Julie’s Bicycle is a leading global charity bridging the gap between environmental sustainability and the creative industries. Our vision is a creative community powering action on climate change and our mission is to provide the inspiration, expertise and resources to make that happen. Founded in 2007, we work with arts and culture organisations across the UK and internationally, large and small to help them measure, manage and reduce their environmental impacts.

We have created a unique, expert and comprehensive free resource library used by organisations internationally covering every aspect of greening creative business: production, energy, waste and water management, travel, touring, festivals, governance, commissioning, marketing and communications, staff and audience engagement. Rooted in our ongoing research programme, we gather the environmental data of over 2,000 creative organisations via our Creative Industry Green Tools (now a funding requirement for Arts Council England). Annually our programme of events attract creative practitioners from across all fields; we have regular international speaking engagements; and we drive a small number of priority campaigns across the creative industries throughout the year. Our past experience includes working with cultural organisations in cities including Manchester, London and Oxford on environmental management strategies that correspond to city climate change and sustainability plans and targets; direct consultancy work with heritage and cultural organisations on environmental sustainability; and European multi-stakeholder projects such as EE MUSIC on energy efficiency for the European music event industry and GALA (Green Art Lab Alliance) on bringing together cities, artists, and researchers to explore themes of culture and sustainability together.

We have mentored and facilitated numerous other initiatives and networks including the London Theatre Consortium, Powerful Thinking (clean energy use in the festival sector), Manchester Arts Sustainability Team, and Green Culture Montenegro. We have unrivalled reach and trust within the cultural sector and are advising on international cultural policy in relation to sustainable development. This includes partnering with the Arts Council of England to introduce a world-first in integrating environmental sustainability into funding agreements; working with the International Federation of Arts Councils and Cultural Agencies (IFACCA) on enhancing the level of inclusion of environmental sustainability in cultural policymaking and action around the world; and running events such as our conference “How to be a COPtimist: Culture, Creativity, and COP21” in London and a Professional Workshop at ArtCop21 in Paris bringing together artists, policymakers, and cultural organisations to explore the role of the arts and culture in sustainable development and the Paris Agreement.