STAFF SUSTAINABILITY SURVEY REPORT 2026
Welcome! At Birmingham Hippodrome, improving our impact on the environment is at the centre of our values. Our Staff Sustainability Survey is an open opportunity for employees to feedback into this work to make it stronger. In April and May 2026, all employees at Birmingham Hippodrome were invited to complete our third annual survey. The survey asked staff about their opinions on the environment and the sustainable actions they may take at work or home. It also asked them to rate how well Birmingham Hippodrome is meeting our commitment to being more sustainable, and to offer ideas for how we have succeeded so far as well as how we can do even better.
HEADLINE RESULTS 2026 This year, respondents felt that the environment was increasingly central to working at Birmingham Hippodrome and awareness of our environmental impact continues to rise.
89%
say Birmingham Hippodrome has a strong commitment to sustainability and improving our environment
87% 89% 84%
of employees say our Sustainability value is reflected in their work of employees are aware of Theatre Green Book, the industry’s leading sustainability guide
feel that we have taken positive steps towards greater sustainability over the last 12 months
“Comms and awareness raising are really strong and are making a tangible difference to staff and EMPLOYEE visitors”
CORE QUESTIONS Over the three years of the survey, we’ve seen significant positive change in how staff view the environment and our role in protecting it. Birmingham Hippodrome has a strong commitment to sustainability and improving our environment. +30% Strongly
Agree in 2 years
Strongly Agree
Agree
8%
2024
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
55%
2025
23%
23%
0%
6%
52% 38%
2026
Don't Know
20% 51%
20%
40%
11%
60%
80%
100%
What sustainability work have we done particularly well?
“Raising awareness of how many facets of the theatre are impacted from a sustainability perspective.” +28% Agree in 2 years
Sustainability is a core value at Birmingham Hippodrome. Do you feel this is reflected in your work? Very Much
To Some Extent
12%
2024 2025
0%
Not Really
45%
5%
2026
Neutral
Not at All 18%
64% 14%
Don't Know 16%
20% 73%
20%
40%
6% 9% 8%
60%
80%
5% 100%
What sustainability work have we done particularly well?
“Educating workers in the building.”
I feel that Birmingham Hippodrome has taken positive steps towards greater sustainability over the last year. +25% Strongly Agree in a year Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
21%
2025
Disagree
61%
13%
46%
2026 0%
Don't Know
38%
20%
40%
14%
60%
80%
100%
What sustainability work have we done particularly well?
“How we manage waste has drastically improved.”
I think it is good for a theatre’s brand and reputation to make an active effort to be more sustainable. Strongly Agree
Neutral
55%
2025
38%
65%
2026 0%
Agree
20%
7%
32% 40%
60%
80%
100%
What sustainability work have we done particularly well?
“The use of reusable glasses, mugs etc in the building is fantastic, and very ahead of the curve.”
SUMMARY These results demonstrate a clear increase in awareness and action for sustainability at Birmingham Hippodrome. In particular, the steep increase in employees who report that sustainability is part of their work demonstrates that responsibility for our environment is now being shared across all employees rather than concentrated in one department or individual. This culture of responsibility will help bring sustainability into conversations and decisions organisationwide to spread this impact further.
Have you heard of the Theatre Green Book or ISO 14001 sustainability certificates?
TGB & ISO
TGB only
ISO only
100%
80% 38%
Employees have become far more aware of how we guide our sustainability work through the Theatre Green Book and ISO 14001: 2015 frameworks. We have raised awareness through mentioning these systems at events (like the All Staff Meeting) as well as in regular employee communications (like our internal newsletter).
21%
60%
40% 16% 52%
51%
2025
2026
20% 27% 0%
2024
TRANSPORT 60%
Employee Commuting by Transport Method 50%
51%
40% 30% 20%
In survey comments, our employees were keen to see further initiatives supporting public transport commuting and sustainable audience travel.
22% 14% 5%
5%
/T ra Ca m r( pe tr ol /d ie Ca se r( l) el ec tr ic /h yb rid )
W al k
10%
Bu s
Tr ai n
0%
Public transport use by employees continues to rise, indicating a positive long-term switch towards lower-carbon commuting. The data gathered for this survey will inform the employee commuting emissions estimate included in our 2026 Annual Sustainability Report.
