Our Statement on Climate Change
The climate crisis greatly impacts the outdoor sector and threatens the livelihood of its existence. With extreme weather conditions such as heatwaves, storms, unseasonal heavy rainfall and cold snaps becoming increasingly more frequent, our artists, producers, and festivals are seeing many performances cancelled and reducing footfalls.
OutdoorArtsUK will be at the forefront of facilitating change to best ensure the survival of the sector.
Eco’Operation – Coordinated International Touring
Eco’Operation is a ground-breaking initiative designed to cut carbon emissions and reduce costs for artists and festivals sharing work internationally.
The Donut Advisory Toolkit for Events (DATE)
The DATE Toolkit considers the wide range of possible impacts that a proposed event could have on environmental and social impact. This toolkit has been tailored specifically for the outdoor arts sector, created by Andrew Lansley using Doughnut Economics and commissioned by OutdoorArtsUK.
Our Environmental Programme
Talks
Every year we organise talks at outdoor arts festivals about the environment. Previous talks include:
- DATE Toolkit at For The Love of It (National Association of Street Artists), 21 Mar 2026
- Outdoor Arts Climate Gathering (FESTIVAL.ORG and Arts Council England), 5 Sep 2025
- Eco-operation and DATE Toolkit presentation to the Touring Network Partnership (Without Walls), 1 Aug 2025
- Hosted the Climate Cafe at Fresh Street (Circostrada and Out There Arts), 28 May 2025
- Eco-operation and DATE Toolkit presentation to Without Walls Partners, 9 May 2025
- Climate Action and Outdoor Arts at Greenwich + Docklands International Festival (FESTIVAL.ORG, Legs On The Wall), 24 Aug 2024
Making Climate Change Tangible: The Climate Cafe at Out There Festival
For the second time running, OutdoorArtsUK General Manager David Doust hosted the Climate Café as part of the Out There Festival Professional Programme in Great Yarmouth. This year, he was accompanied by two speakers: climateRead More >
Climate Action and Outdoor Arts: Reflections from the GDIF Climate Gathering
Somewhat ironically, under the flight path of London City Airport, OutdoorArtsUK, FESTIVAL.ORG and Arts Council England brought together artists, producers, and sector leaders for Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (GDIF) Climate Gathering in Thamesmead. The intentionRead More >
OutdoorArtsUK at FRESH STREET #5
Last week, the OAUK team joined national and international outdoor arts and circus professionals in Great Yarmouth for FRESH STREET – an inspiring international conference co-organised by Circostrada Network, Artcena, and Out There ArtsRead More >
Webinars
Every year we programme a webinar about an environmental issue as part of our Winter Webinars Programme. Winter Webinars is a bespoke programme of online training for Outdoor Arts professionals. Upcoming free webinars and recordings of previous webinars are available for members. If you’re not a member already, join OAUK now.
Winter Webinar Recording: No One Size Fits All
Watch this video on ‘No One Size Fits All: Do Environmental Touring Innovations Shut Out Already Excluded Communities’, a recording from the Winter Webinar which took place on Thur 12 Nov 2025 NoRead More >
Winter Webinar Recording: Environmental Action – Green Riders & Artist Donut Toolkit
Watch this video on ‘Environmental Action - Green Riders & Artist Donut Toolkit’, a recording from the Winter Webinar which took place on Thur 5 Dec 2024. In this webinar we heard fromRead More >
Winter Webinar Video: How to Make Your Event Greener (Donut Toolkit)
Watch this video on ‘How to Make Your Event Greener: Intro to the Donut Toolkit’ with Andrew Lansley, to learn how to use the Donut Toolkit. In this OAUK Winter Webinar, Andrew introducedRead More >
Resources
DATE Toolkit: National Conference 2026 Case Study
Last year, for the first time, we used the DATE Toolkit (Donut Assessment Tool for Events) to give us a picture of accessibility and sustainability at our national conference. This year, we’re hoping toRead More >
Leading Performing Arts Festivals Come Together to Launch Eco’Operation for Co-programming
The online platform and international network announced today will drastically reduce carbon emissions and programming costs for festivals around the world The initiative, with input from over 40 festivals, will facilitate coordinated programming andRead More >
Culture, Climate and Environmental Responsibility 2022–23 (ACE and Julie’s Bicycle)
Arts Council England (ACE) has published its Environmental Responsibility Annual Report 2022-2023, a publication which presents National Portfolio Organisations (NPO) environmental data and narratives for the period of 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023.Read More >
Image credits:
- Green Space Dark Skies at Scafell Pike, produced by Walk The Plank, photo: Jason Lock
- Castaway by Highly Sprung at Freedom festival 2025, photo: Tom Arran
- Beach of Dreams by Kinetika at Out There Festival 2025, produced by Out There Arts, photo: JMA Photography
