The Dance Space: Our Sustainability Story
At The Dance Space, sustainability shapes everything we do, from our everyday choices to our long-term plans to reduce our impact on the planet. We outline our environmental work in our environmental policy and a constantly developing action plan.
Building design, construction and fit-out
The Dance Space meets the BREEAM Excellent standard, a global sustainability benchmark for buildings, which recognises commitment to low-impact design, carbon emissions reduction, adaptation to climate change, and biodiversity protection.
Our furniture and soft furnishings are sustainably made. The Welcome Desk and seating have been made locally from recycled wood from The Wood Store and our cushion covers and lampshades are handmade and commissioned by local textile artist Halima Yunus. We also use Huskee reusable cups for events to avoid waste.
Composting
We compost all of our food waste with Compost Club, reducing landfill and supporting a local business. We buy plastic-free tea bags for our offices and events so that we can compost them safely too.
Energy management
Our Building & Sustainability Manager tracks energy use across events, seasons, and specific days to reduce consumption. Over a year, this data has helped us cut our electricity use by over 50%.
Thanks to funding from Backstage Trust, we’re upgrading our stage lights to LED energy-efficient models, reducing electricity use in The Jamie Watton Creation Space.
Maintenance and servicing
Our Building & Sustainability Manager and Head of Production make sure all mechanical and electrical installations are kept in good condition with strict maintenance and servicing schedules. We also regularly inspect and clean our solar panel system, which on a sunny day can generate up to 10% of our overall consumption.
General waste & recycling
We recycle as much as possible, with collections by E-Bike. Our team keeps up to date with new recycling guidelines to make sure we’re responsibly disposing of waste. Our Visitor & Events Support team are happy to help if you aren’t sure which bin to use.
Complimentary sanitary items
We’ve upgraded our complimentary sanitary products with sustainability in mind. We now offer plastic-free, toxin-free, organic cotton pads and tampons provided by Dame B-Corp in the toilets around our building.
Travel data
Our travel survey helps us understand how people get here and find ways to improve sustainable travel options. Next time you visit, tap the iPad at the Welcome Desk to tell us how you got here. We’re looking for ways to make this data collection method more comprehensive too.
Suppliers
We use Metrobank, which bank.green defines as a “leader in climate responsibility” and deposit our cash reserves with banks that score well for sustainability on bank.green. A focus for the coming year is using The Good Shopping Guide to work through other suppliers such as our insurance and pension providers.
Training
We’ve taken Carbon Literacy Training to help us reach our sustainability goals.
Theatre Green Book
Our Building & Sustainability Manager has worked with Theatre Green Book to achieve Preliminary and Intermediate Certificates for our sustainable operations.