Sustainability is a central issue in all aspects of societal development. Zurich aims to reduce its direct greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2040, with the city administration (to which Theater Spektakel belongs as a city-run cultural event) aiming to achieve this goal by 2035.
In the meantime, sustainability has also become a strategic topic in most cultural institutions. The Zürcher Theater Spektakel began considering the environmental impact of the festival as early as the 2000s, separating waste, choosing and reusing materials differently, working with organic cleaning products, and much more. Since 2008, we have been continuously and successfully working—supported by our main partners Swiss Re and Zürcher Kantonalbank—to improve the festival’s environmental footprint and reduce CO₂ emissions through various measures.
At the same time, we are confronted with a unique situation: an international festival would not be an international festival without internationally traveling artists—and that inevitably produces emissions. In 2023/2024, we created a detailed CO₂ and climate report in order to better understand our current status and further potential. But let’s start at the beginning.
Energie
According to an ewz study at the time, there was significant potential for savings in lighting. The conversion of garlands, work, and decorative lighting to LED lamps has led to considerable savings. The investment in the more expensive technology pays off in two ways: electricity consumption is up to 90% lower compared to conventional lights, and the lifespan is many times longer.
The conversion of production lighting on stages to LED is a more complicated process for a festival with international groups, as most artists still work with conventional equipment. The transition is happening more slowly, and the festival is adapting accordingly. Nevertheless, there is still long-term potential here to reduce energy consumption through efficient LED theater lighting. We source solar power for the entire festival operation. At the same time, according to the current climate assessment, this consumption accounts for only 1% of our total usage.
Energy is not a major factor overall in the specific context of a summer festival in temporary structures, since we don’t have to heat or cool buildings throughout the year. Emissions are almost exclusively indirect, meaning Theater Spektakel has already taken a major step toward the City of Zurich’s goal.
Abfall
Wherever possible, we try to avoid waste. Where that is not possible, waste is separated. Thanks to the collection bins, waste separation is made easier for guests and employees of the food vendors. In addition, the return flow of recyclable materials (organic waste, cardboard, PET, metals, etc.) has been steadily improved.
Mobilität & Infrastruktur
Through specific on-site measures, we try to reduce the festival’s CO₂ emissions. These include 500 bicycle parking spaces, the shuttle boat financed by Zürcher Kantonalbank, tickets that are also valid as ZVV public transport passes, and comprehensive information about the festival site’s excellent public transport connections. As a result, emissions from audience mobility have traditionally been low.
The vast majority of Theater Spektakel buildings are made of materials that are assembled and dismantled annually and stored in between. Our theaters are built from scaffolding material, which we cover with stored wooden panels. When designing and planning new venues and constructions on the festival site, we ensure that primarily recyclable materials are used for construction and that the structures are designed to be dismantled, stored, and reused over several years.
Lokales Trinkwasser
Since 2022, thanks to the generous support of Zürcher Kantonalbank, we have been able to provide our visitors with mobile drinking water stations by trinq on the Landiwiese. With this, we want to contribute to reducing the consumption of PET bottles. Producing a 0.5-liter PET bottle consumes 3 deciliters of petroleum and 4 liters of water. Here you can track how many PET bottles can be saved daily by the water stations on the Landiwiese and throughout Switzerland.
Klima Bilanzierung 2024
In winter 2024/25, the team of the Zürcher Theater Spektakel, together with the company Carbotech, created a climate report of the most recent edition of the festival. The result is both encouraging and challenging. The total amount of emissions is just over 960 tons of CO₂. That’s about 8 kg per visitor. According to myclimate, the per capita consumption in Switzerland is 12 tons per year. So, this is a pleasantly low figure (equivalent to approx. 50 km of car travel), both in absolute terms and compared to other festivals.
This number reflects the fact that the festival has been making efforts to reduce consumption for many years. The largest shares of total emissions come from artist mobility, gastronomy, and printed materials. This outcome was more or less expected and confirms that we should continue working on the levers we’ve already been targeting for years.