FUTURE FIT
For several years now, SZENE has been working intensively on the various aspects of environmental, economic and social sustainability in the events sector. Since 2021, all festivals have been organised as ‘Green Events’; this initiative by the Ministry of the Environment, in cooperation with the Province of Salzburg, supports organisers in, for example, using resources more consciously, reducing environmental impact and taking regional economic cycles into account.
Green Events
In 2026, SZENE (theatre auditorium, theatre office and studio) was awarded the prestigious Austrian Ecolabel for Tourism and Leisure on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Climate Action, Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management. This builds on key milestones in our ongoing commitment to sustainability and creates valuable synergies for the further development of ecological and sustainable practices.
SZENE recently completed an evaluation process using the criteria of The Economy of the Common Good. This makes it the fifth cultural organisation in the Federal State of Salzburg to be assessed on this form of business ethics. The Economy of the Common Good is an economic model intended to facilitate a “good life for everyone on a healthy planet.” In keeping with this, the aim of business is based on responsible management rather than maximising profit.
In numerous workshops SZENE staff members have examined the Economy of the Common Good’s criteria and then checked to see whether values such as human dignity, social justice, ecological sustainability and co-determination are reflected in the organisation’s contact with suppliers, members of staff, customers, financial partners and society stakeholders. Overall it was confirmed that SZENE has already achieved substantial steps, however, the evaluation process also includes setting further targets that are consistent with the Economy for the Common Good.
In addition, SZENE has also begun to prepare a sustainability policy in line with European Sustainability Reporting Standards. Here again there have been several workshops dealing with environmental, social and governance topics, and a catalogue of measures has been drafted that should function as a catalyst for further positive change in SZENE’s work.
These activities (towards socially and ecologically sustainable operations) have been supplemented by an energy audit, which has investigated potential energy savings on both electricity and heating: two substantial factors in a theatre’s use of resources.