Welcome to the Best Practices section of the Green Stage Zero Waste Stage Toolbox.
This curated collection showcases real-world examples of how performing arts organisations, festivals, and cultural institutions across Europe and beyond are successfully implementing sustainable, circular economy models.
Whether you are looking for inspiration on eco-friendly scenography, strategies for waste reduction at your venue, innovative audience engagement campaigns, or effective institutional sustainability policies, this toolbox provides tested, actionable solutions.
Dive into these case studies to see how creative action is translating into tangible environmental impact and learn how you can apply these measures to achieve a truly zero-waste stage.
Poland – Theatre from Trash
Independent Polish theatre initiative featured on culture.pl.
Turns abandoned and discarded materials into scenography, showing how reuse can become a core part of theatre-making. Combines creativity with circular economy practices.
Germany – Algen | Schutt | CO₂ (Bauhaus Dessau Foundation)
Format: Exhibition / prototype for sustainable design
Funded by Fonds Zero to explore material use in architecture and art.
Hosted in a vacant building in Dessau, this exhibition critically examines construction and material practices. It emphasises reuse, renewable resources, and solar energy, while presenting design prototypes for future climate-friendly building transformations. By combining artistic practice and sustainable architecture, the project inspires both audiences and professionals.
Germany – Haus der Materialisierung (HdM, Berlin)
Format: Community hub & circular economy lab
Part of the Haus der Statistik redevelopment project. Run by initiatives such as Kunst-Stoffe e.V. and Material Mafia, supported by TU Berlin research. Functions as a real-world laboratory combining art, science, and community in sustainable urban supply chains.
HdM brings together more than 15 initiatives working on material reuse, upcycling, and zero-waste design. It offers depots for scenic materials, textiles, wood, and metal, alongside repair and workshop spaces. Beyond serving as a reuse marketplace, HdM facilitates collaboration between researchers, cultural workers, and citizens.
Italy - SUSTAINability – Online assessment for Italian entreprises
Format: Online self-assessment tool
An Italian online questionnaire designed for cultural and creative enterprises to assess their sustainability positioning across environmental, social, and governance (ESG) dimensions. It also integrates an evaluation of technological innovation as a driver of sustainable transition.
UK – Green Mobility Guide (On the Move & Julie’s Bicycle)
Format: Practical guide & toolkit
A multilingual guide providing recommendations for low-carbon touring, developed by On the Move and Julie’s Bicycle. It includes tools for carbon tracking of performances, strategies for reducing mobility-related emissions, and case studies to support sustainable international touring.
Germany – Kreislaufwirtschaft im Kulturbetrieb (Kulturstiftung des Bundes)
Format: National project / Workshop series
Developed by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes within its EMAS-certified environmental management, in cooperation with material initiatives in Hamburg, Leipzig, Dresden, Berlin and Frankfurt/Main.
Between 2021 and 2022, workshops brought together theatres, museums, material depots and municipalities to test circular practices for stage sets, exhibition materials and cultural infrastructure. The project demonstrates how cultural institutions can establish reuse networks, reduce waste and create practical pathways toward a circular economy.
Global – Ecoscenography.com – Knowledge Exchange Platform
Format: Online platform / Knowledge hub
Part of the Prague Quadrennial (PQ) Knowledge Exchange Platform; initiated by Dr. Tanja Beer (Griffith University, Australia)
An international hub for dialogue, research, and practice on ecological design for performance. The platform shares articles, artworks, and case studies on ecoscenography and hosts The Living Stage project – a global initiative combining stage design, horticulture, and community engagement to create recyclable and edible performance spaces.
Global – Global Networked Ecoscenography
Format: International MA-level module / collaborative design project
York University (Canada), Griffith University & QUT (Australia), Part of Globally Networked Learning (York University) and linked to Climate Change Theatre Action York University (Canada), Griffith University & QUT (Australia)
An academic initiative connecting students and professionals from Canada and Australia to co-create ecoscenographic designs online. The project combined theory, workshops, and digital collaboration, with outcomes presented at the World Stage Design Festival 2022.
UK – Sustainability Commitment of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Format: Institutional policy / Festival-wide strategy
Edinburgh Festival Fringe, world’s largest performing arts festival
The Fringe Society has committed to net-zero by 2030 and reduced its carbon footprint by 28% (2017–2024). Key measures include digital ticketing, reduced landfill waste (-75%), lower electricity use (-59%), and 100% office paper recycling. The festival works with city partners to cut generator use and embed sustainability across operations.
Switzerland – OFFCUT
Format: Material markets & reuse depots
A Swiss-wide network with branches in Basel, Zurich, Bern, and other cities.
Offcut operates creative material markets that collect surplus and leftover materials (wood, textiles, stage elements, metals). These are sorted, catalogued, and sold at low cost for creative, cultural, and educational reuse. The network also organises workshops on sustainability and reuse.
