Block 9. Sustainability Centre Stage

Realistic Work Environment Group Consultancy Project

We have been approached by a newly-formed association representing artists, performers, suppliers of transport & logistical services and events organisers & venues who are more than aware that, in the very nature of what they do, they could well be acting unsustainably and causing significant damage to the environment.

They are seeking our consultancy advice concerning ways in which to make their activities and performances as sustainable as possible.

This commission comes to you from an association formerly known as:

Artists 4 Low Impact Venues & Events [ALIVE]

which is currently set to re-style itself as:

Pro-Planet Performance [3P]

3P represents artists and performers who are aware that in doing what they do they could well be highly unsustainable and the cause of significant damage to the environment. They are, however, not experts in the field of sustainability – perhaps most are at the Awareness stage on the AIDA continuum [Awareness — Interest — Desire — Action] when it comes to sustainability and are unsure as to how to move on and through to Action even if they are aware of the need to do so.

3P is determined to assist its members in every way possible to reduce such negative impacts to ‘Net Zero‘ and to move as close as humanly possible to ‘Real Zero‘… (from ‘Low Impact‘ to/towards ‘No Impact‘, if you like).

3P believes that major bands and performers like Coldplay (see their Sustainability commitments for the Music of the Spheres World Tour)  have the financial resources, power and influence to make sustainability commitments and ‘trail-blaze’ them through with all the services and venues they need, but the majority of 3P‘s members are not operating on this scale of operation and influence and lack such experience or knowledge of the topic: they are just turning on to the sustainability ‘road‘ but effectively without a ‘road map‘.   Two illustrations from the ‘other’ end of the scale:

• Filkins Drift: the band that walks to its performances with instruments on the back.
• Live to you Living Room:  Why bother with inviting audiences to come to the venue when the venue can come to them?

3P wants to  quickly ‘bootstrap‘ those at this ‘other’ end of the scale and every point in-between by means of this consultancy commission and its practical outputs.

I have thus negotiated a consultancy commission with 3P for you to fulfill which is shown hereunder……

3P therefore requires of us the following:

• A means to make members Aware at the personal and professional levels of the need to put the planet first when it comes to performance which will give them the Interest and Desire to move forward.  Without this, then Action will not emerge. [This will need to be not merely information to read – performers like to be active, not passive: we will have to engage them in this learning process].
• Case study research to identify the ‘state of the art’ and ‘best practice‘ in performance sustainability with a view to the production of:
  • A chronological ‘roadmap‘ of all the stages of a performance (at which the environment can be adversely affected) from the initial idea/concept, planning, contracting …..etc…. all the way through to marketing and promotion, logistics and transport (for the performers + equipment plus the audience), the event on the day, after-event and monitoring, measurement and reflection/learning.
  • A Phased Action Programme of solutions to be considered at each of the above stages – in the form of a written report (in English – 3P has a global membership and English is the Association’s ‘lingua franca’) and an oral presentation to 3P and its key members.
    • Each Action Point in the Action Programme will need to address the following:
      • Define the Action Recommended [The What]
      • Explain and justify the Action Point [The Why]
      • Identify those who would need to be involved and to lead this Action Point [The Who].  It may also be helpful to consider ‘win-win‘ situations here in order to gain the necessary support and commitment from those involved.
      • Explain the means recommended to bring the action into being [The How].  Wherever possible consider the ‘How Much‘ and where the money or in-kind support may be found.

Dates

The set and due dates for this assignment are to be advised…

Marking.

Although some of this work will be whole-group and team based, I will begin with a base mark and moderate it up or down for conspicuous individual contribution & performance.   Action Points and other components of the written report should identify their writers.  All should play an equal part in both the report and the presentation to client.

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