PACT and Quebec Drama Federation Launch Program to Develop Environmental Sustainability Assessment Tool for Canadian Arts Sector

July 9, 2020

PACT is excited to be partnering with the Quebec Drama Federation (QDF) on a timely project relating to building environmental sustainability in the Canadian arts sector. The project, which is being supported through the Canada Council for the Arts’ Sector Innovation and Development fund, aims to test the feasibility of adapting Julie’s Bicycle’s innovative Creative Green tools to the Canadian theatre ecology.

This year-long project will kick off with a research and consultation process that will span the Canadian arts sector from coast to coast to coast. The long-term aim is to develop and implement an environmental assessment model that is robust, accessible and fine-tuned to the specific needs of the Canadian arts sector.

The project will be undertaken in partnership with Julie’s Bicycle, The Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts (CSPA)/The Arctic Cycle, Ecosceno and the Conseil québécois des événements écoresponsables (CQEER).

The development of this arts-specific environmental assessment model is the first building block in the infrastructure of a more environmentally sustainable sector. The model will allow the sector to create benchmarks against which companies can measure their progress over time.

QDF’s Managing Director, Patrick Lloyd Brennan, commented, “We are privileged to work alongside an impressive list of Canadian Partners whose combined forces will help empower the Canadian arts sector with effective tools and an environmental framework to elevate our industry’s operations and practices.

Quebec Drama Federation strives to be at the forefront of tackling issues faced by our membership and the larger theatre ecosystem we are a part of. With this incredible project we are responding to our community’s call for the mounting urgency of the climate crisis to be addressed.”

Said Boomer Stacey, Executive Director of PACT, “This project could not be more timely, combined with everything that we know about the devastating effects of the climate crisis, we have heard loud and clear from our members, and sector at large, that building environmental sustainability practices into their creation model is a top priority for them. Building capacity and playing a strong role in combating climate change is an integral pillar of PACT’s, soon to be launched, Strategic Plan. We look forward to learning and working along-side our partners to generate benchmarks, tools and resources to assist theatre artists and companies in their commitment to being green.”

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