At Kentucky Performing Arts, we take pride in being a leader in Kentucky’s vibrant arts community. We also embrace the truth that art is about more than what happens on our stages. There is an art to living, and we’re serious about being leaders on that front as well. We are committed to sustainability through several green initiatives with the goal of enhanced energy conservation and waste minimization. Through these efforts we not only realize bottom line cost savings but also strengthen business relationships and inspire environmental action by our facility’s patrons.
Recycling and Waste Minimization
Preparing a venue for a performance generates waste materials from set-up to entertaining guests to clean-up after the event. Each event produces food and packaging waste, bins full of discarded programs and in many cases construction waste. With hundreds of thousands of guests in our venues each year, responsible waste management is a top priority for Kentucky Performing Arts. From the front of house to backstage, people are encouraged to recycle glass, paper, plastic, aluminum and cardboard in the many receptacles located throughout our buildings. In addition to traditional recycling, Kentucky Performing Arts is proud to have implemented an E-cycling program, safely and responsibly recycling obsolete electronic equipment and properly destroying hard drives onsite.Ongoing venue maintenance also generates hazardous waste, such as cleaning chemicals, solvents, thinners, paints and batteries. These materials are toxic, corrosive, flammable and chemically reactive. When possible, we replace hazardous substances with less harmful alternatives. When this is not possible, we make sure to properly dispose of hazardous materials with a certified third party. Of course, our plans to reduce initial production of waste materials are just as important as our efforts to recycle. Kentucky Performing Arts has taken steps to encourage employees to maintain digital files rather than hard copy files, reducing overall printing. We have also introduced paperless accounting initiatives such as digital purchase orders.
Conservation
Energy is one of The Kentucky Center, Brown Theatre and Old Forester's Paristown Hall’s most significant expenses. We are embracing efforts to manage our energy consumption more efficiently, helping to reduce operating costs and position our venues more competitively. The business benefits speak for themselves, but energy efficiency also reduces air pollution and allows us to contribute to a reduced climate impact.
We are introducing maintenance programs that will eventually replace old equipment with more energy efficient alternatives. In addition, we are gradually replacing lighting with energy efficient LED lamps that burn more economically and last much longer. We have occupancy sensors installed throughout the facility to automatically turn off lights in vacant offices, meeting rooms and closets.
We are also working to reduce the amount of water used in our venues by installing water-efficient fixtures such as low-flow showers and toilets.
We know this is only the beginning. There are areas for growth and challenges ahead as we continue to explore ways to further our efforts. To learn more about the green initiative, email [email protected].
