The National Opera and Ballet Aims for Net Zero
The Finnish National Opera and Ballet has made ambitious efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its operations. Its determined sustainability work has earned international recognition.
The National Opera and Ballet has been working on environmental responsibility for years. The institution adopted the Ekokompassi environmental management system in 2019. The carbon footprint was first calculated in 2020, based on the previous year’s activities. The opera and ballet’s emissions reduction goals are aligned with science-based targets, and the current strategy’s key environmental goal is the systematic reduction of the carbon footprint.
The National Opera and Ballet aims to halve its total emissions from 2019 levels by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by the 2030s. For Scope 1 and 2 emissions, the Opera House will reach net zero by 2025. Additionally, the institution has piloted the practices of the Theatre Green Book in its productions and contributed to the Finnish translation of the guide Teatterin vihreä kirja.
The environmental work is led by Environmental Manager Tapio Säkkinen, supported by project-specific experts. The work is guided by a holistic approach to responsibility, combining ecological, social, economic, and cultural sustainability. The roadmap to carbon neutrality directs emissions reductions on the path to a sustainable future.
The electricity and heating used in the Opera House are entirely produced from renewable energy sources, and continuous energy optimization is carried out in the building. A solar power system has been installed on the roof, generating about 34,700 kWh of electricity annually. The district heating and cooling in the building are carbon-neutral products. These measures have resulted in significant reductions in climate emissions.
The largest emissions in the operations of the National Opera and Ballet arise from audience travel, which accounts for 63% of total emissions, and from purchased goods and services, which make up 21%. In set design, emissions are primarily caused by metal products, while textile purchases in costume design and electronics used on stage also contribute. Efforts are being made to reduce emissions by improving recycling and material choices, as well as calculating the carbon footprints of individual productions.
Ecological sustainability has also been integrated into production processes. The scene design department has created carbon footprint calculations for individual productions, which has helped identify carbon-intensive materials. For example, in the 2023 premiere of A Christmas Carol ballet, 66% of the props were made from recycled materials. In the 2024 Princess Sleeping Beauty ballet, props from the previous Pippi Longstocking ballet were reused. Using recycled materials significantly reduced the need for new materials and labor hours.
A touring opera production for schoolchildren, Stardust, put recycling at the center of both its set and props. All materials were sourced second-hand in collaboration with the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Recycling Center. The production saved approximately 1,000 kilograms of natural resources and avoided about 270 kilograms of CO2 emissions. These amounts are equivalent to the daily natural resource consumption of ten Finns and a round trip from Helsinki to Rovaniemi by car.The National Opera’s sustainability efforts have also received international recognition. In 2024, the Opera won the International Opera Awards’ Opera Sustainability Award for exemplary work in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals and its commitment to the UN’s Agenda 2030 program.