Trafalgar Venues Become Theatre Green Book Certified

Three Trafalgar Entertainment venues have achieved certification for meeting the Theatre Green Book Basic Standard for Operations and Buildings. Theatre Green Book is the industry-wide initiative supporting the performing arts to work more sustainably, and Trafalgar Entertainment became a founding supporter last year.

Initially launched as pilot venues for the Trafalgar Entertainment group in 2025, Churchill Theatre Bromley, Southend Theatres (comprising the Cliffs Pavilion and the Palace Theatre), and G Live Guildford have now all achieved certification after demonstrating their commitment to and organisation of sustainability best practice across energy management, waste reduction and increased operational sustainability. 

Other venues in the Trafalgar portfolio are set to follow suit and will begin working towards Theatre Green Book certification during 2026. This follows the news that Trafalgar production company Imagine Theatre had recently met the Theatre Green Book Advanced Standard for its recent production of Cinderella at the Stafford Gatehouse during the 2025/26 panto season.

Nick Parr, Venue Director, Southend Theatres, commented: “We established a Green Team with colleagues from across the organisation to maximise our sustainability impact and worked on a series of initiatives including a focus on saving energy over our busy Christmas season and overnight usage throughout the year. We saved over 50,000KWh of gas in just two months, equivalent to 9.15 tonnes (9,148 kg) of CO2e. The team remain committed to developing new ideas and aspire to higher levels of Theatre Green Book accreditation.”

Lorna Strawson, Theatre Director, Churchill Theatre Bromley, said: "At the Churchill Theatre, achieving The Green Book certification means a great deal. We're working with our wonderful 1970's theatre, which wasn't built with sustainability in mind. Despite this, our fantastic Green Champion, Sophie Bull, has led the venue to adopt a Green First approach to all our operations. We've managed to cut our electricity usage by 45% since December, our gas consumption by 15%, and reduced our paper waste by 75%! We've achieved this by overhauling our print strategy, rethinking what electricity usage is truly essential as well as every single member of the team being mindful about how our daily routines affect the environment. It really has been a venue-wide effort.”

Christina Horsepool, Venue Director, G Live Guildford, said: “We're proud to receive our official certification, recognising the hard work our team has invested so far and motivating us toward the next levels. The Theatre Green Book framework has turned a potentially overwhelming challenge into a manageable, structured journey. Through new initiatives, we've reduced overnight gas use from around 30% to 8%, improved how we communicate our sustainability progress to patrons, and started a biodiversity project with the council to revitalise our onsite planters. We look forward to seeing what other projects striving for the next accreditation bring.”

Laura Sedgwick from Theatre Green Book, said: “Congratulations to Trafalgar's three pilot venues in Bromley, Southend, and Guildford for achieving certification of the Theatre Green Book Basic Standard for buildings and operations. It's wonderful to see such progress being made in a relatively short space of time, and we are impressed by the commitment and creativity of the central and venue teams in devising ideas and strategies to make the operations and buildings in the Trafalgar portfolio greener.

“At a time when sustainability is often falling off the agenda in the wider world, it's really inspiring and reassuring to see amazing work continuing to happen in our theatre sector. We look forward to seeing further sustainability work being rolled out across the Trafalgar Entertainment group.”

Helen Enright, CEO Trafalgar Theatres and Chair of Trafalgar's Sustainability Steering Group, said: “As a global organisation, we recognise our responsibility to lead by example, promoting a more sustainable future across all areas of our theatre, entertainment, and venue operations. We are committed to reducing our carbon emissions and environmental impacts across energy, water, waste, and materials, and to encourage our partners to do the same.

“And as we continue to bring incredible stories to our stages, we want to ensure that we're doing just as much to protect the world outside our stage doors. Whether it's the energy we use to light our shows, or the way we manage our historic buildings, we have a big role to play in the future of our planet.”