going Green update: 'perth hour'
Horsecross is pleased to announce that not only did we take part in this years WWF Earth Hour wwf.org.uk/earthhour we were also part of a bigger venture called 'Perth Hour.'
Perth in Scotland, Australia and Canada linked up to switch off for this year's Earth Hour. Residents, businesses and schools in all three Perths united by switching off their lights for WWF's Earth Hour 2011. On Saturday 26 March at 8.30pm buildings and landmarks plunged into darkness as thousands of people switched off their lights or held events in the dark to demonstrate support for people and wildlife affected by climate change.
We're delighted to be able to share our green goals with similar venues and cities across the world to highlight our collective responsibility to protect our planet.
Going green
If everyone lived as we do in Scotland, we would need three planets to support us. We can't make more planets, but we can make a difference.
We want to play our part in fixing the problem by using less to do more.
Therefore our company goal for 2009/10 was to "go green" - something that the whole company worked towards throughout the year. As a result, the policies and procedures we developed are now integrated into our ways of working and continue to have a lasting effect on our day to day operations.
We know there is always more to do to achieve the most environmentally sustainable organisation possible and we will continue to do our best to improve our performance and encourage our suppliers to do the same. We have "green champions" in place throughout our organisation to ensure we keep up our "green" work.
award winning efforts
In 2011, Horsecross Arts received the Perthshire Chamber of Commerce Sustainability award. The award recognised the Go Green project involving all employees in its aim to achieve a sustainable business. Changes were made across the board resulting in reduced carbon emissions and significant cost savings. Sustainable business practices are now embedded into the Horsecross Arts culture and ways of working for years to come.
In 2011 Horsecross Arts also received a Gold level award from The Green Tourism Business Scheme. The Green Tourism Business Scheme is the largest and most successful environmental accreditation body operating within tourism in Europe. This award followed the Silver level award received by Horsecross Arts in 2009.
Examples of what we're doing
It would take too much space to list everything we're doing here. However, here is a flavour of what we have already done!
- we recycle paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, toner cartridges, batteries, cooking oil, old electrical equipment and we recycle stage sets where possible. Recycling bins have been introduced throughout areas of the concert hall to allow customers to recycle too
- monitoring lights and making sure they're turned off when not in use (this has a high impact as the lights in the auditorium are very power hungry!)
- energy saving light bulbs introduced in Concert Hall foyer and all round building (you may notice the toilets being slightly darker when you first go in as the light bulbs can take a little while to warm up and get to full brightness)
- approximately 80% of catering produce is sourced locally, saving on "food miles"
- payslips being sent by email instead of on paper, paperless meetings where possible
- toilet flush cycle changed to reduce water use
- changing our IT structure so that we use less energy, printing less often and printing double sided, switching our computer screens off when we're away from our desks to save electricity
Looking for more?