GREENING THE WHARF
Artistic Directors Andrew Upton and Cate Blanchett today welcomed Peter Garrett,
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, and Penny Wong, Minister for
Climate Change, to Sydney Theatre Company, where they announced a major
commitment of $1.2m through the Commonwealth government’s Green Precincts
Fund. This contribution will, along with major philanthropic support, assist the
Company’s Greening The Wharf project to transform The Wharf, its much-loved
home on Sydney Harbour, into a unique demonstration of how buildings, even
heritage-listed ones, can be made more sustainable. This groundbreaking project,
which will deliver the majority of Sydney Theatre Company’s energy and water
requirements from sustainable sources, is believed to be a first for any theatre
company in the world in its scale and comprehensive approach to sustainability.

The three key initiatives that form the heart of Greening the Wharf are; the
installation of the state-of-the-art PV array; the introduction of extensive energy
efficiency measures; and the introduction of an innovative rainwater harvesting,
storage and reticulation system which will supply 100% of the Company’s nonpotable
water requirements.

Over the next 25 years, it is estimated that the Greening The Wharf project will
deliver water savings of 37.5 million litres; 5,000MWh in energy savings and 10,350
MWh of power generated via the PV array.

Greening The Wharf is funded by a unique private and public partnership involving
private philanthropy, corporate support and government funding.

The State Government of NSW has already funded an initial Energy and Water
Review by sustainability experts Big Switch Projects, provided in-kind support via
project management services through the Government Architect’s Office and agreed
to extend Sydney Theatre Company’s lease of The Wharf to cover the life of the PV
array. A further application to the NSW Climate Change Fund Public Facilities
Program is under consideration. Sydney Theatre Company has also raised
significant in-kind corporate support from engineering, sciences and project delivery
firm Sinclair Knight Merz, global leader in energy management and advanced
metering technology Landis+Gyr, design architects Tropman and Tropman and
KPMG, who have consulted and prepared the business case for the project.

Click here to read the full press release (July 2009)