Sustainability at Lowry

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.

From adopting paperless marketing, to choosing productions that raise awareness of environmental issues, The Lowry’s programming department is committed to championing sustainability. We’ve been examining the environmental impact of all aspects of our programming work – across our theatre shows, exhibitions, our learning and engagement offer and our front of house teams. Even small changes can make a big difference: instead of printing 100,000 copies of our 50 page-long brochure, we now produce an A5 folded sheet showing an overview of What’s On at Lowry. We are also working to build more sustainable relationships with visiting companies and artists; it’s our ambition to become ambassadors for sustainability through a culture of shared responsibility.

In our theatre programming, we no longer use glitter for internal productions, are committed to reusing sets and props where possible, and have mostly switched to energy-saving LED lights. A two-stage system to replace the house lights and dimmers in the Quays Theatre is in progress. We’ve banned the sale of merchandise that has a negative effect on the environment. Behind the scenes, we’re using E-sign software for contracts, getting rid of paper versions entirely. All artists and companies engaged in our Artist Development programme attend Creative Climate Action and Green Rider workshops, and we’re currently working on initiatives such as an environmental clause in production contracts, which will set out our expectations for visiting companies.

Our Visual Arts team is focussing on a careful use of resources, with lights along the promenade switched off by Team Leaders at 5pm, and materials recycled between exhibitions. We use paper crafts for family interactive sessions and are no longer buying plastic pens. The Galleries team carefully monitors the number of documents it prints, and we’ve switched to using QR codes in order to minimise the number of exhibition leaflets and booklets we print. Booked groups, workshops and events are now electronically ticketed, with walk-in visitors not ticketed at all. In order to reduce the impact of travel, office-based staff have set work-from-home days, with an increase in online meetings.

The Learning and Engagement team has committed to ordering resources from small, local businesses where possible. For the Picture This exhibition in 2022, children’s books were provided by Chorlton Bookshop, and we source general classroom resources from suppliers including the Stretford-based Early Years Resources. As part of our efforts to reduce single-use plastics, the walls of The Lookout are decorated with paint rather than vinyl, and we encourage any groups of young people that we have in for activities and workshops to bring reusable water bottles for refill at the water foundation in the studio.

The Theatre Industry has a substantial impact on the environment. Lowry is committed to doing what we can to minimise this where possible – but we can’t do it by ourselves. We know that we can’t dictate the way you create and tour your production or run your performance or event, but we do have green aspirations that we would love for you to consider. To find out more, please take a look at Lowry’s Green Rider.

Read The Green Rider here

At Lowry, we recognise that we are one link in a supply chain – that the goods we choose and sell have an environmental impact, as do the services we offer. We are implementing an organisation-wide sustainable procurement strategy in order to minimise the carbon footprint of our products and services, working with suppliers who share our emphasis on an environmentally friendly approach. From our tender process right through to the way we process recycling and waste, this policy will apply to every department at The Lowry. It will act as a standard that the entire organisation will need to work to when buying services and products.

Actions that we’ve already put in place across our hospitality offer include the introduction of more environmentally-conscious products in our coffee shop and within the confectionery we sell, such as sustainable palm oil chocolate and carbon neutral sweets. We’re continuing to focus on working with local, artisan suppliers, including H.M. Pasties, Seven Bro7hers Brewing Co. and Four Sis4ers Distillery, making the switch to more sustainable companies where necessary (our ice cream is now supplied by Jude’s, a certified B Corporation). Our coffee supplier is now the North West-based roasters Neighbourhood, a certified carbon neutral company.

In our Pier Eight restaurant, three out of five starters, two out of five main courses and all five desserts are now vegetarian or vegan. We’ve also made the swap from plastic bottles to cans and glass bottles in all front of house areas. In terms of energy usage, all non-food fridges are now on timers in front of house spaces; we’ve also fully transitioned to email-based orders and invoicing, as well as introducing a paperless induction system.

Within our retail offer, we’ve focused on transitioning away from plastic packaging, with 100% recyclable and biodegradable Hive Wrap used instead of bubble wrap, and card mug boxes replacing polystyrene. We also reuse packaging from deliveries as much as possible. The Lowry shopper bag is now offered as an alternative to plastic carrier bags, and is made from recycled bottles. In our Pocket Money range, all toys are made from tin, wood or card, and we’ve designed and implemented ‘card clasp’ stickers instead of cellophane bags for The Lowry’s cards.

Behind scenes, we’re focusing on making sure that computers, fans, printers and all lights are switched off when leaving the stockroom, with additional signage in place here and in our retail office. We’re helping to reduce our energy usage by deleting old emails and files where we can, and have limited printing as much as possible.

In January 2023, Lowry began an organisation-wide roll out of Carbon Literacy training. Carbon Literacy is defined by the Carbon Literacy Project as: ‘An awareness of the carbon dioxide costs and impacts of everyday activities, and the ability and motivation to reduce emissions, on an individual, community and organisational basis.’ Training in Carbon Literacy results in the knowledge necessary to help create shifts in how we live and work; it has demonstrable effects on the ability to confidently communicate climate awareness, and in ensuring that positive actions feed directly into organisational policy.

Delivered by Jennifer Taillefer, an external, accredited trainer, The Lowry’s Carbon Literacy training is specifically focussed on the cultural sector, acting as a catalyst for our ongoing sustainability initiatives. It involves a full day of learning, in person, on how to best prepare for the impacts of the climate emergency and what can be done to both diminish the effects, and reduce our ecological footprint as an organisation. The first part of the day examines the science behind the climate emergency, and the reasons that it’s come about. This includes the ways in which arts organisations are already responding, and the role of art in raising awareness.

In the second part of the day, the focus shifts to solutions – both on an organisational level, and within our individual capacity for change. Finally, the training explores ways of communicating the climate emergency to others, and how to develop pledges for ongoing action.

Carbon Literacy training is delivered in tandem with a communications strategy that embeds sustainability within The Lowry’s working culture, as well as sharing our ambitions and achievements both internally and externally. So far, 33% of all contracted staff have undergone training, and we are committed to achieving 100% within the next two years.

Lowry is committed to reducing the environmental impact of all areas of our organisation, with the ambition of becoming a leading example for the cultural sector. We have launched our own Environmental and Sustainability Team (EAST), the role of which is to ensure cultural buy-in is in place across the organisation, with environmental considerations at the forefront of all aspects of our work – including strategy and business planning. EAST is responsible for sustainability strategies, new green initiatives, communication and training.

EAST will also lead on the implementation of the Theatre Green Book, which is the framework we have adopted in order to achieve our environmental ambitions. Building on years of work by theatre-makers and sustainability pioneers, the Theatre Green Book provides cultural venues with a path towards sustainability. It maps the journey towards an industry that is low carbon and low waste, values people, and contributes to a more sustainable society. We are using all three volumes, namely: Buildings, Operations and Productions.