Dr Lisa Burger, CBE
Speaker
Theatre and Sustainability: A Collaborative Future
📅 9 November 2025 (Sunday)
🕛 1430 - 1600
Dr Lisa Burger, CBE is one of the UK’s most respected strategic leaders in the arts. Until spring 2022 she was Joint Chief Executive and Executive Director of the National Theatre. During the Covid pandemic, she was instrumental in helping develop the UK government’s support package for the arts.
Dr Burger co-founded Renew Culture and the Theatre Green Book initiative in 2020. She is a Trustee of Historic Royal Palaces and of the Royal Opera House and has previously Chaired the Lyric Hammersmith.
Her work for the arts has been recognised with a special Olivier award, a CBE and an Honorary Doctorate.
Organisation Description
The Theatre Green Book is the world’s leading initiative for sustainable theatre. Launched in the UK during the pandemic, it has grown into a global movement with partnerships across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, and is endorsed by the European Commission.
Supported by all major UK theatre organisations and used by 69% of UK theatres, it provides a common framework for sustainability across three core areas: Productions, Operations, and Buildings. The guide introduces three progressive achievement levels—Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced—along with a Preliminary standard to help organisations begin their sustainability journey.
Developed in collaboration with theatre professionals and sustainability experts, the initiative offers practical tools such as a Production Calculator, Operations Tracker, and Building Survey Tool—all freely available online. These resources help theatres measure, plan, and self-certify their progress, making sustainability commitments transparent to artists, funders, and audiences.
Through its structured and collaborative approach, the Theatre Green Book offers a practical and recognised response to the climate crisis within the performing arts sector.
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