This week, the world’s focus turns to Egypt where leaders of different nations come together to discuss the ever-growing issue of climate change and the ways in which we can create a global effort to tackle this. The environment is something that, as a company, WL has always been passionate about. Whilst it’s an issue that has come into significant prominence in more recent times, for decades WL has ensured its operations were as green as possible, as well as being industry-leaders when it comes to highlighting the importance of sustainability in the world of live entertainment. Given this is an issue that is currently on many speople’s minds, we thought we’d put together a blog which looks at the work we have done in the past, what we are currently doing as well as what we have planned for the future.

WL’s quest to be an environmentally-friendly company is something that has always sat at the heart of the organisation. We were one of the first companies to invest heavily in low-energy lighting equipment as well as replace our now iconic paper reference guide with an iPhone App and interactive webpage. Back in 2010, we were nominated as Best Green Business of the Year at the Merton Business Awards and then, in 2012, embarked on a three year partnership with Julie’s Bicycle; an organisation that was founded to make environmental sustainability intrinsic to the creative industries. This included WL sponsoring the development of a new IG Tool for Production — a carbon calculator that enabled production managers to measure the carbon impacts of lighting, set design, and material choices. WL was also a supporter of the Green Theatre Network, a national network for theatre professionals from across the sector to share learning, best practice, tools, and resources towards a low-carbon sector fit for the future.

Similarly, we helped the Mayor of London’s office write the Mayor’s Green Theatre Programme, which gave advice to industry practitioners on how their work could be more sustainable. We have also always had an in-house Green Team, ensuring our own operations are constantly being evaluated and improved on.   

An example of this was back in 2019 when WL decided to calculate its carbon footprint. This led the company to want to further formulise its environmental credentials and management processes in an attempt to truly understand the impact we’re having. We soon realised the most effective way to do this was to receive ISO:14001 accreditation – something we proudly achieved at the end of 2021. ISO 14001 is an internationally agreed standard that sets out the requirements for an Environmental Management System. It’s already made a huge difference to our operations, improving our environmental performance through more efficient use of resources and the reduction of waste.

For instance, all of our waste streams are now carefully monitored, weights collected, and annual recycling rates calculated. In 2019 and 2020, the respective recycling rates were 92% and 94% – a stat we are incredibly proud of. Similarly, recognising the scale of the impact of emissions caused by air travel, WL has instituted a policy with significant control measures to ensure travel by air is limited to only completely necessary business needs. Further controls are taken to limit the impact of any required air travel, such as controls on the class of flights employees may take. For local Europe based travel, support is also offered to staff to help them travel more sustainably such as using the Eurostar and European train networks – something our very Managing Director Bryan Raven is doing whenever he visits the d&b headquarters in Backnang, Germany.

WL also has a commitment to be using 100% renewable electricity by 2027; with the company already using around 95%.  We have also implemented a carbon reduction plan which details how the organisation is wanting to get down to Net Zero emissions by 2050 – in line with the government’s own proposals.

WL is also doing everything it can to ensure its staff are aware of its policies but also showing that they too can make a difference. That’s why, earlier this year, the company installed two car charging points for employees and visitors. And whilst there is a small fee to use these, every penny goes to Back Up – the Technical Theatre charity which seeks to help those working within our industry.

WL’s Managing Director Bryan Raven concludes: “As our customers, colleagues and industry peers can hopefully see, our environmental work is a huge part of who we are as an organisation and will simply continue being so. Many people seem to fear the change that implementing greener policies like these will bring but I can honestly say it has only strengthened how we operate on a day-to-day basis, as well as shown we can continue to provide a high standard of service and equipment, whilst also reducing the environmental impact we make”.

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