- Posted on January 16th, 2025
Electrifying the Arts: Ten Cultural Organisations Leading the Decarbonisation Charge
We are pleased to introduce the 10 cultural organisations selected for the Capital Investment Readiness strand of Transforming Energy, as part of the our Environmental Programme for Arts Council England.
Energy is the most significant impact area reported on by the portfolio, accounting for 54% total reported emissions. Rising costs have driven energy-saving measures like LED lighting, with growing interest in renewable energy and electrification.
These cultural organisations are already leading the way in energy reduction within the arts and culture sector. Now, they’re preparing to take their efforts even further: advancing towards electrification and fully decarbonising their buildings by 2030.
With the support of this programme, these organisations are setting a powerful example of how culture can drive a greener, more sustainable future. Read on to discover why they’re ready to embark on this transformative journey.
Hampshire Cultural Trust (Winchester)
“Hampshire Cultural Trust is excited to become capital investment ready through this transformative programme. Sustainability is central to our mission, and we’ve already made significant strides, including installing 433 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof of Milestones Museum. This initiative has laid a solid foundation for our decarbonisation efforts.
Building on this momentum, we are eager to explore and implement further measures to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions. This programme will help accelerate progress toward achieving our ambitious net zero 2030 target (scopes 1 and 2). By adopting innovative solutions and sustainable practices, Milestones Museum will continue to inspire and educate future generations while leading by example in environmental responsibility.
This marks an important step in our journey toward a greener future, and we are excited to see what we can achieve together.”
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery (Carlisle)
“Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery is delighted to join the Capital Investment Ready Programme as part of our ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability and we are excited to work alongside other organisations in the second year of this programme to accelerate our decarbonisation efforts. We are proud of the significant progress we have already made in reducing energy consumption and implementing renewable solutions through Project Tullie, our ongoing capital development programme, but we recognise more work is needed.
This programme will crucially provide us with the expertise, mentorship, and peer-sharing opportunities to help us achieve our ambition of becoming a net-zero organisation by 2035 and will equip us in preparing to fund future capital works to reduce energy consumption. By participating in Capital Investment Ready, Tullie aims to stand at the forefront of museum practice and demonstrate how sites can evolve sustainably.”
New Wolsey Theatre Company Ltd (Ipswich)
“The New Wolsey Theatre is delighted to be part of the Capital Investment Ready programme. We are proud of the progress we have made with reducing our carbon footprint and embedding environmental responsibility across our operations and creative output. There is more work to do, and we are determined to make our theatre building as energy efficient as possible by its 50th anniversary in 2029. With the invaluable guidance and expertise of the Capital Investment Ready programme we look forward to developing our plans alongside other cultural organisations who share our commitment in recognising and tackling the climate emergency.”
SS Great Britain Trust (Bristol) 
“The SS Great Britain Trust are committed to reducing our environmental impact and becoming carbon neutral in our operations. We are excited to have the opportunity to further develop our decarbonisation work as part of the Capital Investment Ready cohort. Our previous work has focused on instrumentation, data collection and energy-efficiency, and we have begun a new series of audits to help us plan our next steps. We are grateful to have the support of the programme as we work towards complete decarbonisation of our unique conservation systems.”
Birmingham Museums Trust (Birmingham)
“Birmingham Museums have high ambition and commitment to being a sustainable organisation. We have passionate staff, buy-in from our leadership and board and we are optimistic that we can deliver on our Climate Pledge. The first of four cornerstones of that pledge is to improve our buildings, and with such a diverse portfolio of Grade I, II and II* listed and modern buildings we are so grateful for this opportunity to learn alongside our fellow cohorts on Capital Investment Ready.
Our Museum Collection Centre is one of our highest energy consuming sites and it is one that has enormous potential for efficiency gains. It is also a wonderful resource containing, as it does, 800,000+ objects, which we are striving to share with as wide an audience as possible. We also hope to share the story of our sustainability journey with that audience and inspire them with more than just our collection.”
Oxford Playhouse Trust (Oxford) 
“Oxford Playhouse is thrilled to be part of the Capital Investment Readiness programme. We look forward to working with Julie’s Bicycle and the other cultural venues to build on the work we’ve already undertaken to become more energy efficient and reduce our emissions. The programme will allow us, as a Grade II* listed heritage building, to be even more ambitious on our journey towards decarbonisation.”
