Our Strategic Approach

Since the first major international climate conferences, we have seen a steady increase in CO2 emissions worldwide. On average, according to figures from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the planet has become 1.2 degrees warmer, but this can vary according to geographical location and/or time of year. It is fair to say that at this scale, the global ecological transition has not yet begun. To limit emissions to 1.5 degrees, as recommended by the IPCC, we need to make profound and systemic changes at all levels of society.

Opera must make its contribution to this transformation, both in terms of its artistic practices and its general operations. Opera is an important tool for reflecting societal issues. Artists can offer visions of the future, make sustainable development a subject that speaks for itself, and make audiences aware of the need to take action today.

In order to meet international targets for reducing carbon emissions, we also need to reduce the environmental footprint of our general operations as well as the activities linked to the production and presentation of our operas. This applies not only to the energy consumption of our buildings, but also to issues such as the co-productions and touring of our shows, the means of transport that spectators use to get to performances, the eco-design of stage sets, sustainable food, etc.

The environmental emergency is part of the fabric of our opera house, and we are integrating it into our organisational strategy. We want to align our environmental and carbon reduction objectives with the targets set by the European Union for 2030:

Integrating sustainability into our productions

1. We use the Theatre Green Book as a reference to reach the basic level of this guideline by 2025, and the intermediate level by 2030..
2. We will develop initiatives to increase the soft mobility of our audiences with 15% by 2025.

Integrating sustainability into our general activities

1. We are including sustainability criteria in all public procurement contracts.
2. We are defining a sustainable travel policy.
3. We are defining a digital sobriety plan.
4. We are integrating waste prevention and energy efficiency standards into our operations relating to our buildings and logistics activities.
5. We offer our employees training in climate change issues.

Find out more about our actions

We want to work efficiently and have been calculating our CO2 emissions since 2019, in order to take action on our priority carbon impact areas. Our approach is based on research and action, with the aim of learning from our experiences and progressively transforming our practices.

In this, we do not stand alone: from the start, developing new collaborations and partnerships with various organisations has been an integral part of La Monnaie's sustainability approach.