At Birmingham Hippodrome we are continually finetuning our operations to make sure they reinforce sustainability in all our activities.
Sustainable Procurement
We are working hard to ensure that we minimise the carbon footprint of our suppliers, products and services wherever possible. When we review our suppliers, we consider sustainability as a primary part of the procurement process. Many of the refreshments sold on site are packaged responsibly and can be recycled at the theatre.
We minimise the transport emissions of regular deliveries by coordinating them with other nearby businesses and discourage staff from using ultra-fast delivery services which have a greater carbon impact.
The Circle Lounge largely uses produce from local or regional suppliers, and food is prepared from scratch on site. Used cooking oil is securely stored and repurposed as fuel by a partner business. In The Circle Lounge, Green Room, and The Coffee Bar we have a great selection of plant-based and meat-free options on the menu.
Reducing Paper
We do our very best to reduce the amount of paper and cardboard used across the business.
Our marketing material is available in digital form via our website, and we use local suppliers and printers wherever appropriate, to reduce long distance deliveries and carbon footprint. Where customers have requested a paper copy, we mail items such as season brochures without a plastic wallet to reduce single-plastic consumption.
Customers are issued with e-tickets that can be shown on their phones to reduce the need for printing them when they come to shows and events.
We have turned off automatic receipts from our sales positions, although customers can still request one if they so wish.
Programmes
Our programmes are made from material that is FSC (see below) sourced and is made of a mix of recycled pulp/fibre and virgin pulp/fibre, where the ink used is vegetable based and not oil based. All programmes are 100% recyclable. Where used, plastic cartridges that carry ink are fully recycled. However, in most cases ink is now pumped directly into the press, therefore removing use of plastic altogether. During the printing process, waste material is fed back into the paper manufacturing cycle as post-consumer waste and all the printing plates are recycled.
All programmes are produced in and delivered from Birmingham to reduce carbon footprint, and where possible due to weight, delivered to the theatre using electric vehicles.
The Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) provide a chain of custody from the forest to the end user. This means that every tonne of material purchased can be traced back to its source. FSC certified forests are managed to strict environmental, social and economic standards. More than 160 million hectares of forest are managed to FSC standards around the world. Find out more about the FSC here.
Waste Management
We aim to recycle as much of our waste as possible, ranging from paper to aluminium and beyond to more unusual materials. We offer training to staff on how to correctly sort waste and recycling in our building and are currently upgrading our bin infrastructure, including adding medical waste bins to men’s toilets. We sort waste generated by set and prop making into specialised recovery streams – we even repurpose the old cooking oil from our restaurant, The Circle Lounge. We are continuously seeking new recycling streams to continuously decrease the amount of material we reuse.
General waste is compacted which limits removals to just once every two weeks, reducing our carbon footprint. Waste that cannot be recycled is diverted to an Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) to generate energy for Birmingham. We are proud to have received a Zero to Landfill certificate from our waste management company which showcases our efforts to reduce our environmental impact.
We have already taken many steps on our journey to remove single-use plastic waste, such as introducing milk jugs rather than single use plastic milk portions.
Digital
Our digital storage and systems also contribute to our energy usage, and therefore Birmingham Hippodrome is committed to reviewing our digital resource intensity and decreasing this where possible. We have put in place new systems for deleting old data in line with GDPR regulations which are reducing our digital storage requirements and are looking into how to run our plant in the most energy effective way. We have also moved much of our communications and marketing online to reduce paper usage and make our resources accessible to all.