Sustainableeventsat the Sydney Opera House

Commitment statement

At the Sydney Opera
House, we believethat creativity canbuild a better world.

As a global icon, a community meeting
place and the symbol of modernAustralia, we have a responsibility tocreate the world we want to see.
The Opera House was the first majorarts institution in Australia to commit
to the UN Global Goals because
we wanted to join an international
movement fighting the challenges thatthreaten our future.
We want to inspire the community tobuild a more equitable, sustainable andfairer future. This drives everything wedo, from the performances we present
on our stages to the way we open
up the Opera House to more of thecommunity to the importance we placeon reducing the impact of both ouractivities and the building itself.

In a typical year, more than 1.4 million
people attend more than 1,800
performances and events across
10 venues at the Opera House.
These events provide opportunities
for connection, celebration andexpression. They entertain, challenge
and inspire. They also provide an
opportunity for us to challenge
ourselves and our industry to thinkdifferently about how we present
events and to ensure that sustainability
is considered at every step of the way.
There’s no time to wait. This
is no longer business as usual.
Together we can make a difference.
Together we can think big.

Sustainable Event Management Principles

At the Opera House, we haveplaced the international
standard for sustainable event
management, ISO 20121,
at the centre of our event
delivery process to ensure
we responsibly manage
the impact of events on site.
This standard provides a framework
to embed sustainability into our event
management lifecycle – from planningand delivery through to monitoring,reporting and evaluation.

Sustainable Event Management Principles

We have collaborated with a range of subject
matter experts, including our in-house team at
Sydney Opera House Presents, event operations
and planning staff, community and commercial
hirers, resident companies, associated artists,resident contractors, partners and suppliers, todevelop a set of sustainable event principles.
Together with our Sustainable Event Delivery
Checklist, these principles guide us and will help us
to collectively drive positive change in our industry.

The principles align with a number of theOpera House’s plans and strategies, including
our Environment, Reconciliation, Accessibility,Heritage Action Plans, Diversity, Inclusion& Belonging Strategy, Artistic Strategy, andVisitor Experience and Engagement Strategy.
They also contribute to our role as a World
Heritage-listed performing arts centre, which iscarbon-neutral certified and rated 6-Star GreenStar by the Green Building Council of Australia.

“It’s always a pleasure to play at the Sydney Opera House.
We’ve done so many shows here over the years and towatch their environmental initiatives grow has inspired
many of our own sustainability programs on tour.
I love playing the Opera House knowing they arecontinually having a positive impact and leading the way
as an iconic world renowned venue.”
Jack Johnson

Singer-songwriter
Goodwill Ambassador - UN Environment ProgrammeOur Principles
The planning and delivery of events,
festivals and programs at theSydney Opera House are guided by
10 principles that go hand-in-handwith our values as an organisation.

RESPECTLEAD
EMBED

Our Principles

RESPECT
Deaf patrons trialling haptic vests at the Fat Freddy’s
Drop Forecourt concert at the Sydney Opera House.

Our Principles
RES PECT

Care for Country

Respect heritage

Accessible andinclusive site

We acknowledge the Gadigal of the EoraNation, traditional custodians of Tubowgule,the land on which the Opera House stands.
Through our events and experiences, wehonour the long Gadigal history of gatheringand storytelling, and celebrate the strengthand resilience of First Nations people andcommunities, past and present.

We are committed to caring for all aspects ofour heritage – the performing arts, building
and site – by meeting our statutory obligations
and by implementing and integrating theOpera House’s Conservation Management Planand Utzon Design Principles. By embedding
heritage management and conservation
practices into our event delivery, we will becreative, collaborative and respectful of ourheritage significance.

We are committed to achieving the Opera
House’s diversity, inclusion & belonging(DI&B) vision: that the Opera House reflects
and respects the diversity of the community
in who we are and everything we do. We
seek to deepen our engagement with thecommunity and drive equity through inclusive
content, products and services on site and online, ensuring that the physical environment,technology and facilities meet the diverse needsof our community. This means embedding DI&B
into decision-making around the creation anddelivery of events and experiences, presenting
a diverse range of experiences and increasing
representation of diversity in storytelling.

Our Principles

LEAD
Together with our Partner Archie Rose DistillingCo., the Opera House’s 2023 Mardi Gras float‘Be Extraordinary!’ celebrates diversity, inclusivenessand love to inspire change and build a better future.

Our Principles
LE AD

Engage and inspire

Innovate

Partner for impactThrough our commitment to the UN GlobalGoals, we seek to engage and inspire ourlocal and international communities tomake positive change. We lead by example
through demonstrating social, environmental
and financial sustainability best practice,
working collaboratively with other culturalorganisations to share knowledge and learn
from our collective experience. We will build
the capacity of our staff to deliver best practiceevent management through professional
development training.

We embrace creativity and innovation andcollaborate with stakeholders that enable
us to implement leading-edge products
and technologies to improve outcomes forsustainability. We encourage innovativetechnologies that minimise environmental
impact, improve staff and audience safety,
wellbeing or experience or enable events tobe more accessible.

We seek to stage, host and promote events thatstrengthen our relationships with our valuesaligned network and elevate urgent social andenvironmental issues. Collective action is key toenhancing sustainable performance and event
outcomes. We aim to maximise our impact
by bringing together current and prospective
commercial partners, donors, government,
industry partners and the wider community incollaboration with onsite operators, contractors,suppliers, resident companies, artists and hirers.

Our Principles

EMBED
By working with key collaborators such as Quayclean,Sydney Opera House is diverting waste away from landfill
by implementing reusable food and beverage options.

Our Principles
EMBED

Safety andwellbeing

Environmental
stewardship

Sustainabletransport

Responsible
supply chain

Physical, cultural and psychologicalsafety is our greatest responsibility.
We are committed to ensuring thehealth and safety of all workers,patrons and performers attending
a performance or event by applying
systems to identify, mitigate risk
and increase resilience. We will
implement initiatives that aim tomonitor and support the healthand wellbeing of event workers
and attendees.

As custodians of our natural world,
we are continually improving our
performance-related activities
and reducing our environmentalimpact. We do this by minimisingresource consumption andwaste production, and by taking
climate action and implementing
initiatives that result in positiveenvironmental outcomes.
Our digital offering improves
accessibility and reduces the travel
footprint of online audiences. We
respect our connection to thenatural world by caring for the
local environment.

The Opera House is located in atransport hub in Circular Quay
and is accessible by a variety ofmodes of transport including ferry,train, bus and light rail. There
are accessible options for people
who require assistance arriving atsite, including a complimentary
shuttle bus from Circular Quayscheduled around performancetimes and a wheelchair accessible
buggy that operates across theForecourt. The Opera House has
dedicated facilities for bicycles.
We encourage sustainable travel
options wherever possible.

Our commitment extends to our
supply chain by communicatingclear expectations with suppliers.
Through responsible procurement
we aim to encourage diversity,
provide fairness and transparency
in the opportunities to compete.
We endeavour to support SMEs,
regional business, Aboriginal
enterprises and Australian disability
enterprises. We respect humanrights and will seek to ensure
goods and services procured are
not a product of modern slavery.

Sustainable Event Management Principles

Importantly, our adoptionof the international
standard for sustainable
events also recognises andcontributes to 11 of the UN
Sustainable Development
Goals (Global Goals).

Thank you