The environmental crisis has become an integral part of the opera house’s identity and is seamlessly incorporated into the organisational strategy. La Monnaie Opera Theatre aims to harmonise its environmental and carbon reduction objectives with the 2030 targets established by the European Union. 

Actions

1. Calculating CO2 Emissions: In 2020, they calculated Carbon Footprint® for La Monnaie‘s global activity based on 2019 data. The project enabled them to identify their biggest areas of impact and set priorities for action.

   – Green Opera House

   – Green Opera Production

   In 2023, they will be updating their carbon footprint based on 2022 data, looking in more detail at a series of aspects, including the CO2 analysis of 16 opera productions.

2. Transport: La Monnaie is taking steps to encourage the soft mobility of audiences, staff, artists, and set constructions:

   – 87% of staff travel by public transport (2019 figures), thanks to an internal policy of 100% reimbursement of public transport season tickets. The number of cyclists among La Monnaie‘s staff is steadily increasing, thanks to a covered and secure bicycle parking area with 54 spaces.

   – La Monnaie has joined the Belgian Coalition for Sustainable Business Travel, launched by Bond Beter Leefmilieu, to define a sustainable travel policy by June 2024.

   – La Monnaie has joined the Green Deal for Urban Logistics launched by the Brussels-Capital Region to find a storage location for sets closer to La Monnaie by 2025, which will reduce the impact of transporting them.

   – From September 2023, the SNCB’s Bravo! Tickets will enable audiences to travel by train at half price on the dates of their shows.

   – Multimodal information screens displaying real-time public transport timetables will also be installed in the Theatre’s entrance hall.

   – In 2022, La Monnaie carried out two pilot projects aimed at reducing the use of cars to get to shows: the introduction of secure bicycle parking during performances and a shared shuttle booking system (Adamo). These projects will be evaluated in 2023 to analyse the conditions required to make them sustainable.

3. Eco-Design of Stage Sets: Since 2023, La Monnaie has been using the International Theatre Green Book as a guide for new productions. This benchmark, widely shared in the live performance industry, sets out sustainability principles that go right to the heart of their artistic work.

   – By 2025, 50% of the materials (sets, props, costumes, etc.) must have had a previous life. Afterwards, 65% of the materials used must be reclaimed or recycled.

   – When manufacturing products, they favour standard structures and elements from their stock as much as possible. This is a basic principle that they are trying to develop by initiating a dialogue with the artistic teams and other opera houses.

   – Since 2017, the rehearsal sets have been made using as many elements as possible from their stock.

   – With the Collectif 17h25, made up of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, the Paris Opera, the Opéra de Lyon, the Théâtre du Châtelet, and La Monnaie, they have launched a 3-year innovation project (2022-2025) aimed at standardising set structures (the invisible part of the set: frames, staircases, trolleys, etc.). All without altering the artistic creation.

4. Energy Efficiency: An action plan with 62 measures has reduced gas and electricity consumption by 28% and 10%, respectively (figures for the first post-COVID year 2022, compared to 2018). Some concrete examples:

   – Eliminating heating in the corridors, limiting the temperature in the premises to 19°C, and eliminating the use of hot water in the washbasins.

   – Limiting air conditioning, replacing obsolete and energy-guzzling installations, gradually replacing light fittings with lower-consumption models, etc.

   – Installation of a system for real-time monitoring of gas, electricity, and water consumption, allowing them to detect and rectify equipment malfunctions and leaks.

   – Installation of a central technical management system connected to the house’s timetables, which has made it possible to rationalise the use of spaces (by activating the installations only when the rooms are actually being used.)

   – La Monnaie is also developing an Energy-Climate Plan to measure the energy needs and carbon footprint of all its buildings in detail to arrive at targeted actions.

5. Recycling and Waste Reduction: Since 2022, La Monnaie has stepped up the sorting and selective collection of our end-of-life set elements and offcuts from Ateliers de la Monnaie. They are dismantled by their in-house teams, enabling the opera theatre to focus on reclaiming and recycling a wide range of materials, including metal, wood, cardboard, polystyrene, flexible materials, and plastic packaging.

   – La Monnaie co-founded the InLimbo platform, which enables the exchange of materials within the socio-cultural industry.

   – From time to time, they organise sales of our costumes, which are open to the public and enable us to recycle almost all of them.

   – In 2020, they reviewed all office sorting areas to make them more visible more consistent, and to reduce the share of general waste. 

6. Responsible Purchasing: For many years, La Monnaie has considered environmental considerations when printing its publications (seasonal brochures, programs).

   – Sustainable canteen, with non-profit organisation Groot Eiland, uses fresh, unprocessed, fair-trade produce, seasonal organic fruit and vegetables, and MSC-certified fish. A vegetarian alternative is offered daily, and the buffet is entirely vegetarian on Thursdays. The focus is on short distribution channels, preventing food waste, and reducing animal protein in our meals.

7. Staff Awareness and Training: The institution’s teams responsible for implementing the climate and environmental strategy increasingly benefit from information and training sessions to support them in their task. In February 2023, La Monnaie launched a series of lunchtime lectures for all staff on these issues and the best practices to adopt.