The story of greening culture
Culture for Climate Scotland and a cohort of partners developed the Green Arts Charter, a sustainability agreement, to provide a framework for cultural organisations to deliver climate action.
For ‘The story of greening culture’ we spoke to Cath du Preeze, Head of Operations at The Barn, a cultural organisation and charter cohort member, about their involvement in the charter’s development and approach to environmental sustainability.
Why did you choose to be involved in this strand and how did you find the process of working in collaboration with other cultural organisations?
I saw the development of a Green Arts Charter as proactive, positive action to help accelerate the decarbonisation of the cultural sector. The strand fitted well with my operations and environmental reporting roles at The Barn.
I found the process of working in collaboration with other cultural organisations stimulating and educational. There were representatives from different sized culture and climate organisations in the cohort, which greatly enriched the process and exposed me to their various challenges.
Why do you think it’s important to have a set of pledges and actions that organisations can follow?
I think pledges hold significant importance in fostering a sense of unity, commitment and accountability. They signal an intention to act and give organisations something to aim for and help to guide a course of action. Pledges can motivate a sector to a cause or goal and raise awareness which, in this instance, is meeting net-zero targets.
Signing the charter furthers The Barn’s commitment to tackling climate and environmental challenges. It spells out our pledges around mitigation, adaptation, collaboration, community and advocating for change in a concise and impactful way, making a statement for all to see.
Another big advantage of the charter was that it provided opportunity for The Barn’s senior leadership team to discuss and agree goals on how our organisation can tackle the climate and ecological emergency. The 10 action points have been a practical tool guiding and inspiring us to assess, report and take action to improve on environmental sustainability.
How does The Barn Arts put environmental sustainability and climate justice into action?
The Barn puts environmental sustainability and climate justice into action in several ways, including: continually measuring, evaluating and improving reductions in our emissions through our carbon management plan; building team capacity to put actions into place; risk assessments; and using the Culture for Climate Scotland’s Cultural Adaptations toolkit to create a climate adaptation plan.
We continue to develop strategies and policies to support our vision and to build awareness and inspire action. We continue to ensure our climate action plans impact the wellbeing of external stakeholders, marginalised and vulnerable communities, and that solutions are equitable and just. We continue to progress opportunities for environmental and climate justice related programming and investigate all aspects of access.
What progress has your organisation made since signing the charter?
Shortly after signing the charter, we developed a Sustainability Rider that forms a component of our contract, asking all partners (agents, artists, workshop leaders, private hirers etc) to consider our sustainability aspirations. Capacity issues have prevented us from delivering on some of our commitments.
The Barn Arts in Aberdeenshire showcase live music, theatre, comedy, dance, film and art shows in redeveloped farmstead. They collaborate and co-create with artists, makers and audiences to develop arts experiences which grow environmental awareness and cultivate action, with a varied programme of events and projects that connect communities.
Culture for Climate Scotland developed the Green Arts Charter with and for members of our Green Arts Initiative. The cohort of cultural organisations involved in the development included The Barn, Bothy Project, Cryptic, Fèisean nan Gàidheal, the Edinburgh International Festival and Starcatchers. The charter includes four core pledges on mitigation & adaptation, collaboration, community and advocating for change; and a framework of actions to guide an organisation’s environmental planning.
This story is part of a series developed for Scottish Government’s Climate Week 2024, showcasing the work Culture for Climate Scotland is supporting to help achieve an environmentally sustainable Scotland. This year’s Climate Week is a chance for communities and organisations to celebrate and encourage climate action by sharing ‘Stories for Change’.