At Depot, we are aware that to make sustained reductions in our emissions we need to regularly quantify all our impacts, embed credible practises and be held to account by ourselves and our community.
Regulation and Policy
We are committed to helping achieve the aims of the UN Paris Agreement and have chosen to focus our efforts Sustainable Develop Goals 8, 11, 12, 13 and 17.
Read our Sustainability Policy and Action Plan 2019-2025
We call upon our Government to deliver a more robust strategy that will come down to meet grass root actions that are rising up to meet you. We can only do so much without better mitigation and infrastructure. We desperately urge them to adjust their timescale to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030. It is widely recognised that the 2050 target will be insufficient to avoid catastrophic climate change.
We actively engage with both our town and District Council and are committed to supporting the East Sussex Environmental Strategy.
Monitoring
Depot uses Julie’s Bicycle’s CG Tools to annually measure and monitor the impacts including energy use, water consumption, waste generation and recycling, travel and production materials. The framework uses our collected data to calculate our total annual carbon emissions, compare with previous years performances and benchmark against other cultural organisations. This enables us to have a better understanding of where our impacts lie and helps inform our environmental strategy and priorities.
Our total carbon emissions total for the calendar year 2024 which totals 562 tonnes Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO2e). Despite some fluctuations, we’ve been sat around this level since we re-opened after the pandemic.
Our biggest increase this year was in energy use and audience travel. We saw a significant increase in ticket numbers which is great news for Depot but likely the main factor for increased energy use across all our services.
The long and extensive remedial works to our Ground Source Heat Pump were also completed in September so this is once again generating renewable energy directly to our underfloor heating, air handling in the screens and heating our water.
Certification
In Spring 2020 Depot achieved four out of five stars in it’s first environmental auditing by Julie’s Bicycle. Creative Green Certification recognises and celebrates environmental best practice within the creative and cultural industries.
Organisations are awarded between one and five stars based on points awarded for commitment, understanding and improvement. Depot scored 67 out of a possible 100 points.
It is the only environmental certification scheme designed specifically for this sector and Depot is extremely proud to be part of this pioneering creative community.
We are absolutely delighted to have won the Highest Achievement for Commitment prize at the national Creative Green Awards 2020.
“Depot’s exemplary approach involves commitment to keep their carbon footprint as low as possible, running every aspect of their operations with sustainability in mind and actively promoting those principles to their local community and the broader sector with engaging environmental programming and activities.”
Carbon offsetting
Depot invests in a scheme that offset emissions from both its construction phase as well as ongoing operations.
Depot has worked with United Nations Association Eastbourne (UNA Eastbourne) on a comprehensive, accountable and affordable scheme which not only offsets carbon emissions, but also invests in a vital mission in Uganda to replant the remarkable Mvule tree (Melicia excelsa), an oxalogenic species which is excellent for CO2 capture. An estimated 750 tonnes of CO2e were emitted during Depot’s construction, offset by the planting of 500 Mvule trees; while the annual impact of operating the venue is more than offset by planting 480 Mvule trees each year.
