In a survey we conducted earlier this year, we found out that 59% of our audiences that were surveyed are ‘very worried’ about the impact of climate change. That’s why at Z-arts we’re dedicating the whole week to raise awareness on environmental issues and showcase what Z-arts is doing as an organisation to reduce our carbon footprint. By doing this, we’re hoping to inspire and encourage our families and visitors to do the same!

Here’s some facts and figures on what we do here at Z-arts to reduce our carbon footprint:

Across the team and our building:

• The majority of our team have been a part of Carbon Literacy Training from The Carbon Literacy Project
• Our building has 103 solar panels that can produce 57kW of electricity per hour, on a sunny day when we’re closed, our solar panels can power more than the whole building’s background demand and produces free green energy for the UK national grid and Hulme!
• We have reduced our waste production from 231 tonnes CO²e (carbon dioxide equivalent) in 2022-23 down to 35 tonnes CO²e in 2023-24. This is because we changed our waste processor so all our standard waste goes to an energy-from-waste power station and none to landfill!

In our theatre:

• Due to changing our lighting to LED, a theatre show at Z-arts uses an average of 2.1Kwh per show with compared to 18Kwh per show with traditional Tungsten, Halogen and HMI lighting.
• Come and see The Hidden Garden (ages 5+) – Z-arts on Saturday 21 September at Z-arts! At the end of the show audiences are invited to step into the world of the story, meet the Man and Boy and learn how to plant a seed of their own – Help the garden grow beyond the walls and live on in the wider community.

In our classes and activities:

• We have a recycling cupboard and use mainly recycled materials in all our classes and activities.
• This week we’ll be focussing our sessions on all things GREEN! Sessions will reflect our aims as an organisation for Environment Week.

In our cafe:

• Our bread, cakes and sweet treats are locally sourced.
• We have increased vegetarian/vegan options on our menu.
• We have no plastic drinks bottles.
• Through enhanced training and better food management we have reduced our food wastage.

Our team at Z-arts have all recently made team pledges and individual pledges to reduce Z-arts’ and our own carbon footprints. Why not pop into our building this week and make a pledge yourself by visiting our robot, Zed, in our cafe!