Sustainability Toolkit
Sustainability Toolkit
Sustainability Toolkit
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How to

How to Guide

A Step-by-Step Guide:
Navigate, Explore, and Transform

This Toolkit is divided into four categories, as seen in the navigational toolbar at the top of the page. They are: Sectors / Impact Areas / Resources /  Toolbox.

The categories are divided in this way to help you discover which impact areas are most relevant to your sector; understand what to focus on within an impact area; and then find practical tools and templates in the Resources and Toolbox sections to take action.

Two step-by-step guides have been developed below for Creative Practitioners and Organisations, as their approaches to implementing sustainability are slightly different. Or you can watch the How To video here.  If you’re further along in your journey, feel free to use the search function or to dig around in the resources and toolbox sections to respond to your specific needs.

Learn More
Creative Practitioners / Freelancers

Creative Practitioners / Freelancers
Start your journey here

1. Read the cultural and creative industry sector page(s) relevant to you.

2. Think about your daily activities and how each might impact on the environment. Make a list or brainstorm this creatively. E.g. What materials do you use in your work? How much energy do you use?

3. Look at the Impact Areas most relevant to your work to learn how to take action!

4. Learn more by reading case studies, research or reports – relevant to your artform and your impact area.

5. Take action with the toolbox, using handy guides, manuals and templates to make changes to your activities. We suggest you implement your own green policy and revise this each year to suit both you and your business needs as they evolve.

6. Go at a sustainable pace for you. For individuals, we recommend focusing on one impact area each year, to be built on the following year alongside focusing on a new impact area. Trying to do too much from the outset often leads to overwhelm and inaction. Small changes implemented habitually add up –  remember it takes many drops to make the mighty ocean. Achieving results in one area is a big win and provides motivation for the next action.

Representative of Creative Organisations

Representative of Creative Organisations
Start your journey here

1. Read the Cultural and Creative Industry sector(s) page that is relevant to your organisation.

2. Think about daily activities in your organisation and how they might impact on the environment. Make a list or brainstorm with a team member E.g. What materials do you use in your work? How much energy do you use?

3. Look at the Impact Areas most relevant to your organisation to learn how to take action!

4.  Check in with your team to see what the organisations´priorities are and what is achievable with the resources you have. This will narrow down further research and which tools to use first. 

5. Learn more by reading the case studies, research or reports that are relevant to the impact areas most influenced by your organisations.

6. Take action with the toolbox. Use the handy guides, manuals and templates to make changes to your organisational activities.

7. Find the right stretch. Be ambitious by setting goals that will help your team and organisation grow sustainably. Be mindful to not spread resources too thin or over-stretch the team’s motivation to implement changes. We recommend focusing on a maximum of three impact areas each year, to be built on the following year or production cycle while adding a new focus area. Achieving real results in one impact area is a big win for the team and provides motivation for the next action.

8. Allocate your actions. Each team member is accountable for an action and agrees on a deadline. It is good to update the wider team on the progress of actions in team meetings and ask for team members advice or input so the action becomes embedded in the organisations´culture as well.

To get your whole organisation on board, with the goals/actions identified, this information should come from the head of the organisation to highlight the importance of the action as well as key team members.

9. Feedback and learning. Ask the team member to keep notes of challenges and successes in the implementation of the action, so that these learnings can be captured and can inform further actions going forward.

Play Video
Play Video
Sectors
Impact Areas
Resources
Toolbox

Individual Creative Industries Practitioners / Sole Traders:

Representative of Organisations:

1. Do you work in Audio-Visual Media, Cultural Heritage, Performing Arts or Visual Arts? As a first step, take a read through the information and descriptions in the Cultural and Creative Industries sector relevant to you.

1. Do you work in Audio-Visual Media, Cultural Heritage, Performing Arts or Visual Arts? As a first step, take a read through the information and descriptions in the Cultural and Creative Industries sector relevant to you.

2. From this introduction, think about your day-to-day activities, and how each might impact on the environment – for example, do you use a lot of materials in your work, or lots of energy / electricity?

2. From this introduction, think about your day-to-day activities, and how each might impact on the environment – for example, do you use a lot of materials in your work, or lots of energy / electricity?

