Social and environmental sustainability

At the Sydney Opera House, we believe creativity can drive positive change.  That's why we are committed to helping regenerate and restore the environment around us, including an expansion of our living artificial reef.

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 and inspiring positive change, 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, building inclusive career pathways – 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. 
• To ensure our staff is increasingly diverse, the Opera House’s careers program has expanded to provide employment opportunities for traditionally excluded or marginalised communities, including our Workplace Readiness Program which creates employment for people with disabilities and the launch of the Community Corporate Program which builds work-experience and career-focused training and development for refuges and migrants. 
•  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 work hard to maintain our a 6-Star  Green Star performance certification every year.
• We’re on track for our building operations to be climate positive by 2030.
• We're turning all our kitchens electric. Our infamous House Canteen and Opera Bar will be going electric this year, with the rest of our dining areas electrified by 2030, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.
• 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 

We’re on a mission to divert up to 90% of our operational waste from landfill – a big goal that takes all of us to achieve.  

During Vivid LIVE, we’re working with our friends at Quayclean, our Waste Warriors, to deploy a dedicated waste management team to collect, sort and measure waste. Their work ensures everything goes where it should, helping us keep as much waste out of landfill as possible. If you see them around, feel free to say hello! And if you’re ever unsure where something belongs, they're the people to ask.  

You can help keep our House and harbour clean by following the directions on the bin labels and putting your food and rubbish in the right place. Every correct choice reduces bin contamination and keeps reusable 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. In previous years, more than 80% of cups were returned after use at Vivid LIVE shows, saving nearly 6000 plastic items from being sent to landfill. That’s nearly two packed Concert Hall audiences worth of cups!  

You can play a part too! Refill your water bottle at one of our onsite drinking stations or choose to dine in at our many onsite restaurants instead of opting for takeaway. Together, we can create a more sustainable future.

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 provide “green riders” for artists, supplying reusable water bottles and water stations in dressing rooms as an alternative to single-use plastic bottled water. 

At the Opera House, we want to create a safe and welcoming environment for artists, audiences and visitors in line with our ambition to be Everyone’s House.  

We provide all-gender bathrooms for visitors, as well as a Changing Places facility, a dignified space for people with disability who require extra support. We offer discounted tickets as part of a collaboration with Gig Buddies, a not-for-profit organisation that provides social opportunities for adults with intellectual disability by pairing them with volunteers at shows. We welcome patrons who are blind or vision-impaired to experience the Lighting of the Sails through live Audio Description events. And we conduct regular training for staff so we can continue to deliver excellent customer service for all artists, audiences and visitors. 

 For more information contact accessibility@sydneyoperahouse.com. 

Auracast, a new assisted listening technology for those who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing that broadcasts high quality audio with full venue coverage, has been recently installed in the Drama Theatre, Playhouse and Studio. For more information about accessibility at the Opera House, visit here.