Light Night Leeds Sustainability Plan

Leeds City Council (LCC) declared a climate emergency in 2019 and set the target of making the city carbon neutral by 2030, supporting central government’s net zero strategy. The net zero ambition is reflected as one of the four pillars in LCC’s Leeds Ambitions, “Leeds will be the first net zero and nature positive city, rapidly reducing carbon emissions and restoring nature, supporting people and businesses to make increasingly sustainable choices that improve their standard of living and create a regenerative thriving city".
To embed sustainability into its cultural services, LCC has been working with colleagues across Europe to put in place a shared vision of sustainable culture across European cities, particularly those within the Eurocities network. In 2023, LCC signed an international commitment for low carbon and more inclusive culture known as Eurocities/Lille Call to Action (C2A). The council endorsed 13 priorities listed within the call to action which are of most relevance to Leeds, its ambitions around inclusive growth and its commitment to zero carbon by 2030.

All council services are working towards achieving the zero-carbon ambition, and LCC Arts, Events & Venues (AE&V) have a clear role to play in reducing the environmental impact of Light Night, an annual arts and light festival across two evenings in Leeds.
As a responsible organisation, AE&V are committed to reducing the environmental impact of our events whilst using our platform to educate and influence others. We have been gathering data to act as a benchmark across our events since 2018, considering everything from the power used to how audiences travel to and from the events. We are now implementing initiatives to reduce our impact and measuring progress towards our net zero goal.

We have developed an Environmental Sustainability Action Plan to drive progress towards this target, embedding standards from the GECoP as well as aligning with the Eurocities pillar I priorities (‘Ecological Transition in the Field of Culture’).
We have identified the following areas which will be critical for the sustainable transformation of our services. By focusing on these themes, we aim to align with city-wide, international, and sectoral strategies, and lead the way in creating positive sustainability impact within the cultural industries and the wider city.

The areas are:

Energy: We will reduce reliance on fossil fuels, using renewable energy sources and energy-efficient practices to minimise energy demand and shrink our carbon footprint across our events.
Travel and Transport: We will work with audiences, suppliers, and artists to positively influence travel choices and reduce travel-related emissions.
Materials and Waste: We will prioritise sustainable materials and limit waste output. We will promote a circular economy by seeking ways to reuse materials and encourage responsible resource consumption.
Supply Chain: We will prioritise working with local suppliers, and work with our supply chain to implement sustainable procurement practices.
People & Partnerships: We commit to increasing the awareness and skills of staff on sustainability issues and will ensure sufficient resources to act on sustainability, including getting support from external specialists where needed. We will forge partnerships within Leeds cultural sector including promoting the exchange of innovative practices between groups.
Advocacy: We will speak out to audiences and stakeholders and use our creative voices to contribute to the public narrative about positive change. We will showcase the impact of environmental issues and highlight sustainable solutions through events, engaging audiences in discussions around a just transition to a sustainable future.
Measurement and Reporting: We will regularly measure and evaluate the impact of the sustainability measures, being transparent and reporting back on key impacts and progress towards targets as well as adjusting our strategy as necessary to ensure continual improvement