3. Head to ‘impact areas’ to find out more information on the topic(s) most relevant to your day-to-day activities.

3. Head to ‘impact areas’ to find out more information on the topic(s) most relevant to your day-to-day activities.

4. From here, you can decide if you want to learn more or if you want to start to take action!

4. From here, you can decide if you want to learn more or if you want to start to take action!

5. To learn more, you can read some of the case studies, research or reports – these resources have been collected and categorised to be relevant to your artform and your impact area.

5. To learn more, you can read some of the case studies, research or reports – these resources have been collected and categorised to be relevant to your artform and your impact area.

6. To take action, you can head over to the toolbox to find handy guides, manuals and templates to start to make changes in your activities.

6. To take action, you can head over to the toolbox to find handy guides, manuals and templates to start to make changes in your activities.

7. As a guide, for individuals and sole traders, we recommend focussing on a maximum of one impact area each year, to be built on the following year while also bringing a new focus. Trying to do too much from the outset often leads to spreading yourself too thin, to frustration and disappointment. Achieving real results in one impact area is a big win, and provides motivation for the next action / next time around.
7. Gain an understanding of where your team’s priorities are, and what is achievable with the resources you currently have.

8. As a guide, we recommend focusing on a maximum of three impact areas each year / each iteration of your production, to be built on the following iteration while also bringing a new focus.

Trying to do too much from the outset often leads to resources being spread too thin, frustration and disappointment. Achieving real results in one impact area is a big win for the team and provides motivation for the next action / next time around.

9. When you and your team have decided on the actions you’re going to take, allocate a responsible team member against them and agree on a deadline. This makes the commitment more definite.

10. Ask the team member to keep notes of challenges and successes in the implementation of the action, so that these learnings can be captured and can inform further actions going forward.

Individual Creative Industries Practitioners / Sole Traders:

Creative Practitioners / Freelancers
Start your journey here

1. Read the cultural and creative industry sector page(s) relevant to you.

2. Think about your daily activities and how each might impact on the environment. Make a list or brainstorm this creatively. E.g. What materials do you use in your work? How much energy do you use?

3. Look at the Impact Areas most relevant to your work to learn how to take action!

4. Learn more by reading case studies, research or reports – relevant to your artform and your impact area.

5. Take action with the toolbox, using handy guides, manuals and templates to make changes to your activities. We suggest you implement your own green policy and revise this each year to suit both you and your business needs as they evolve.

6. Go at a sustainable pace for you. For individuals, we recommend focusing on one impact area each year, to be built on the following year alongside focusing on a new impact area. Trying to do too much from the outset often leads to overwhelm and inaction. Small changes implemented habitually add up –  remember it takes many drops to make the mighty ocean. Achieving results in one area is a big win and provides motivation for the next action.

Representative of Organisations:

Representative of Creative Organisations
Start your journey here

1. Read the Cultural and Creative Industry sector(s) page that is relevant to your organisation.

2. Think about daily activities in your organisation and how they might impact on the environment. Make a list or brainstorm with a team member E.g. What materials do you use in your work? How much energy do you use?

3. Look at the Impact Areas most relevant to your organisation to learn how to take action!

4.  Check in with your team to see what the organisations´priorities are and what is achievable with the resources you have. This will narrow down further research and which tools to use first. 

5. Learn more by reading the case studies, research or reports that are relevant to the impact areas most influenced by your organisations.

6. Take action with the toolbox. Use the handy guides, manuals and templates to make changes to your organisational activities.

7. Find the right stretch. Be ambitious by setting goals that will help your team and organisation grow sustainably. Be mindful to not spread resources too thin or over-stretch the team’s motivation to implement changes. We recommend focusing on a maximum of three impact areas each year, to be built on the following year or production cycle while adding a new focus area. Achieving real results in one impact area is a big win for the team and provides motivation for the next action.

8. Allocate your actions. Each team member is accountable for an action and agrees on a deadline. It is good to update the wider team on the progress of actions in team meetings and ask for team members advice or input so the action becomes embedded in the organisations´culture as well.

To get your whole organisation on board, with the goals/actions identified, this information should come from the head of the organisation to highlight the importance of the action as well as key team members.

9. Feedback and learning. Ask the team member to keep notes of challenges and successes in the implementation of the action, so that these learnings can be captured and can inform further actions going forward.

Sectors
Impact Areas
Resources
Toolbox