Last night, at a glittering ceremony, Scottish Ensemble was awarded the Green Orchestras award at the Association of British Orchestras (ABO) annual Classical Music Awards
The award recognises our continued work on sustainability, leading the way within the sector to reducing emissions and environmental impact.
Celebrating our sustainability work the award citation particularly highlighted how 2023 was an important milestone for us:
- In 2023 we worked with Orkney-born composer Erland Cooper, for our ‘Folded Landscapes‘ project, which explored the climate crisis and the natural world. This project showcased our environmental commissioning strategy ensuring that sustainability is not just an add-on but a core part of our artistic vision.
- In March 2023, we toured the Netherlands from Glasgow by train. It was our first international tour using trains as the main form of transport to and from the UK, and while touring and is estimated to have saved 2355kg C02e – half of the emissions if we’d travelled by plane and coach!
The ABO Green Orchestras award not only celebrates our achievements in increasing our sustainability and reducing our impact on the environment but will help us continue to share learning and best practice to the sector. We would like to thank Scott Morrison, who initially set us on the path to sustainability, and our team sustainability champions, Chris Gemmell and Monica Gowans.