December 2007 | On Our Radar
Cirque du Sustainability
When a traveling circus decides to go green, it’s got more to consider than the usual “lights off, recycling bin by the copier” business approach.
For Cirque du Soleil, whose touring production Kooza will be in San Francisco and San Jose from November to March, considerations include scrap costume materials, dyed in vibrant colors and prints; sustainably transporting props, lighting and stage equipment around the world; and finding a way to reuse a spent blue-and-yellow circus tent.
Since Cirque du Soleil hangs its multicolored hat on innovation and lavishness, it wasn’t long until the billion-dollar entertainment outfit was pushing the envelope with eco friendly changes.
Scrap costume materials are placed daintily in a glass holiday ornament and sell for $29; materials not used for ornaments are donated to children’s theaters. Cirque experimented with running one of their eight touring shows on biodiesel and is looking at other methods of sustainable transport.
And the circus tent? All 66-foot high, 167-feet across canvas has been sliced and diced to form messenger bags that sell for $139.
The company’s first green step was placing recycling bins at Cirque’s Montreal headquarters, said environmental advisor Sebastian Gautier. Five years later, two touring shows have recycling bins, one of which is Kooza.
“It seems a very easy step, but since our shows are temporary, we have to coordinate with local recycling services around the world,” Gautier said. “It gets pretty complicated.”
The company recently completed a headquarters expansion that is nearly 100 percent sustainable. Its main achievement is the complete recovery water system, which uses reclaimed rainfall for all of the building’s sanitary, cleaning and irrigation needs.
“The mission of Cirque is to act as an agent of change,” Gautier said. “It’s a group effort, when you work at Cirque.”
— Natalie Everett
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