Despite the radical impact of climate change on Australian communities, there has been very little research in the Australian performing arts sector’s response to the climate crisis and aspiration to do so. While cultural organisations are embracing greener strategies in other countries, we are yet to fully grasp what the definition of climate leadership means in the Australian cultural context. The environmental impacts of the Australian performing arts sector are yet to be adequately researched, documented, and disseminated. Furthermore, there have not been any systematic attempts to examine how organisations are pursuing ecological values and processes, or the policies supporting them to do so. Many companies do not have publicly accessible environmental policies or climate action plans. This makes it difficult to determine how sustainability is being addressed across programming, practice and policy structures.

This report explores how a small selection of Australian performing arts organisations are currently responding to the global ecological crisis. The study was conducted at Griffith University in 2022-2023 with the intention of highlighting leaders in the field. The research aims were:

1. To examine how the Australian performing arts sector is currently addressing environmental issues through programming, practices and policies;
2. To identify industry leaders at the intersection of live performance and environmental advocacy, and investigate examples of best practice;
3. To begin to draw from these examples strategies for artists and organisations to lead on the climate agenda, including identifying resources and support structures required to facilitate the transformation.