Green Opera: a timeline

La Monnaie conducts an initial analysis of the environmental impacts of its activities and hires an environmental advisor to manage its approach.

In January, La Monnaie is awarded its first star under the Ecodynamic Company Label.

La Monnaie is awarded two stars under the Ecodynamic Company Label. Sorting bins are installed in the buildings, and recycling channels are set up.

The theatre now monitors its energy and water consumption in real time, allowing the most energy-intensive areas to be identified and remedied more effectively.

La Monnaie renews its application for the Ecodynamic Company Label and retains its two stars.

Three beehives are installed on the roof of the workshops.

In December, a public costume sale gives 2,500 to 3,000 costumes and 80 pairs of shoes a second life.

The theatre is once again awarded the two stars under the Ecodynamic Company Label.

La Monnaie begins works to improve the energy performance of its buildings (renovation of heating systems, replacement of some windows, isolation of flat roofs, etc.), which will be completed in 2018.

The theatre empties around a hundred containers of sets stored in the port of Antwerp, using recycling companies. Unfortunately, only 2 to 3% of the items are recycled. Nevertheless, this is a key moment of awareness, and the first step towards the eco-design of productions.

Rotor Deconstruction carries out a study into the potential for recycling La Monnaie's sets.

The workshops begin to make rehearsal sets using as many elements as possible from existing stock in order to reduce material costs.

From January onwards, all wood sourced for the sets carries the FSC or PEFC label, guaranteeing that it comes from responsibly managed forests.

Parts of the set for Foxie! The Cunning Little Vixen are designed so that they can be reused or recycled, including the 200 m² back wall (80% reusable elements).

In June, the InLimbo platform is launched with funding from the Brussels-Capital Region's Circular Economy Regional Programme (P.R.E.C.). It aims to facilitate the donation of materials within the Brussels culture industry.

La Monnaie's wardrobe department starts to make its own 100% natural products to wash and care for opera costumes. Costumes are mainly cared for without the use of methanol, using baking soda, Marseille soap, vinegar and soda crystals, just as our grandmothers used to do!

The theatre is equipped with a new system (Centralised Technical Management or CTM), which allows a large part of the heating and ventilation installations to be controlled remotely according to the occupancy schedule of the premises.

In May, La Monnaie's paint workshop is equipped with a machine for cleaning paint using a closed-loop recyclable product.

In October, construction of the tunnel linking the stage to the workshops is completed. This avoids having to transport sets, costumes and props locally by lorry.

In December, the Collectif 17h25 is born. Made up of the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, Opéra de Lyon, Paris Opera, théâtre du Châtelet and La Monnaie, its aim is to improve and strengthen sustainable development practices by pooling efforts and human and financial resources.

In May, La Monnaie updates its carbon footprint. The study highlights the theatre’s main carbon emissions and a plan to reduce them is put in place.

Between October and December, La Monnaie dismantles 5 containers from Foxie! The Cunning Little Vixen (2017) for recycling. 4/5 of the total volume of the sets is recycled.

In spring, the theatre installs three new beehives on the roofs of the workshops.

In May, La Monnaie takes over the rotating coordination of the Collectif de 17h25.

In July, the theatre expands its in-house bicycle parking from 38 to 54 spaces.

In July, two fresh water supply systems are installed for all the buildings. This helps reduce water consumption.

Between May and November, La Monnaie works with the Retrival cooperative to recycle and reuse 41 containers of sets. La Bohème (2010) and its 12.5 tonnes of sets are 80% recycled.

In November, La Monnaie joins the steering committee of Opera Europa's Sustainability Forum.

In January, Atelier Groot Eiland is selected as the service provider for the opera's new in-house canteen. This organisation offers sustainable, high-quality food, including vegetarian and vegan alternatives, using responsible, short-distance purchasing.

In early 2022, a high-speed roller shutter is installed in La Monnaie's loading bay, isolating this area from the street and reducing heat loss from the workshops.

Elements of the metal structure of production Bluebeard's Castle and the Miraculous Mandarin are transformed into a new support structure for the sets of Il trittico.

In February and March, 42 La Monnaie employees contribute to the development of the theatre's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy.

