Sustainability

Living and working in such a beautiful part of the world is our daily reminder that we have a responsibility to protect the nature that surrounds us. The three counties we cover – Cumbria, County Durham and Northumberland – are home to three Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and three National Parks.

Rural Touring is a sustainable by its very nature. We deliver events in community spaces and our audiences are hyper-local.
But at Highlights we are always working very hard to improve our sustainability, whether this is reducing the amount we print,
helping our venues find ways to reduce their carbon footprint, or the smaller, simpler things such as car-sharing
or using a local milk vending machine for our morning coffees.

You can read more about our sustainability journey below.

Programming

A young white woman is sat inside a giant inflatable igloo. She is crouched down behind a stuffed toy in the shape of a penguin. The woman is wearing leggings printed with a koala bear pattern, a navy top. She has dark hair tied back in two pigtails.

We are proud to programme work with environmental themes to inform and stimulate debate.

In Spring 2025 we programmed Lila Dance through the Rural Touring Dance Initiative. They brought their latest piece of work, Fault Lines to two venues – an immersive experience that aimed to inspire audiences to engage with positive personal action for a more sustainable future.

In our Autumn 2024 and 2025 seasons we hosted Penguins – a sensory show for children. Audiences followed a puppet penguin’s journey as they unravel environmental challenges and the effects of climate change on their snowy habitat. The show was guided by verbatim recordings of young voices, whose wacky and wonderful ideas provide hope for a future led by an innovative, responsible generation.

Venue Case Studies

Many of our village halls and community spaces are doing great work in improving their green credentials. Heat pumps, solar panels, energy efficient windows and new recycling facilities are just some of the considerable tasks being undertaken by volunteers and fundraising committees across the region.

Venue Case Studies

Marketing and Print

All of our marketing materials – brochures, posters, flyers, postcards – are printed and supplied by two local, sustainable businesses. Both Cerberus Printing in Kirkby Stephen, and HH Reeds in Penrith, are members of the Woodland Trust Carbon Capture scheme. This means carbon from all the paper we use is offset by planting new woodland in the UK.

www.cerberusprinting.co.uk/sustainablity
www.hhreeds.co.uk/sustainability

Artists

An actor is performing on stage dressed as a polar bear. He has a fluffy wite hood with ears and is wearing a white suit and shirt. He has polar bear paw gloves on his hands. He is in the middle of pretending to roar, with two arms and one leg up in the air. The set behind him is made up of sheets and wooden boxes which are all white.

A white bride and groom share a joyful first dance in a warmly lit venue, decorated with colourful papel picado banners. People sit watching in the background, and string lights add a festive touch to the celebration.

It’s official – rural touring is eco‑friendly! Studies show that taking a show on the rural road can create up to 57% less carbon emissions per audience member compared to one big, centralised production.

A big part of this is the smaller footprint. Touring teams are small, artists often car‑share, and there’s way less stuff to lug around – fewer sets, fewer props, fewer costumes. It all adds up to a lighter impact on the planet.

And on top of all that good news, we’re genuinely buzzing to work with artists who share our passion for being kind to the environment. They’re full of great ideas for reducing their footprint on the road – big and small.

Here are just a few of the brilliant things artists have done on their recent Highlights tours:

Badapple Theatre Company
Around 65% of the wood and materials for the set were reclaimed / reused. An estimated 30% of the costumes were preloved items repurposed by our designer.

Black Liver
We always reuse our props and set, plus we buy most of our costumes from charity shops.

Jam Jar Theatre
All of the props and puppets are made from recycled materials.

Teesdale Felt
Repurposed textiles and equipment used in felting e.g. silk fabric, sari silk, woollen nepps. bamboo mats, pipe insulation, massage rollers and dog brushes.

Victor and Albert
We use the same props/costumes again and again. Albert recycles his old jokes.

The Singing Bones
All our costumes and props were existing equipment we already had, which we repurposed for this show.

Evie Henderson
We repurposed props/costumes brought in a previous iteration of GRIMM. We also borrowed items from Hull Truck Theatre & Hull University for the duration of the tour. We also borrowed lightning & sound equipment.

Julie Evans Printmaking
All unused paint, paper and wood was re-used. Any remaining were recycled. Nothing was placed in landfill.

Accreditation

Until recently, we were members of Investors in the Environment (iiE), and we are delighted to announce that we achieved the Silver Award in May 2025 by demonstrating a commitment to reducing our environmental impact. The accreditation process has given us the knowledge and tools to continue improving our sustainability performance.

You can download a copy of our Environment Policy here