Sustainability: measures until 2023

Piktogramm einer Glühbirne

Theater Basel is committed to keeping its ecological footprint as small as possible. To this end, a 'Sustainability Working Group' was founded in summer 2021. The working group coordinates efforts in this far-reaching field in order to develop a long-term strategy.
A very important step towards sustainability has already been taken with the renovation of the theatre building, which has always taken place during the theatre holidays since 2015: Coordinated and financed by the Basel-Stadt Building Department, various sustainability measures have been implemented as part of the refurbishment work.
In May 2022, Theater Basel commissioned the company Carbotech to carry out an operational review. The aim of this study is to determine the current status of the theatre's climate footprint. In addition, the environmental impact is to be further reduced on the basis of this study.

Many measures are underway or have already been implemented.
Here you will find an overview of the sustainability efforts made at Theater Basel over the past 15 years:

  • As part of the refurbishment work since 2015, the HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning and cooling) system was optimised.
  • Ventilation systems with heat recovery and centralised control were also installed as part of the refurbishment. The new systems keep the air flows in the theatre's rooms in balance.
  • There is no longer any centralised air humidification.
  • The general room lighting was almost completely converted to LED: LEDs have replaced almost all fluorescent tubes.
  • The exterior façade was replaced and given new insulation (reduces heat and cold losses).
  • All of the Theater Basel windows were replaced and equipped with blinds with automatic controls.
  • A target agreement was concluded with the canton on sustainable energy management (via the Basel-Stadt Building Department and Basel-Stadt Real Estate).

  • Dosing aids and stations guarantee economical dosing of cleaning agents.
  • 96% of the cleaning work is carried out with environmentally friendly, biodegradable cleaning agents.
  • Pre-moistened mops and cleaning cloths are used to save water and cleaning agents.
  • Dosing stations are used as soap dispensers in the toilets. The soap used is dispensed as foam soap to further reduce consumption.
  • Cloth rolls are used instead of paper towels. The laundry follows a sustainability concept under the Green Forest Club label. (Due to the coronavirus, we have had to switch to paper towels in the meantime).
  • The employees in the offices and at the workstations adhere to waste separation.
  • There are PET and aluminium collection points on all floors
  • Waterless urinals are used without exception.

  • There is a permanently installed splitting system for waste water in the painting room. This prevents water pollution. A mobile wastewater splitting system is located in the external painting hall.
  • A further waste water splitting system is located in the dyeing kitchen of the costume department.
  • No paints and varnishes containing solvents are used in the painting room. All glues and adhesives used are also solvent-free.
  • When purchasing (office) furniture, care is taken to ensure that it can be repaired.
  • Two new ozone cabinets for disinfecting costumes are available to the costume department. These replace dry cleaning in the laundry.
  • The costume department now has energy-saving washing machines and dryers. Only biodegradable detergents are used.
  • Instead of making completely new costumes for new productions, as many costumes as possible are remodelled from the collection.
  • No use of tropical woods - only certified wood is used. High-quality alloys (e.g. brass) are also avoided.
  • The costume department does not use real leather or fur.

  • The spotlights on the three stages as well as the foyer and hall lighting were completely converted to LED products.
  • Motion detectors now replace the light switches.
  • We are focussing on long-term rental instead of purchase. This currently applies to
    • IT hardware
    • printers
    • high-performance projectors
    • mobile phones
    • Sound desks

  • The electricity for our website servers comes from renewable sources. A new tree is also planted for each work step: In collaboration with Theater Basel, the digital agency Netnode AG has already planted over 1,000 trees.
  • Theater Basel's printed products - e.g. season booklets, monthly schedules and programme booklets - are produced by the Gremper AG printing company in an environmentally friendly and resource-saving manner. Nevertheless, emissions cannot be completely prevented. Thanks to the collaboration with ClimatePartner, the CO2 emissions generated by the order can be offset.

  • Since the 22/23 season, the cuisine for the staff canteen and public catering has been based on the motto 'Totally local'. Wherever possible, all food is purchased from local suppliers. This ensures seasonal cooking and eliminates long transport routes. Further information
  • The theatre café and staff canteen offer vegetarian menus every day.
  • Most of the fish and meat products are sourced from Switzerland.
  • Most of the fridges in the bar area have been replaced with energy-saving versions.

In April 2023, Theater Basel decided to pursue a sustainability strategy with the main fields of action "discourse, resources, mobility". You can find more information here