Our Sustainability

With the declarations of Culture4Climate and Music Declares Emergency, we hold ourselves accountable.

We bring professional qualifications in sustainability management: Lena holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable Leisure and Tourism Development, and Dorothea is a certified Sustainability Manager in Culture, Media and Education from the Institut für Zukunftskultur.

Drawing on this expertise, we have developed our own sustainability strategy. Below, we briefly present our most relevant measures.

ECOLOGICAL

• Preparation of a CO₂ footprint for fast forward classical for 2024 as the baseline year, and derivation of corresponding measures to reduce emissions
• Planning and data collection for CO₂ footprints for the subsequent years to assess the effectiveness of the measures

Heating & Electricity

• Use of green electricity in the office
• Efficient and sustainable use of all resources in day‑to‑day agency operations (heating, water, paper, etc.)
• Independent and responsible resource use when working from home (not included in this footprint)

Business Travel & Commuting

• Train travel is always prioritised, regardless of travel time
• Definition and implementation of a flight quota for the agency: four short‑haul flights (up to 1,500 km) and two medium‑haul flights (up to 3,500 km), with continuous efforts to reduce this further
• Staying with private hosts whenever possible, and increasingly prioritising sustainably certified hotels

IT

• Reduction of data‑intensive content such as photos and videos on our website
• Careful and regular maintenance of our online database and avoidance of large files
• Reducing email volume through more deliberate communication as well as the use of lower‑emission communication channels (telephone, Microsoft Teams chat, etc.)
• Avoidance of data‑heavy attachments by using link sharing

Artists Travel

• Avoiding single, stand‑alone concerts and always aiming to secure additional follow‑up dates or organise extra education projects
• Reducing our artists’ travel emissions per concert through increasingly efficient tour routing
• Documenting artist travel throughout the year, with a focus on the number of flights per concert
• Planning tours and booking enquiries strategically to ensure the most efficient routing
• Evaluating tours and concert enquiries not only in terms of their environmental impact, but also through a matrix considering social and economic sustainability (building long‑term relationships with promoters, political and societal conditions in the destination country, financial risk for the agency, etc.)

SOCIAL

• Tolerance, inclusion and diversity as clearly defined and communicated values forming the basis of all decision-making
• Development of a values-based Code of Conduct, to be shared with and signed by our artists
• Representation through a diverse artist roster
• Our own awareness-building and further training on socially relevant topics such as racism, sexism, classism, etc.
• Knowledge-sharing through lectures and seminars at universities and colleges, talks and panels, as well as self-organised workshops on sustainability-related topics for industry colleagues
• Prioritising the well-being of the team, particularly through flexible working hours and locations

ECONOMICAL

• Business account with a sustainable bank (GLS)
• Defining and pursuing sustainable financial security and objectives for the agency as well as for our salaries
• Carefully planning, implementing, and regularly reviewing and adjusting our sustainability measurs in the sense of good governance

Your Sustainability

You’d like to engage with the topic of sustainability but aren’t quite sure where to start? We’re happy to help you integrate sustainability within your organisation.

Our services range from short impulses and inputs to workshops, all the way to developing a complete sustainability strategy and accompanying you throughout the process – always tailored to your current situation as well as your time and financial resources, goals and plans.

Thanks to our extensive network in the field of sustainability, we can also connect you with relevant partners, support collaborations and identify potential funding opportunities whenever needed.

Selected examples:

• Panel on sustainability in classical music at Beethovenfest Bonn
• Input session and exchange on the relevance of sustainability for cultural actors at Manchester Collective
• Full-day workshop on developing a sustainability strategy with ensemble recherche, followed by ongoing process support