A Growing Green Movement

A Growing Green Movement: Highlights from the SHIFT Culture Workshop

On 11 October, the ELIA Green Team attended a two-day SHIFT Culture online workshop for networks which are getting eco-certified. Led by Creative Carbon Scotland, participating networks gathered online to learn about new developments in sustainability practices, share their experiences, and prepare for the upcoming end-of-year audit.  

Several networks were invited to share their best practice and tools. For example, ELIA shared about the different ways in which they have been communicating their eco-actions, while a colleague from the ENCATC network shared their practices with regard to integrating sustainability measures and themes in their events. The two days reminded the ELIA Green Team and Certification Buddy ECHO (European Concert Hall Organisation) of the value of collaborative frameworks for organisations working towards becoming more eco-responsible.  

Reflecting on the workshop, ECHO Network manager Federico Rinaldi shared: “The exchange of best practices is invaluable, inspiring creative approaches to the challenges we face. It’s also incredibly rewarding to share this journey with colleagues from other networks, as we're all working towards the same goals". Joana Alves (ELIA Green Team Member) added that “it was great to connect with the other networks and get a glimpse into how others are doing things, in particular how they are connecting social responsibility with ecological responsibility". Each presentation offered valuable insights, “seeing how different networks interpret and work with the guidelines was very inspiring and generated new ideas for eco-actions that we could implement in ELIA", noted Irene Garofalo (ELIA Green Team Member). 

The collaborative spirit fostered during the SHIFT Culture eco-workshop reinforced the idea that sharing knowledge and resources is essential for driving meaningful and structural change. As the SHIFT Culture community is becoming a growing movement dedicated to a greener future, we look forward to continuing these vital conversations with our colleague networks and taking actionable steps towards more sustainable practices. While the ELIA Green Team will now focus on preparing the evidence for the 2024 eco-audit, the fresh perspectives and insights will undoubtedly help shape our green action plan for 2025.