RNCM green initiative shortlisted for Educate North Award
We’re proud to announce that our special programme focusing on climate change and the RNCM’s environmental impact has been shortlisted for a second award.
The Future is Green has been named as a finalist in the Educate North Awards (ENAs) in the Sustainable Green Initiative category – putting the year-long programme of public performance and activity around sustainability on a second prestigious shortlist.
It was also recently revealed as a finalist in the Series and Events category at the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards (RPS Awards), which announces its winners on Thursday 6 March at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
The winners of the ENAs, which recognise excellence and achievement in Universities, Higher Education institutions, and Further Education Colleges and Sixth Forms across the North of England, will be announced at the Hilton Hotel, Manchester, on Thursday 3 April.
Professor Linda Merrick CBE, Principal, said: ‘The Future is Green initiative exemplifies a distinctive and innovative approach to programming, a commitment to sustainability within the performing arts, and the creation of exceptional original work in dialogue with musicians and our audiences. The initiative has propelled the RNCM to be recognised as an institution at the forefront of embedding green thinking into everything we do.’
Through The Future is Green, the RNCM staged more than 30 live performances inspired by the climate emergency and natural world and actively sought ways to reduce the College’s carbon footprint. Highlights included Nature’s Music, a one-of-a-kind takeover of Manchester Museum with unique performances across multiple gallery spaces, a reimaging of Holst’s The Planets with acclaimed musicians Delia Stevens and Will Pound, and the creation of an original opera, Silverwood, with the RNCM’s newly established Community Chorus.
Long-term projects included the RNCM Green Fund supporting sustainable international touring and performance opportunities for students, a collaborative public discussion forum The Future is Green Working Group, and the Earth Day: A Call to Action international symposium. The initiative was originally inspired by the interests of RNCM students and the College’s mission statement to place the climate and environmental impact at the heart of its decision-making.
The RNCM also presented at the Music HE Conference on the topic of student involvement with ecological themes in their studies and hosted a Learning and Teaching Conference that included RNCM research presentations about ‘belonging’ to nature through ‘connecting’ to nature, and strategies for embedding eco-literacy into music teaching.
Committed to a Carbon Management Plan since 2010, the RNCM is now established as a leader in integrating sustainability into the arts and, in 2024, was honoured to be nominated for the Times Higher Education Award for Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Leadership.
14 February 2025
