The non-profit organisation Julie’s Bicycle (JB) was founded by Alison Tickell in 2007. It originally sought to drive action and inspire new thinking in response to the climate and nature crisis in the music industry, and later extended its remit to encompass the wider creative and cultural communities.
Tickell tirelessly promotes culture-based climate action. She has advised and contributed to numerous efforts in this area, such as those of the European Parliament, IFACCA, UNFCCC, G20 Culture, and Creative Europe, as well as national governments, networks, projects, and funders.
“I feel that showing that heritage sites CAN have a net zero plan and engage their communities is incredibly powerful and highlights how much more our big museums should and could do. Truly influential,” says one person who nominated Tickell.
JB works with a broad range of partners, such as Arts Council England, to encourage and support cultural sites in taking climate action. Its resources, such as The Creative Climate Tools (CC Tools), are designed to “empower cultural organisations to take impactful action on the climate crisis, and play a vital role in shaping a sustainable future for the arts.”
The groundbreaking Creative Climate Tools, formerly called Creative Green Tools, were introduced in 2010 and are widely considered to be the best online resources for environmental reporting created for the arts and cultural industry. Over 2000 organisations are using these tools to measure their carbon footprint.
Tickell is a lifelong Ashoka Fellow, co-chairs the UK Creative Industries Council’s Climate theme, is on the steering committee of the European Heritage Hub, and works with the Climate Heritage Network and Global Call for Culture-based Climate Action.
She has been honoured with numerous awards, including The International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA)’s new Green Champion Award, a Tonic Award for women in theatre and performing arts, and Campaigner of the Year at the MusicWeek Women in Music Awards.
In addition, JB’s work has been recognised with the WOMEX 2019 Professional Excellence Award, an ‘Achievement Award’ at the N.I.C.E Awards (European Centre for Creative Economy), and the Central Green Gown Award, among others.