Named after the early 20th century artist L. S. Lowry, our organisation recognises the ongoing impact of industry of all kinds on the climate: best known for his paintings of industrial scenes, such as Coming from the Mill, Lowry’s work captures the urban air pollution that had already reached devastating levels in the 1930s. In the present climate, we are committing to a culture of shared responsibility: embedding sustainability across our operations, empowering our staff and volunteers to become environmental ambassadors, and working sustainability into all our partnerships.
We will be communicating our ambitions, actions and achievements to our peers, audiences, communities and stakeholders, and actively supporting both regional and industry initiatives such as Greater Manchester’s Five-Year Environmental Plan. The Lowry also supports the ambition of the city region to achieve carbon neutrality by 2038.
In order to meet these aims, we’ve launched an internal Environmental and Sustainability Team (EAST). EAST will lead on ensuring that environmental considerations are at the forefront of all our thinking – including strategy and business planning. They will also lead on the implementation of our Sustainability Strategy, developed in collaboration with external partners Buro Happold. The Theatre Green Book, which gives cultural venues a path towards sustainability, is the framework we’ve adopted for this, as we feel it gives us the practical guidance needed to achieve our environmental ambitions. We are using all three volumes, namely: Buildings, Operations and Productions. This strategy will be our fundamental guiding principle as we continue on our environmental sustainability journey.
Improvements that we’ve made to date include: adopting paperless marketing, installing low-energy hand dryers in the toilets and switching hospitality suppliers to those with sustainable credentials. 80% of The Lowry’s lighting has now been changed to energy efficient LED bulbs, and we’ve committed to undergoing Carbon Literacy training for 100% of our staff within the next two years.
Whilst celebrating these advancements, we recognise that this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what is achievable. We will continue to investigate and implement changes to how we operate, with the ultimate ambition of becoming a carbon neutral organisation.