Artists have a critical role to play in fostering creativity and bringing communities together. At AOT we passionately believe in the importance of audiences and communities across Australia having access to live performing arts experiences, both locally made and touring productions, because we know they have a significant positive impact in communities at a cultural, social and economic level.

We also care deeply for the wellbeing of our people and our planet, and our planet is in climate crisis. Many artists and arts organisations urgently want to respond. AOT started the Green Touring Initiative in late 2020 with the aim of providing tools and strategies for the sector to reduce emissions in the making and touring of work, so that the positive impacts of touring activity at a community level don’t cost the planet. 

Events and Resources

Green Touring Online Series
In 2024, we launched our NEW Green Touring Online Series: five, free 60-minute online sessions in May/June. Each session hosted two guest speakers and was followed by a Q&A. To learn more about this initiative and to watch replays of the 2024 sessions, visit the Green Touring Online Series page below:

green touring online series

Creative Adventures in Sustainable Touring
This paper was commissioned by Arts on Tour and authored by Pippa Bailey in late 2023. The purpose of the document is to stimulate conversation about what alternative, lower emission touring practices can look like, by featuring case studies of projects that have already taken place. 

Creative Adventures in Sustainable Touring
( 1.7 MB .pdf file )

The Green Touring Toolkit
As part of the Green Touring Initiative in 2020, we consulted with artists, creatives, arts managers and environmental sustainability experts to create The Green Touring Toolkit, a practical, step by step companion guide to greening the production and touring process. Click below to view the kit, along with Arup's emissions calculator 'Circulate', and a plethora of other green touring resources.

green touring toolkit

“As artists and art-makers, we have an incredible opportunity to be the innovators and the storytellers that lead on change.”

GREEN TOURING INITIATIVE AIMS
Partnering with NSW touring organisations Bangarra Dance Theatre, Bell Shakespeare, CDP Theatre Producers, Critical Stages Touring, Monkey Baa Theatre Company, Performing Lines and Sydney Dance Company, The Green Touring Initiative started with a workshop, facilitated by environmental consultant Grace Nye-Butler, where we pulled apart AOT’s 2020 tour of Siren Theatre Co’s HMS Pinafore and succeeded in reducing emissions by 32%.

The following aims were determined at the workshop:

• To develop a toolkit and accompanying resources to enable touring organisations to plan and deliver tours with emission reduction strategies, and to budget to offset unavoidable emissions
• To develop a calculator specific to performing arts touring to facilitate low carbon planning and measuring emissions
• To advocate to government agencies for environmental impact reduction strategies to be included in the selection criteria of touring applications and for associated costs to be eligible
• To work with suppliers, venue partners and other stakeholders to achieve mutual sustainability goals and adopt ambitious emission reduction targets
• To support artists and arts organisations to live and work by their principles
• To facilitate the sector to lead on climate action

Top banner image: Mark Rogers