During this year, we were able to offer employees 4 weeks of free bus travel and ongoing discounts several times. In one of these offer periods, 53 staff members redeemed the bus pass and made 1,479 journeys!
OUR IMPACT 2025/26 ACHIEVEMENTS When asked what sustainability work we’re doing well our employees listed many reasons to celebrate. Projects that consistently came up included: The Sustainability Champions employee committee who showcase the different impacts of individuals across the organisation Huge recycling and waste sorting improvements Microgardens so employees can enjoy green spaces at work Environment engagement opportunities and awareness raising about sustainability A general positivity about making an effort to be more sustainable as it’s good for employee wellbeing
Comments also praised unique initiatives like “Working with the panto producers to change the confetti to a biodegradable version, so we lower our impact on our local environment.”
WHERE TO IMPROVE Areas to Target Building operation - efficiency Procurement - buying better Waste - increasing circularity Advertising - balancing business need to attract customers with reducing paper and other waste Travel - supporting all stakeholders to use public transport
New ideas from survey Reusable hot drinks cups for audiences Helping visiting companies with waste Monitor how we purchase items Encourage staff to think about sustainability ahead of large projects Evaluate water consumption
SPOTLIGHT ON THE
SUSTAINABILITY CHAMPIONS The Sustainability Champions is our employee environment committee. We meet every month to bring forward ideas and feedback, plan projects, and monitor Birmingham Hippodrome’s sustainability progress. The Champions also function as our Theatre Green Book committee. The Staff Survey results were discussed by the Champions, who will use everyone’s feedback to inspire next year’s projects. Several new employees also signed up to join the committee through the survey.
“The Sustainability Champion for our team is always an active cheerleader for exploring ways in which we can be more sustainable with our marketing approaches.”
24%
EMPLOYEE We want the Champions to be visible representatives for sustainability across the organisation. In the last year, our Champions’ profile has increased by 10%, with 76% of employees knowing who their department’s champion is. “It's a huge task you are tackling and I'm so pleased that there is a Sustainability committee dedicated to making a difference. Well done!” EMPLOYEE
76% +10%
YOU ASKED, WE DID
How we responded to suggestions raised by colleagues this year
Make heating and cooling more efficient
Help visiting shows be sustainable
We replaced two end of life boilers with new models providing a 30%+ improvement in efficiency and an associated reduction in carbon. We continue to scope out future improvements with decarbonisation options considered where practical.
We introduced new terms in our contracts setting out expectations for sustainability on stage and in marketing. We trialled a company sustainability welcome meeting.
Create less waste
Encourage public transport for everyone
Our recycling overhaul last year has permanently shifted us towards producing more recycling and circular waste and sending less to energy recovery. Our monthly recycling level has increased 6.6x on the year before, while general waste is 43% down.
Staff were offered several 4 week bus passes for free and further discounts through a partnership with WMCA. Audiences from December 2025 to February 2026 were offered exclusive content to travel to shows sustainably through a pilot project with You.Smart.Thing.
Reduce our digital storage impact
Get audiences involved
Employees were encouraged to take part in Digital Cleanup Day - deleting unused files to reduce energy consumed by our cloud storage and associated systems.
Our ‘Going Green’ campaign in programmes and on screens front of house tells audiences how we’re being more sustainable and suggests ways for them to support us with this.
WRAPPING UP IN SUMMARY Our employees care deeply about the environment and want to continue being a part of positive change at our theatre. Comparing year on year shows that over time, we are engaging more of our people with sustainability and our environment work is increasingly shared across the organisation.
We will continue to work to keep audiences and visiting companies engaged so they can contribute to a greener Hippodrome too.
WHAT’S NEXT? We are working on several projects raised in feedback, including: The Sustainability Champions are reviewing single use items across all departments to look for more sustainable swaps. Leadership have signed off a capital investment to improve our cycle storage provision. Sustainability information in the visiting company packs will be updated this year. We will raise the visibility of the Sustainability Champions so all employees feel confident approaching them with ideas. Thank you to everyone who took part in the survey. Your ideas and feedback are vital to ensuring our sustainability projects work for and represent everyone at Birmingham Hippodrome.
STAFF SUSTAINABILITY SURVEY REPORT 2026 Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre Trust Ltd Hurst Street, Southside, Birmingham BH 4TB
birminghamhippodrome.com/going-green Registered Charity No. 510842 Contact us! environment@birminghamhippodrome.com