As part of this year’s PLASA Focus Leeds, we were delighted to host a seminar entitled The Light Path Towards Sustainability. Moderated by White Light’s Jonathan Haynes and Stuart Porter, this panel discussion saw them speak to three regional venues – Leeds Grand Theatre, Storyhouse and the Royal Court Liverpool – to talk about their recent lighting equipment upgrades; all of which were borne out of a desire for sustainability and all of which were delivered by WL. With sustainability becoming an increasingly important factor for venues across the country, we wanted to explore the technical solutions which enabled these buildings to reduce their energy costs, their carbon footprint and ensure they remained as sustainable as possible. For those of you who were unable to attend the session, the main points to take away were as follows:

• With energy-efficient equipment, the difference is almost immediately noticeable, with one venue recording a 35% reduction in power for the same show year on year.
• Outlining sustainability goals and overall energy saving is a key component for venues when seeking to gain funding.
• For all three venues, there were hugely impressed with how user-friendly the products they invested in were and how their staff were seamlessly able to move over to these newer models.
• Alongside achieving their sustainability goals, the venues also noted how the products they invested in also offered more versatility when it came to lighting the shows they staged.
• It was suggested that venues should invest in a rig that can then continue to be complemented in the future, as and when newer fixtures are released.
• Old equipment from the venues had been donated to local art centres, sold to schools and some had even been upgraded.
• The new equipment has seen a significant decrease in maintenance costs, proving the fixtures are a worthwhile investment.
• In summary, LED has been a game-changer when it comes to sustainability and WL will continue to work with venues across the UK to ensure their output is as environmentally-friendly as possible.

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