Brass Bands: Climate Action
In association with the Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy Programme, the Sheffield Region Brass Network has published a new online guide to help brass bands adapt to a sustainable, resilient, and climate-changed future. The climate is changing around us and is impacting on everyone’s lives across the world. As a part of the creative industries sector brass bands are uniquely placed to play a leading role in driving change, and in transforming environmental understanding at a community level.
Most current climate change adaptation guidance is aimed at large-scale organisations and is inappropriate for the scale of cultural community organisations like brass bands, or their creative activities. The suggestions on the Sheffield Region Brass Network website tailor specific guidance and an easy-to-follow process which use the skills, experiences and reflections of cultural institutions, as well as external climate change expertise.
The Sheffield Region Brass Network says that talking about your band’s environmental activities will help to normalise sustainability and make it part of day-to-day conversation; however, it’s also good for bands because:
· Your reputation will grow because people will see you taking responsibility; by building your band’s environmental reputation, you are helping to build loyalty.
· If you create surprising and memorable sustainability experiences, people will talk about them, raising your band’s awareness and also the likelihood that people will think about sustainability beyond their experience with you.
· By talking about what you’re doing, it will become a natural part of the way you do things. This will make doing more on sustainability easier.
· A commitment to environmental sustainability is something funders are increasingly asking for. Those taking action and talking about it now will stand a far better chance of securing funding in the future.
The Secretary of the Sheffield Region Brass Network, Stuart Young, is passionate about sustainability and a member of the SME Climate Hub. He has achieved net-zero with his own ISO14001 certified business and was recently a finalist in the inaugural South Yorkshire Sustainability awards. Stuart commented, “Sustainability and the climate crisis are often talked about in terms of problems that can seem too big to the individual, but by being positive and showing your colleagues that they are one of many people taking a small action to make a big difference. Brass bands can play an important part in their community and positively influence local environmental impact.”
Visit the ‘Climate Action’ page on the Sheffield Region Brass Network website, watch the video, and read about the steps that bands can take on their climate action journey. Further supporting resources are available to any brass band that emails the Network.
