Charter can be found here.
Sustainable Stories
You can learn more about projects happening across our organisation helping to reduce our environmental impact in 2023 on our Sustainable Stories page.
In our building
Helping our environment
At the Royal Opera House, we are working hard on our commitment towards becoming more sustainable.
Look out for the posters across our building to find out more about what we are doing and how you can help us achieve our goals.
At the Royal Opera House, we have committed to:
- Switching to offering e-tickets and digital cast sheets saving over five tonnes of paper a year.
- Offering sustainably sourced products in our shop.
- Recycling, reusing or archiving all of our unused programmes.
- Using sustainable suppliers in all of our bars and restaurants.
- Providing a menu in our restaurants using locally sourced produce.
- Providing compostable cups for water that release around 40% less CO2 than recyclable materials.
You can help reduce the Royal Opera House's environmental impact by:
- Switching from buying bottled water to bringing a water bottle and refilling at one of our water stations. This saves up to seven tonnes of carbon dioxide per month.
- Putting your recycling into the correct bins provided across our building.
- Pre-ordering your food in our restaurants which allows us to ensure we have exactly the right amount of ingredients and helping reduce food waste from our venues to just 1.5% of our total.
- Turning off the taps in our bathrooms instead of leaving them running which can waste up to six litres of water per minute.
If you have any feedback or would like to know more about our commitment to becoming a more sustainable venue, please get in touch with our Environmental Manager:
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation, a charitable company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales (Company number 480523) Charity Registered (Number 211775)