CASE STUDY
Reducing energy use and empowering staff at The Ambassador Theatre Group.
Background
The world’s leading live-theatre company, The Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd (ATG), operates just over 40 venues in Britain, the US, and Australia. Some of ATG’s diverse buildings portfolio includes historic theatres, necessitating a focus on conscientious energy efficiency policies. With the support of Stark and LSI Utility Brokers, ATG achieved exceptional success in reaching its energy reduction targets. As a result, this achievement resulted in the prestigious “Green Apple Environment Silver Award” in 2014. Furthermore, ATG’s commitment to sharing initiatives led to the company being honoured as a “Green World Ambassador.”
Challenge
The government’s requirement for CRC reporting brought energy to the forefront of ATG’s boardroom agenda. Juliet Hayes, the Risk Management & Sustainability Advisor, was given the task of reducing ATG’s energy costs through behavioural change and energy management. She needed to present her findings concisely and compellingly to ensure senior management’s continued engagement.
“Monthly reports from Stark ID provide ATG with precise insights into energy usage. These reports are easy to understand whilst providing the high level information required by senior management.”
Juliet Hayes, Risk Management & Sustainability Advisor, The Ambassador Theatre Group
Solution
To begin, Juliet focused on venues with the highest electricity consumption and initiated ‘Project Blackout’. In this project, venue managers demonstrated the standard “switch off” procedure for high-powered venue lights. This exercise proved to be eye-opening for staff and revealed instances of leaving high-cost equipment on overnight. Consequently, new venue-specific “switch off” checklists were implemented.
Once this baseline was established, Stark ID’s Exception Reports were utilized to identify waste and anomalies in consumption. A deeper analysis revealed problems in ventilation systems, water management, and hardware, enabling the team to make more energy-efficient decisions.
Project Blackout
This innovative scheme successfully reduced overnight energy use by 15% over an 18-month period. Additionally, an internal staff campaign called “Always Think Green” achieved success in encouraging staff to consider their energy usage during the day and follow shutdown procedures at night.
Stark’s Essential Support towards Net Zero
The valuable insights gained through Stark ID proved to be invaluable for Greg Allen, Assistant Technical Manager, New Wimbledon Theatre. He said, “Using Stark ID enabled me to demonstrate that choosing energy saving options can have a large impact on the business and that every little bit makes the difference. This inspired the team to improve energy usage within their individual work areas.”
The intelligence gained allowed him to build a business case for an LED lighting replacement program. This program contributed to the venue saving an average of £4,400 per month during the financial year 2013-14, achieving a 46% reduction in electricity bills compared to the average of the last two years.
Results
ATG has benefited from significant reductions in energy costs and gained deeper insights into energy use through Stark’s services. In the 2013/14 period, gas usage was reduced by 9% and electricity by 5% across the portfolio compared to the previous year.
Future
Venue managers now receive monthly cost reports and league tables comparing each region via email. This fosters competitiveness and engagement, further solidifying ATG’s commitment to future energy management initiatives.
