Our Policies

Purpose

Icon Theatre is a company committed to pushing the boundaries of where theatre happens, who it is for and how it can help people and places to grow. The climate emergency is the unavoidable context of all our work: remaking the landscapes of Medway and Swale and impacting upon the lives of those we work with – particularly those from marginalised communities.

We recognise the urgency of addressing the climate emergency, and support the crucial goal of reducing global emissions to net zero by 2050 or sooner. We are proud to play our part in the transition to a cleaner, flourishing future.

Over the years and decades to come, as the impacts of the climate emergency are increasingly felt, it is vital that Icon Theatre places environmental responsibility and sustainability at the heart of our work, both in terms of our making practices and the outlet creativity can provide to our communities to engage with the topic.

We are committed to embracing best practice in terms of sustainable theatre-making, and responding creatively to the ways the climate emergency is impacting Medway, Swale and beyond.

This document sets out our headline ambitions, these are delivered through a detailed action plan, based on the Theatre Green Book.

Background – Icon Theatre’s Journey So Far

Our commitment to sustainable practice is well established. We have undertaken the following steps to date:

• Informally (without measurement) delivered aspects of the Theatre Green Book through our productions Ghost Ships, If Not Now and The Ballad of St John’s Car Park.
• Undertaken climate literacy training with consultant Amber Massie-Blomfield.
• Undertaken climate mentoring sessions (Artistic Director, Executive Director and Senior Producer).
• Begun the development of a climate-themed production, The House That Floated Away (working title).
• Appointed board champions Antje Lang (sustainable investment & operations specialist) and Tasnim Siddiqa Amin (artist, writer & theatre maker with a focus on climate justice).
• Led climate action in the community by delivering climate-crisis themed workshops in Sheerness.

 Our Commitments

• We will begin our journey to Net Zero, using Theatre Green Book as the key tool to get there.
• In 25/26, we will use The House That Floated Away (working title) to pilot TGB basic standard, and deliver The Snow Queen to basic standard.
• Our operations will meet Theatre Green Book basic standard by Q1, 26/27.
• In 26/27, we will set a timeline for moving to intermediate standard across productions and operations.
• We will explore the theme creatively through our shows, with a focus on how it impacts on the lives of the communities we work with.
• We will tell the story of our progress through our communications, bringing to life for our audiences how we respond to the challenge creatively, and encouraging them to join us on the journey.

Focus Areas

Theatre Green Book

Now used by 69% of UK Theatre/SOLT members, Theatre Green Book has emerged as the key tool being embraced by the sector on the path to Net Zero. Created by theatre-makers, it offers a practical framework for reducing carbon emissions and addressing the wider environmental impact of the sector’s activities – focussing on where the biggest impact can be made and responding to the particular challenges the sector faces. By using the Theatre Green Book, we will align with the approach already adopted by many of our partners and the freelance community.

Theatre Green Book offers a pathway through three ‘standards’ of sustainable productions, operations and buildings (less relevant for our purposes) – Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. Advanced is considered best practice in terms of reducing climate and environmental impacts as far as practically possible. As we become familiar with implementing Theatre Green Book guidance, we will set a clear target date for reaching Advanced standard. When this point is reached, we will implement an offsetting policy for any residual emissions that really are impossible to eliminate, reaching net zero.  Our immediate priority is embedding Basic standard across our operations and productions.

Climate Justice

Icon Theatre recognises the principle of climate justice, which means understanding that the effects of the climate crisis are felt first and most severely by communities that have been historically marginalised. This includes many of the communities we work with in Medway and Swale.

Our environmental goals must align with Icon’s mission and our commitments to equity, diversity and inclusion. For Icon, this means creating opportunities for communities to explore and share their experiences of climate impact. We do this through projects like The House That Floated Away (working title) and our youth theatre programmes, which place local voices and lived experience at the centre of the creative process.

We are also committed to ensuring that decisions informed by sustainability do not unintentionally exclude people. For example, many of the communities most vulnerable to climate change live in areas with limited public transport. In these cases, we will always seek the most sustainable solution that also supports access, equity and our place-based commitments.

Productions

Our productions will be the key drivers of sustainable practice. As we work towards Theatre Green Book Basic standard, we will stage one production with climate as a key theme, offering a creative motivation and inspiration for making changes to our practice, carried into future programme. We will continue to explore opportunities to address climate creatively.

We recognise that early decision-making on the programme and key creatives will help us to embed our sustainability goals, and ensure they are more likely to succeed. The director and designer have a key role to play in designing sustainability into shows, and in communicating environmental values to the team. We will also share our commitments with co-producers and other partners, encouraging them to pursue best practice.

Operations

In terms of our operations, we will draw on Theatre Green Book guidance, looking for opportunities to go further in response to the specific context of our work. As a tenant at The Historic Dockyard in Chatham, we are not in control of, for example, the choice of our energy supplier. But we do have influence over our landlord, and will request that they share key information, such as energy consumption for the whole building, that can then be apportioned based on our square footage. We will encourage them to switch to a green energy supplier if this is not already in place.

Communications/Digital

We will tell the story of our sustainable practice to engage our audiences with our journey and inspire wider change. This will include sharing our climate commitments publicly; sharing human and relatable aspects of the journey; and encouraging audiences to take their own action (for example suggesting ‘5 Key Actions’ based on the themes of our shows).

Finance & Resources  

We recognise there are cost implications to improving our sustainability; at the same time, in the current climate, it is unlikely that more funds will become available to support this. By planning productions early, we will have the best chance of identifying areas where issues around implementation are likely to arise, and will consider where a targeted reallocation of funds could help us to overcome these issues.

We will review our pension provider, highlighting to staff the opportunity to ensure their funds are invested sustainably. Lloyds Bank our current bank is included in the Banking on Climate Chaos list of 100 biggest fossil fuel investors – we will look to move to a bank with a high ethical rating.

Implementation

Working Culture

 A strong working culture of sustainability will ensure our goals are met. Everyone in the organisation must understand and take responsibility for the importance of these commitments. The Artistic Director and Executive Director will reinforce this regularly, and model best practice, providing inspiration for the team. A Green Committee has been established with the Executive Director as operations lead, Producer as productions lead and two board champions.

To keep the topic animated, and the team engaged with why it is important, annual training sessions connected to a climate theme will be offered – for example looking at climate justice or creative climate responses. As we move to the intermediate and advanced standard, we’ll ensure that opportunities to engage in carbon literacy training are available to staff and freelancers.

Monitoring & Evaluation

On productions and in operations, we will use the calculators provided by Theatre Green Book to monitor our impact. After productions, we will undertake a debrief with key team members, reviewing successes and challenges in implementing the TGB. These debriefs will be documented, ensuring that key takeaways can be integrated into future work.

The Green Committee will maintain an oversight of progress, and sustainability will be an agenda item in key meetings. A progress report will be presented to the board every six months, and the policy and action plan reviewed and updated annually. We will report to Arts Council England on our Investment Principle progress quarterly.

Responsibility

Responsibility for ensuring the policy and plan is implemented sits with the Executive Director.

Contact

Daniel King
Executive Director
daniel@icontheatre.org.uk