Sustainability

As a leading cultural organisation, we believe we have a responsibility to work towards and contribute to a more sustainable Scotland and Scottish cultural sector.

Since 2015, Scottish Ensemble has been on a journey to better understand and monitor the environmental impact of its work. Our goal is to reduce emissions and waste whenever we can. 2015 was the first year in which we began to calculate the carbon emissions related to our UK and internationally touring, our paper wastage, and our power consumption. We have monitored and reported on these in every year since, which has allowed us to make strategic decisions to significantly reduce emissions in each of these areas.

Scottish Ensemble is an active member in the CCA Cultural Tenants’ Green Team, and of the Green Arts Initiative. We regularly attends talks and conferences to share with and learn from our peers.

In addition in 2020 we co-founded, with Nevis Ensemble, the Scottish Classical Sustainability Group. The group brings together representatives from across the classical sector in Scotland to promote sustainability, learn from one another and share best practice as we look to play our role in combatting the climate emergency. The group’s work to date has seen it win the Environmental Sustainability Award at the Scottish Awards for New Music 2021.

In July 2021, the Scottish Classical Sustainability Group launched the Scottish Classical Music Green Guide. Written collaboratively with learning and contributions from the 30+ members of the SCSG, this free guide contains knowledge and guidance on how to reduce carbon emissions in all aspects of your work.