The Hall For Cornwall Trust (Cornwall)
“In an environmental journey spanning two decades, Hall for Cornwall (HfC) has continued to improve the sustainability of our Grade II* listed building. Completion of our transformational capital project in 2021 placed HfC firmly on the Net Zero pathway, but there are still big challenges to overcome.
We’re proud to be part of the Capital Investment Ready programme. Participation in this initiative underlines our commitment, working together with Arts Council England and our funders, to drive us towards our own environmental goals and inspire others regionally and nationally to find creative and sustainable environmental solutions for our industry.”
Brighton Dome & Festival Limited (Brighton) 
“Despite prioritising energy efficiency over a period of years, Brighton Dome recognises that to reach our target of becoming net zero within our operation by 2030 that creative technical solutions and investment in the building’s M&E equipment are still required. We have begun to engage with decarbonisation consultants and to investigate some of the investment opportunities which are available. We are thrilled to continue our sustainability journey as part of the Capital Investment Readiness Programme cohort, benefitting from their encouragement and invaluable access to specialist advice to ensure we make the best choices for the buildings. As heritage arts venues also supplying energy to neighbouring buildings, the challenges may not be straightforward, but we very much look forward to forging links with others involved in the programme and working with Julie’s Bicycle and the specialist team.”
“The Met are delighted to be part of the Capital Investment Ready Programme which is a key step in our commitment to being an environmentally responsible organisation.
We already have a track record of success despite our limited resources and capacity. We began this journey eight years ago by starting to invest in our Grade II listed building to make us more energy efficient. Last year, we completed a feasibility report which gives us a menu of options for our building, and will allow us to realise our plan to completely decarbonise by 2030.
We have great hopes that this project will help us to realise our ambitions, working with other inspirational organisations who want to make a difference in this area. We’re excited to gain expertise and invaluable knowledge from Julie’s Bicycle and Pilio, and we hope to share our learning from this project to help to inspire others to take action.”
Almeida Theatre Company (London)
“The Almeida Theatre are thrilled to be a part of the Capital Investment Ready programme, emphasising our commitment to achieving net-zero status by 2030.
Over the past decade, we have made remarkable progress in enhancing the sustainability of our buildings. Our efforts have led to a significant reduction in CO2e emissions by 146 tonnes – approximately 16 tonnes annually. Additionally, we have achieved zero waste to landfill and were awarded Best Cultural Venue at the Creative Green Awards in 2019.
Whilst we are incredibly proud of these achievements, we recognise that there is further work to be done in reducing our carbon emissions. We look forward to continuing this journey working alongside the Capital Investment Ready programme, Julie’s Bicycle and fellow arts organisations to build a more sustainable future.”
The Programme’s Impact
Find below some stories of change from last year’s cohort:
Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), Birmingham
- When MAC joined the programme, they already had a rough outline of a carbon management plan. Additionally, with the pandemic year notwithstanding, they had a year-on-year decrease in their carbon footprint since 2018 – 19.
- The programme exchanges connected MAC with other organisations to share and learn with, towards the same decarbonisation aim. They investigated larger areas such as building fabric and methods of insulation, which helped them to entirely remove the boiler room from the building.
The Courtyard, Hereford
- One of the most significant outcomes of the programme was the ability to pivot the organisation’s focus when necessary.
- The Courtyard’s LED stage lighting project, supported by programme tools and expert advice, allowed them to achieve a 90% reduction in energy consumption for stage lighting, reducing running costs and significantly lowering their carbon footprint.
- Building on the momentum generated by the programme, the Courtyard is working to raise the remaining £92,000 needed to complete their LED lighting project.
Find out more about the first cohort from 2023-2024.
If you are a National Portfolio Organisation, and would like to know about upcoming programmes and sessions you can join, please sign up to our newsletter for the Arts Council England Environmental Programme.
If you are an organisation keen to do more around energy reduction of your cultural buildings, you can also sign up to our free Transforming Energy – Buildings Net Zero Energy programme. Here you can find a programme with self-service resources, opportunities to seek support from our technical partners, Pilio, and training on good energy management practice provided by Julie’s Bicycle.
