Birmingham Hippodrome has today (Tuesday 1 July 2025) launched a brand-new Sustainability plan for the theatre. The plan, which contains 10 core commitments, is the culmination of the theatre’s successful journey to reach Theatre Green Book (TGB) Preliminary standard.

These commitments will cover areas such as Creative Programme, Governance and Values, Partnerships and Training; looking at improving the theatre’s environmental performance by cutting direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions and addressing resource use in works.

Launched in 2021, The Theatre Green Book is a set of guidelines created by leading theatres, national theatre organisations, and building experts Buro Happold to improve arts sustainability in three key areas – buildings, operations, and productions.

The TGB is separated into four tiers of complexity – Preliminary, Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. Reaching a Preliminary standard is a strategic part of the Hippodrome’s journey of long-term sustainability across all three pillars – social, economic, and environmental. Moving forward, the Hippodrome aspires to work towards the other three tiers of TGB.

This journey began more than a decade ago when the Hippodrome became the first UK theatre to hold the ISO 14001 accreditation for global standard Environmental Management Systems.

In 2023, ‘Sustainable’ became one of the theatre’s core company values, placing the organisation’s commitment to the environment at the very heart of the Hippodrome. 2023 also saw the Hippodrome announce a five-year plan (2023 – 2028), to improve the theatre’s offerings to the city, which included Hippodrome Tomorrow; a transformational capital project created for and with the people of Birmingham and the West Midlands. Within this ambition, one of the key actions is ‘Sustainability’, with an aim to think beyond the immediate future and invest in sustainable practices to meet the theatre’s environmental responsibilities, ensuring the venue is fit many years to come.

Last year, the theatre’s first in-house production The Jingleclaw met Theatre Green Book Basic guidance – meaning the show’s costumes, props and set were all tracked to TGB standards. More than 50% of the items sourced for the show were from recycled or reused materials, and it is hoped that a very high proportion of the items will have a second life through future use in The Jingleclaw or another production. The carbon impact of all future in-house productions and festivals will be measured moving forward as standard practice.

Jon Gilchrist, Artistic Director and Chief Executive Officer at Birmingham Hippodrome said:  “We’re proud to be launching our new Theatre Green Book sustainability plan as part of our continued commitment to a more sustainable future. We believe culture has a vital role to play in the climate conversation, and this plan is a step towards ensuring our venue can thrive for generations to come.”

Lilli Geissendorfer, Director at Theatre Green Book said: “We’re so happy that Birmingham Hippodrome are taking this important step and looking at ways to become more sustainable. They have already had a great start to their Theatre Green Book journey with The Jingleclaw meeting Basic Standard and I look forward to seeing how this new sustainability plan brings positive change.” 

Birmingham Hippodrome’s full Sustainability plan can be found here.

Further information on Birmingham Hippodrome’s ongoing work towards sustainability can be found here.