In May, La Monnaie's public relations team publishes a series of podcasts entitled EC(H)O on La Monnaie's social and environmental commitment.

The same month, La Monnaie organises a sale of a large number of costumes used in its shows at very affordable prices, giving a second life to thousands of shoes, hats, skirts, dresses, trousers, etc.

In July, the capacity of the rainwater tanks is increased from 7,500 litres to 10,500 litres to supply the toilets in the administration section.

La Monnaie increases the number of suppliers it uses to purchase second-hand furniture.

From winter 2022 onwards, La Monnaie implements an energy-saving plan that will reduce its electricity and gas consumption with 10 and 28% respectively. Some of the many actions implemented include:

• Limiting temperatures to 19° during the day and 12° at night;
• Adding CO2 sensors to the heating units in the auditorium to regulate heating according to occupancy rates;
• Eliminating the use of hot water in the washbasins;
• Speeding up the installation of light detectors in the buildings;
• Continuing to replace lighting with LED alternatives.

In August 2022, the Collectif de 17h25 wins the Green Alternatives tender sought by the French Ministry of Culture in 2021. The Opéra de Lyon is in charge of a three-year research project that should result in the standardisation of theatre set structures, and, consequently, a reduced environmental impact of building and transporting sets.

In the summer, 36 submeters are installed on the theatre's electricity and gas supply systems to improve the monitoring of energy consumption.

In October, La Monnaie launches Adamo, a public transport-on-demand pilot project supported by the Federal Ministry of Mobility. Between October 2022 and mid-February 2023, theatre-goers can book a comfortable shared taxi to improve their journeys.

Between October and December, a secure bicycle parking area for spectators is set up every performance evening, in partnership with parking.brussels.

In October, the Collectif de 17h25 organises a workshop on the standardisation pilot project at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. The aim is to create cohesion between the teams of the 5 member organisations and to determine the methodological foundations for cooperation over 3 years.

The same month, La Monnaie is shortlisted in the "Sustainability" category at the International Opera Awards.

In November, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy is presented to all La Monnaie staff.

In November, La Monnaie launches a series of conference-debates surrounding the opera Cassandra, which addresses issues relating to the environmental emergency. The first focused on the documentary Sœurs de combat, the second on the role and correlation of art and activism, the third on the need for new narratives on the climate crisis, and a final one on how the ecoresponsible opera performance of the year 2040 should look like.

In December, the theatre replaces the old air conditioning unit in the theatre's sound booth with one that has an acoustic timer.

The same month, the costume workshops organise La Monnaie's staff Christmas market, featuring nearly only products that are made from recycled materials.

La Monnaie joins the steering committee of the "Energy and Sustainable Development" working group launched by the RAB.BKO.

In February 2023, La Monnaie joins the Coalition for Sustainable Business Travel launched by Bond Beter Leefmilieu.

A few weeks later, some twenty managers from the technical departments attend an information session on the Theatre Green Book, an international benchmark for sustainable shows.

In March, Collectif 17h25 selects CEN Construction to coordinate a three-year pilot project to standardise set structures.

The same month, La Monnaie presents the community project Solar, an opera about environmental awareness and respect for nature.

La Monnaie organises the first Lunchtime Seminar on Corporate Social Responsibility for the opera's staff. This is a one-hour conference on understanding and tackling the current energy crisis.

La Monnaie presents its climate strategy at a conference on decarbonising the culture industry organised by the Belgian "Shifters".

In April, by joining the Green Deal for Logistics, which aims to reduce the environmental impact of goods transport in the Brussels-Capital Region, La Monnaie commits to finding a storage location for its sets closer to its Brussels premises by 2025.

The Collectif de 17h25 organises a second workshop on the set standardisation pilot project, with 25 experts from the technical teams of the various institutions.

In April, La Monnaie organises a second Lunchtime Seminar on Corporate Social Responsibility, focusing on digital responsibility, for the opera’s staff.

In June, 53 employees join the thematic working groups that will work during the 23-24 season to define the action plans of the CSR strategy.

Since 1 January 2024, we have banned all single-use plastic and cardboard cups from our premises. This way, we avoid throwing away an average of 40 000 cups every year.