Foto: Joseph Ruben

Greenstage

EU project for sustainability-orientated approaches in the performing arts

Launched in 2021 under the title ‘European Networks’, the NRW KULTURsekretariat, together with four NRW partner cities and the Wuppertal Institute, developed an EU project on culture and environmental sustainability in the following year and gained European partner cities and regions for the project. The performing arts are of particular importance in this context. In view of the pressing problems, it is important to build up knowledge for action as quickly as possible and to initiate a transfer of knowledge at European level. A ‘Creative Europe’ application entitled ‘Greenstage’ was submitted at the beginning of 2023 and was approved in summer 2023.

The project aims to enable the performing arts sector, in collaboration with the associated municipalities, to implement environmental sustainability in their practice in a timely and eﬀective manner in response to urgent environmental challenges, with a particular focus on circular stage design.

To achieve this goal, ‘Greenstage’ is developing a tool that enables theatre employees to introduce practical and low-threshold changes in the area of sustainability. In addition, Greenstage is developing the Zero Waste Toolbox, which offers a practical way through the jungle of existing guidelines. During various zero waste labs, two zero waste productions, a festival and a material flow plan will be developed.

All the knowledge gained will be made available on a ‘Greenstage’ platform in future.

A special feature of the project is that it involves political decision-makers from the outset and organises local and transnational political meetings to identify urgent problems, define policy measures and develop a series of policy recommendations. At the local level, these recommendations will be concrete and actionable, while at the transnational level they will lead to the ‘Greenstage’ declaration.

The NRWKS, initiator and coordinator of the application, is providing support as an associated partner by taking on the dissemination, mediation and communication tasks in NRW and internationally.

Back to Overview

Contact

Christiana van Osenbrüggen
E-Mail

Greenstage – Zero Wast Performance

Funding programme

[Translate to English:]

Bei Fragen zum Förderprogramm Zero Waste Performance nutzen Sie zunächst bitte die untenstehenden Hinweise.
Für darüberhinausgehende Fragen erreichen Sie unsere Verwaltung Mo, Mi und Fr von 10:00–13:00 Uhr telefonisch oder per E-Mail.

Kontakt:
T +49 (0) 202 698 27 250
E-Mail

Partners

Six institutions from Germany, Italy, Latvia, Austria and Slovenia have entered into a partnership for "Greenstage": the Theater Oberhausen (coordinator), the Bunker (Ljubljana/Slovenia), the Municipality of Mantova (Italy), the Latvian National Theatre (Riga/Latvia), the Volkstheater Vienna (Austria) and the Wuppertal Institute.

In addition to the NRWKS, other associated partners include the cities of Ljubljana, Riga and Vienna as well as Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen and Wuppertal.

Greenstage – Zero Waste Performance

Funding programme

The ‘GREENSTAGE - Zero Waste Performance’ funding programme supports projects and productions in the performing arts in which materials are used sustainably and waste is avoided. The background to the funding programme is that circular economy initially requires additional human resources for planning and entails higher material costs.

The focus is on creative and performative approaches that implement the concept of circular production. The aim is to consistently take circular economy principles into account in all phases of the production cycle - from design, planning and production/procurement through to utilisation and recycling. The focus here is on the reuse of materials, as well as their design with a view to their subsequent return to the material cycle. This results in sustainable processes that conserve resources and avoid waste.

The Zero Waste Stage Toolbox developed as part of the CREATIVE EUROPE programme GREENSTAGE must be used in the conception and implementation of the funded productions:

The Zero Waste Stage Toolbox offers practical strategies and measures for waste prevention along the entire production life cycle of a production. It contains concrete best-practice examples that highlight proven approaches from the circular economy and support their implementation. It offers practical guidance on how to reduce waste in various areas, taking into account key success factors.
In addition to submitting a proof of use, funding from the NRW KULTURsekretariat obliges organisations to provide feedback on the application of the Zero Waste Toolbox and to share experiences gained during production on the Greenstage platform.

The Zero Waste Stage Toolbox will be published on the website www.greenstage.eu by the end of June 2025 at the latest.

Organisers, artists, institutions and performing arts initiatives from the member cities of the NRW KULTURsekretariat are eligible to apply.

Start of funding

From 1 to 31 March 2025, the funding programme will be available exclusively to theatres in Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen and the independent scene in Wuppertal that collaborate within the framework of GREENSTAGE.
From 1 April 2025, the programme will be open to all NRWKS member cities.

Funding amount

The maximum funding amount of the NRW KULTURsekretariat is 8,000 euros per year and can be applied for two years in a row, namely 2025 and 2026, if the concept and realisation are considered separately.
It is also possible to apply for funding of 8,000 euros for the realisation alone.

Programme-specific prerequisite

Co-funding from the member city is required in the amount of 10% of the sum applied for from the NRWKS (e.g. NRWKS funding of EUR 8,000; co-funding from the member city of EUR 800).

Basic information on the funding procedure of the NRW KULTURsekretariat can be found here. Applications are submitted via the funding portal.