Interview: Broadway Green Alliance's Molly Braverman Talks Earth Day and How Broadway Has Gone More Green

Earth Day is coming up, and so is the Broadway Green Alliance's Broadway Celebrates Earth Day concert, set for this Saturday in Times Square!

We chatted with Molly Braverman, the director of Broadway Green Alliance, about the event, what else the organization is working on, and how she thinks Broadway has improved, or may still need improvement, in terms of being more 'green'!

Check out her answers below!

Can you talk a bit about your upcoming Earth Day event?

Absolutely - we are thrilled to be partnering with the Times Square Alliance for the 2nd Annual Broadway Celebrates Earth Day concert this Saturday, April 22 from 10am - 3pm ET. It will be a hopeful and impactful day, as Broadway stars and student performers will take over Times Square to perform live, get loud, and demand climate action.

The event is part of NYC Department of Transportation's Car-Free Earth Day, which opens streets to pedestrians throughout the City, and is presented along with Stars in the House-so everyone can join, either in-person or at home via live stream. BGA friends and champions Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley will host the morning, and Tony Nominee and Green Captain Anika Larsen will host the afternoon.

What are you hoping to achieve with this event?

At the Broadway Green Alliance (BGA), we know that the climate crisis can feel overwhelming. We are now living with the consequences of a climate changed world - with even greater threats ahead.

The impacts of the climate crisis are already affecting us all - though not equally - and that includes the theatre industry itself. Shows have been canceled across the country due to extreme heat, wildfires, flooding, air quality, and other extreme weather events. The BGA's mission to educate, motivate, and inspire the entire theatre community and its patrons to adopt environmentally friendlier practices has never been more urgent.

But the beauty of this moment is that there is hope: there are solutions available to us right now. As theatre makers and global citizens, there are so many ways for us to reduce our own environmental impact and advocate for systemic change. As us theatre nerds often like to hum, it's about "doing the next right thing" and starting somewhere.

We hope that this event helps empower each person watching to do something greener that day. And then build upon that progress by doing something greener next week. And then again next month, and next year.

This concert will fill Times Square and permeate through screens to build community and courage to take action together.

What does Earth Day mean to the Broadway Green Alliance and to Broadway as a whole?

The BGA empowers theatre artists to address the intersectional challenges that our industry face and use their unique skills to lead change and build resilience for the work ahead. Earth Day serves as a holiday to celebrate the hard work, accomplishments, and progress of the past year, and refocus and commit to the work ahead.

How do you think Broadway has improved over the years in terms of being more 'green'?

We are proud of the significant progress that Broadway and the theatre community has made toward sustainability. A few highlights include:

• We led the change all of the marquee lights on Broadway to energy-efficient LED and CFLs. That's over 100,000 actual bulbs and saves over 700 tons of carbon each year.

• During the pandemic shutdown, we convened a task force of industry experts to create a free toolkit focused on reopening the industry sustainably, accessed more than 7,000 times.

• Most shows now use rechargeable batteries in microphones and flashlights, keeping thousands of toxic disposable batteries from the waste stream every month. At Wicked alone, that switch keeps 15,808 alkaline batteries out of the landfill every year.

• There is 100% Green Captain participation on Broadway, with over 900 current and former Green Captains across the country on Broadway, off-Broadway, regional theatres, and colleges and universities.

• Shows now wash costumes in energy efficient washers (generously donated by LG Electronics), which saves enough energy to light the outside and marquee lights for nearly two months.

• We kept over 17,000 pounds of textiles out of landfills since 2016 through the BGA collection bin in the Actors Equity Building.

What do you think still has room for improvement?

There is always room for improvement! The climate crisis did not happen overnight, it is the result of millions of decisions and it demands action -- big and small -- from each of us. Change results from the cumulative effect of our actions, and we should always be striving to make the next best sustainable choice.

What are some upcoming projects or programs that the Broadway Green Alliance is working on?

There are so many ways to get involved with the BGA!

In NYC? Our next in-person event after Earth Day is our Electronic Waste Recycling Drive in Times Square on May 24, 2023.

We just closed our 2023 NYC Theatre Greening Grants, but be sure to sign up for the BGA mailing list to learn all about what green innovations your colleagues are implementing from this year's grant round - and be sure to receive information about next year's process.

Creating theatre of any kind? One of our newest initiatives is the BGA Theatre Climate Pledge. This public commitment is meant for sustainable theatre advocates in all regions, at all stages, and for all organizations. You can learn more and take the pledge at: broadwaygreen.com/pledge

Be sure to visit broadwaygreen.com for a library of free sustainable theatre resources. These range from video learning sessions to a national resource map to department-by-department green theatre toolkits.

And check out our Green Captain program, designed for green theatre advocates on Broadway, off-Broadway, touring, regionally, and in academic theatre spaces. Joining this volunteer effort is a perfect way to join the sustainable theatre movement.

A theatre fan? Follow @broadwaygreen on Instagram and Facebook for a behind-the-scenes look at how your favorite Broadway shows and stars are going green!

Photo Credit: Broadway Green Alliance's website