Sustainability

We are fully committed to actively promoting ecological sustainability. To achieve this goal, we have formed a sustainability working group that is dedicated to the responsible use of resources. In 2022, we conducted a PEIK analysis of the Basel energy service provider IWB to identify key factors that would allow us to organise events in a more environmentally conscious way, particularly with regard to our energy consumption. In collaboration withreflector, we also assessed our ecological footprint in our day-to-day work. As a result of this analysis, we have significantly reduced the number of flights we take to view new works and talk to artists, eliminating them all together during the 2023/24 season. Additionally, we now only invite intercontinental companies to Kaserne Basel in collaboration with other European partners. Furthermore, we prioritise digital communication with a trusted network of partners to maintain our intercontinental relationships without the need for constant travel.  

Together with partners in France, Germany and Luxembourg, Tobias Brenk, artistic director of Kaserne Basel, launched CooProg in September 2023: This platform supports more efficient and low-emission international touring for theatre and dance companies by enabling transparent season programming and already boasts over 770 programmers from various countries. In the meantime, the platform has also become a model for the international music scene and is now being expanded into a concert touring platform in collaboration with jazzahead!, ONDA, Zone Franche and LIVEMX. 

As an example of best practice, we recommend Musikfestwochen, while lots of relevant information can also be discovered at Tatenbank,  vert le future,  treibhaus klimapodcast and t. Theaterschaffen Schweiz. 

And what can you do? 

We would be delighted if you opted for KaBar's delicious vegetarian menu and chose to visit us by bike, on foot or by public transport, helping to reduce your environmental footprint. Thank you!  

Why is it important for us in Switzerland to take action? 

As indigenous philosopher Ailton Krenak discusses in his essay on nature and neutrality, commissioned by us, the understanding nature in Switzerland and the responsibility of a neutral state in addressing the climate crisis are of crucial importance. His answer emphasises: «There is no safe that can hold life. (…) If a majority of people globally are suffering from this (climate-related) discomfort, it is impossible to claim a position of neutrality. Neutrality, when it comes to the Earth, to what we call nature, is fiction. It is not possible to hold such an abstracted view that one cannot see that the icebergs are melting, that the bear who was once white has become brown from so much pollution and that the air we breathe on our planet is sick. Neutrality is not possible in the face of overwhelming evidence that some parts of the planet are melting and others are being scorched by severely elevated temperatures.»