Watershed Climate Action
In 2019, we declared a climate emergency, and we recognise that arts and culture have a significant role to play in addressing climate change – and we want to be part of that change.
We are committed to minimising the environmental impact of our activities, ensuring sustainability is a strategic priority so we can work towards a brighter, fairer future.
What will be absolutely crucial to our longer-term vision and impact is what we are calling Watershed Wild & Generous. A place-led redevelopment, including the retrofit and repair of our building that balances the changing needs of our organisation whilst also adapting to the impacts of the climate crisis. We will be wild and generous to both humans and nature. Find out more.
We welcome all feedback, ideas and challenges.
For more information please contact us.
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Watershed is empowering our teams to better understand where we can make a difference.
Our aims
Watershed's Environment Group, drawn from staff from across the organisation, leads Watershed's carbon reduction action to:
- Share knowledge to enable everyone across our organisation to act.
- Engage our audiences in conversations around the environment and climate justice.
- Be transparent, accountable and honest along the way.
- Achieve net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2030, building on the ambitions of Bristol City Council and the Culture Declares Emergency movement.
- Consider all aspects of sustainability throughout our business, beyond just emission reductions; to waste, biodiversity, and climate justice.
- Ensure our net-zero ambitions and consequent actions align with and support our commitment to inclusion.
Our Commitments
Climate Action Plan
As we look to the year ahead we will focus on understanding more about our predominantly local suppliers and their carbon impact on Watershed, continue to train Watershed staff in Carbon Literacy and how we might collectively bring about change, and to further question the relationship between climate and justice. And sharing what we learn along the way.
Find out more about our action plan for 2025.
Our carbon footprint
In 2022, we worked with a carbon accounting consultant to get a more in depth understanding of Watershed's workplace emissions, using internationally recognised carbon accounting standards.
This has given a more evolved accounting methodology of our own, with which to focus our priorities and to give consistent year on year results.
Across Watershed
Watershed’s Environmental Group invites you to join us to celebrate the work we’re doing to reduce our environmental impact and empower our community to do the same.
Clare Reddington, Watershed CEO talks about beginning work on Wild and Generous, a place-led redevelopment of our Grade II listed building.
It’s one year since we asked for your help to support our Climate Action work in Watershed's first ever Big Give Fundraising Campaign. Kat Watts, Head of Development, shares what we’ve achieved since then.
The workshop series examining technologies and their past, present, and future role in climate justice publishes their findings.
Join us on a journey as we explore the relationship between humans and the natural world with this season of films curated by filmmaker and researcher Dr Adam Laity.
What will the world want from a cultural venue in a climate crisis?
2023's Grounding Technologies was a pilot project exploring how creative technology can be used to support climate action.
Gathering Moss is a digital landscape, created in 2021, of artistic ideas made in response to the climate emergency. It presents ideas online, to provoke net-zero acts within the real world.
In March, the Let’s Debate conference brought together representatives and keynote speakers from across the nation's arts and culture sector to interrogate the Arts Council...
Introducing the Creative Climate Action Toolkit designed to support smaller businesses, organisations, collectives and freelancers.
Help support Watershed's climate action
We are embedding climate action in all the work that we do, and whatever you can donate will make a difference to what we are able to achieve.
Donate NowPervasive Media Studio
The Watershed run Pervasive Media Studio recognises that human activities are causing critical planet degradation. Climate-related disasters, rising sea levels, extreme weather, soaring pollution, spread of diseases, loss of biodiversity, challenges in food production and much, much more.
The Studio loudly acknowledges that environmental emergencies are pervasive and believes creativity can change the way we think about growth, wealth, consumerism and progress. We are actively exploring ideas and approaches that inform and expand thinking, to change the course of our future for the better.
Studio Residents Ella Good and Nicki Kent at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. Image by Robert Keller, Satori Photos.
Film Hub South West
We believe that through sharing resources and learnings, reducing what we can, and supporting film exhibitors; with space for discussion and support as a part of our funding. We can make an impact.
Film Hub South West have produced Ideas for Implementing Sustainable Practice in Film Exhibition, which considers how to minimise the environmental impact of your activity, no matter the size of your organisation.
Film Hub South West is managed by Watershed.
Carbon Literacy Training
How can we make a difference in our work? To answer this question we know that a key aspect is training, for all members of staff. Training that introduces climate crisis with the science; and considers its impacts – globally, in our communities, and at Watershed. And what action we can take.
Since November 2021, we have been delivering our own Carbon Literacy Training Course and have continued to train approximately 70% of Watershed staff.
The Carbon Literacy Project provided an excellent training framework which we used to create our own training course. Here are our Reflections & Resources for Creative Organisations from our Carbon Literacy Training so far, as part of our journey to becoming carbon literate.
Environmental Policy
The areas of focus where we believe we can make an impact on environmental sustainability.