Social and environmental sustainability

When it comes to tackling the big issues of our time, there’s never been a more urgent need for the kind of bold, creative thinking that brought the Sydney Opera House itself to life. More than five decades on, we’re embedding social and environmental sustainability across our organisation – and we’re leading the way, as always, with Vivid LIVE. 

In line with our sustainable event management principles, we’ve put together a range of initiatives consistent with our commitment to the UN Global Goals. This includes prioritising decarbonisation, adjusting day-to-day building operations to reduce the festival’s carbon footprint – Vivid LIVE has been carbon neutral since 2015 – and creating accessible, inclusive experiences across the precinct. 

Did you know? 

• In 2019, the Opera House became the first major arts institution in Australia to commit to the UN Sustainable Development Goals – aka the Global Goals – because we wanted to join an international movement fighting the urgent challenges that threaten our future.
• Five years later, we became the first major arts organisation in the world to join the UN Global Compact, allowing us to share knowledge between different sectors and bringing arts and culture into this important global conversation. After all, we can only achieve meaningful change when all of us – the private sector, government and community – are working together.
• Jørn Utzon, the Danish architect who designed the Opera House, incorporated many cutting-edge sustainability features into the building. One was the seawater cooling system, which increases energy efficiency; it’s since been used in other NSW projects, including in Barangaroo. 
• In 2023, the Opera House became the first heritage building to achieve a 6 Star Green Star performance rating from the Green Building Council of Australia, representing world leadership in environmental and social sustainability.
• We’re on track to turn the entire building climate positive by 2030.
• We're turning our kitchens electric. This process has already started behind the scenes, in the Green Room, and will be extended across all dining areas by 2030.
• All the incandescent lightbulbs in the Concert Hall, our largest venue, have been replaced with custom-made LEDs, helping reduce overall energy consumption by 75%.
• Since 2023, we’ve been powered by 100% renewable electricity. Most of this has been achieved by using an innovative power purchasing agreement to buy about 85% of our energy from wind and solar projects across NSW.  

Waste not, want not 

As part of our campaign to reduce waste, we’re currently diverting 90% of our operational waste from landfill, which is no small feat. 

We’re working with our friends at Quayclean, our Waste Warriors, to beat that record by deploying a dedicated waste management team onsite during Vivid LIVE.  

Their work in collecting, sorting and measuring is integral to our efforts to reduce waste, further ensuring that everything goes to its rightful place. If you see them around, please say hello – and if you need help knowing where to put things, they're the people to ask. 

You can do your part to keep our House and harbour clean by reading the easy-to-use bin labels and putting your food and rubbish in the right places which helps us reduce bin contamination and keep resources out of landfill.   

Yes to re-use, no to single use 

Returnable cups will continue to be made available in venues to reduce the amount of single-use plastic we use. At Vivid LIVE last year, more than 80% of cups were returned after use, saving some 6000 plastic items from being sent to landfill.  

You’re also welcome to bring a water bottle from home and refill it at any of the hydration stations dotted across the Opera House site. Glass water bottles are not permitted.

Enjoy the ride 

To reduce your footprint, consider leaving the car at home and taking public transport. The Opera House is only a 10-minute walk from Circular Quay station. 

Green riders  

We ensure that flights and accommodation for artists performing at the Opera House are carbon neutral. We also provide “green riders” for artists, supplying reusable water bottles and water stations in dressing rooms as an alternative to single-use plastic bottled water.  

Beyond the sails 

We’re reducing waste, increasing the efficiency of our building and events, and sourcing more renewable energy. When it’s not yet possible to transition off fossil fuels, we offset by buying carbon credits that support renewable energy projects and protect, restore and renew our natural environment.