Our new electric van drives us towards net zero

A bright green electric music machine is to become a familiar sight in Bristol as our new electric van hits the streets. Designed in collaboration with our friends at Group of Seven and joyfully wrapped in our new branding, the van will be used for show production and to transport instruments around the city.

We are aiming to become the first net zero concert hall in the UK by 2030 and we are already making good progress in this direction. With the arrival of our new e-van, we have now reached net zero for our direct emissions – things like running boilers (Scope 1 emissions) and the electricity we buy for heating or cooling the building (Scope 2 emissions).

We have also recently appointed ten Green Champions from across the organisation to look at every aspect of what we do.

Our champions will be involved in developing a range of activities to support delivery of our Roadmap to Net Zero, which has been developed in partnership with local sustainability experts, Hope Solutions.

“Changing our diesel van to one that runs on electricity is just the first of many small but important steps we’re taking as an organisation to make our work more sustainable…We want to be an environmentally-inspiring venue for decades to come.”

Louise Mitchell, Bristol Beacon Chief Executive

What are our next steps?

Whilst the arrival of our e-van means we have now reached net zero for Scope 1 + 2 emissions, the real challenge lies in engaging our audiences and artists and looking at our wider supply chain to reduce our Scope 3 emissions.

Our Green Champions’ first task is to look at how we can positively influence sustainable audience travel and behaviour. We will be holding a series of workshops in the coming weeks which will help us to create a sustainability travel plan for visitors with incentives for green travel and guidelines for artists to encourage them to reduce their footprint.

Stay in touch

As we get closer to reopening our venue, we will continue to update you on our progress to net zero.

Head to our dedicated sustainability page to learn more about our roadmap to net zero, and register for email updates at the bottom of this page to hear more from us.