Each month at the Gate, we set ourselves a Green Gate Challenge. Green Gate is what we call our sustainability policy and we like to embark on monthly challenges. This is all part of the Gate opening conversations about climate change and putting it at the forefront where it belongs.
Last month’s Green Gate Challenge has really made us all think about our everyday lives and how we live them. We found 60 alternative/green ways to do simple tasks and for the whole month were trying to apply these to our daily lives and routines. Tasks include, replacing normal batteries with reusable ones, ordering groceries online instead of in the store, borrow books from the library, plus many, many more.
Inspired by our upcoming show, ēvolvō, which looks at the contrast between nature and the city, we wanted to find sustainable ways of doing things in order to maintain the nature in our own city!
Through this challenge we have realised the staggering number of ways we can make the tiniest of changes (as simple as switching off your laptop at the end of each use instead of just shutting the lid) and how all these things add up to a big difference!
Why not take on the #GreenGate challenge?
Our intention with this challenge was to make it inclusive– one that everyone could participate in!
Here’s how we found it:
I have always thought being green was a form of privilege that you have to spend lots of money in order to be sustainable. I purchased some coconut oil and now use it for cooking and beauty purposes. It feels great knowing I’ve found a cheap alternative whilst also saving the planet and reducing my carbon footprint. Aliya Siddique, Development and Marketing Assistant
I didn’t realise how easy some of these things were to implement into my daily routine! I turned down the brightness on my TV which I didn’t know saves energy. It’s made me so much more aware of how small things can make a difference. Seetal Kaur, Theatre Coordinator
It was quite inspiring to find out that without necessarily realising, I was already doing many of the suggestions. It was also really useful to find out new hints and tips of how to continue to make my life as green as possible. Particularly thinking about my cat, I want to make sure he can have a green life as well! Lise Bell, Executive Director
It opened new possible ways to improve my way of living and it was fun to see how many people in the office used the same techniques. It turned into a little competition on who was the “greenest” in the office! Zahran Ahmed, Theatre Administrative Assistant
It’s useful to hold yourself accountable to your own green sustainability and how you can improve it in your day to day life. The challenge was helpful to see the small changes you can make, it doesn’t have to be a huge shift, every little helps. Jenny Pearce, Producer
The Green Gate challenge this month really made me aware of the little things everyone can do to make a big difference. There were already a number of things I was doing but compared to the others I had a long way to go! As a result of the challenge I bought reusable water bottles for me and my family and I have been looking into buying shampoo bars to replace our plastic shampoo bottles. Emma Digby, Senior Marketing Officer
I loved this challenge. It made me think about the small things again, but it also got us talking about ideas and things we could try in the office. This was a great website I found! Ellen McDougall, Artistic Director
