The term sustainability means different things to different people. For The Bonn Players, it means striving to minimise our environmental footprint and influence others to do the same by spreading the message of the importance of environmental protection and the urgency of climate change through our performances and activities.

This concretely translates into actively minimising our footprint by recycling props, sets and costumes, avoiding waste production, reducing paper through issuing online newsletters, tickets, and programmes, and by reducing our energy use in terms of rehearsals, travel and productions.

Sustainability is an agenda item at our Committee meetings, and we wish to raise awareness of environmental and climate issues by virtue of our privileged agency as actors. We aim to make messages memorable by being humorous or thought-provoking and seek to link plays with relevant events taking place locally, nationally, or internationally (such as Earth Day).

We are also increasing our liaison with other theatres and organisations through our network of international bodies and agencies in Bonn, with a view to creating a sustainable theatre compact. We have already initiated contact with the new Mayor of Bonn (the Bonn Council declared a Climate Emergency on 4 July 2020) and seek to liaise with her on events or campaigns that align with our vision.

Being located in Bonn, we are keen to support the city’s sustainable development. The city’s information platform and network forum on sustainable development – The Bonn Sustainability Portal – can be found here.

In 2021, we will undertake a review of our activities (although everything is quiet during the pandemic) and seek to make changes as required.

If you have any ideas that you would like to share with us on this issue, please contact anyone on the Committee.