Lending, internationally and domestically, for exhibitions is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the cultural sector.
Given the urgency of the climate crisis, The Exhibitions Group encourages individuals and organisations to take action to reduce the negative environmental impact of exhibitions and touring, even if small and imperfect.
There are plenty of guidelines available on how to reduce negative environmental impact when lending and borrowing to exhibitions. There are also tools being developed for carbon estimation, calculation and thinking about environmental responsibility.
This collection of information and resources is specifically relevant to exhibition making and touring.
If you know of any information, resources and tools that specifically support sector colleagues working to reduce the environmental impact of exhibitions and touring that we have not included here, please let us know by emailing seminars@teg.org.uk .
Policies and Guidelines
- NMDC (National Museum Directors Council) UK Museum COP Report, 2024
- Review of the GIS (UK Government Indemnity Scheme) Environmental Guidelines
- GCC (Gallery Climate Coalition) is an international community of arts organisations working to reduce our sector’s environmental impacts. They develop and share best practice, provide leadership on sector specific environmental issues, and work to leverage the collective power of their membership to achieve systemic changes.
- Bizot Green Protocol September 2023 refresh and Handbook #2 MOBILITY Towards Greener Transport 2023
- NEMO (Network of European Museum Organisations) / Deutscher Museums Bund 2023 Guidelines: Climate Protection in Museums
- Icon (Institute of Conservation) Environmental Statement 2020 (Addendum 2020)
- Icon Guidance note on environmental management for collections and climate sustainability
Resources and Toolkits
NEW! – Rethinking Touring Exhibitions: a toolkit to reduce environmental impact
Not sure how to start adopting more sustainable practices when working on exhibitions? For many of us, especially when working in collaboration with stakeholders on a complex touring exhibition, it can feel daunting so in partnership with Art Fund and the Design Museum, we’ve created a new toolkit to help you.
This resource supports sector professionals and volunteers to ask the right questions at the right time. It signposts a variety of resources to help teams gather data and access further research to make informed decisions. And although this was created for UK organisations developing or co-producing touring exhibitions, it can be adapted for other types of projects too.
This toolkit has been developed in partnership with Art Fund the Design Museum and has been produced as part of Going Places, an Art Fund programme made possible with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and additional support from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) and Julie’s Bicycle use the same metrics underpinning their tools, so the two can be used alongside each other (with the possible exception of materials data). GCC’s carbon calculator has been adopted by the Bizot Group, making it the best tool for the UK sector to work with and remain in step with international colleagues.
UPDATE! – GCC has updated their Carbon Calculator and added a Quick Calculator. For more detailed reporting, the GCC Carbon Calculator provides comprehensive insights, while the Quick Calculator offers a rapid assessment of your carbon footprint, ideal for preliminary evaluations or quick insights. Both elements are designed to help you understand and manage your environmental impact effectively.
The Exhibitions Group recommends that exhibition colleagues use Julie’s Bicycle tools for measuring venue outputs (i.e. buildings, HVAC etc.) and to use the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) tools for exhibition-specific outputs.
- Julie’s Bicycle’s resource hub offers practical tools and support, including guides, case studies, research, webinars and podcasts.
- Julie’s Bicycle’s Productions and Exhibitions Guide covers the key delivery stages and will map out sustainable actions you can make from conception to take down, covering design, construction, furniture, props, lighting and sound. It is for anyone involved in producing or designing events and exhibitions.
- GCC (Gallery Climate Coalition) resources include information on best practice, research and case studies. The GCC Carbon Calculator is the tool recommended by TEG for calculating exhibition-specific outputs, and their Decarbonisation Action Plan for non-profits and institutions has been developed to support anyone within the public or non-profit visual arts sector who feels determined to take urgent and effective climate action, in line with principles of justice and the latest climate science.
- The UK Registrar’s Group (UKRG) is working alongside GCC to develop a tool designed to work for public sector museums and enable estimation as well as calculation after the fact.
- The Design Museum’s Impact Guide and Impact Model for designing exhibitions with a lower environmental impact includes the Objects Decision Tree and Materials Decision Tree. The guide is also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.
- CiMAM (International Committe of Museums and Collections of Modern Art) Toolkit on Environmental Sustainability in the Museum Practice 2021
- Museums and Heritage Highland’s Climate Action Toolkit developed with Ki Culture
- NEMO (Network for European Museum Organisations) 7 tips for advocating the sustainable transition of your museum
- The Sustainability Rider by LFCP is a tool for both employed staff and freelancers to negotiate better sustainability practices in cultural heritage. It is available in English, Spanish, German and French.
- Sustainability Tools in Cultural Heritage (STiCH) is a life cycle assessment (LCA) Carbon Calculator and Library of Case Studies and Information Sheets developed to help cultural heritage professionals make educated, sustainable choices to lower the environmental impact of their work. STiCH also provides a Life Cycle Assessment of Museum Loans and Exhibitions
- HERIE is a conservation risk tool developed and made available by the Cultural Heritage Research Group of the Jerzy Haber Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences.
- Bristol+Bath Creative R+D has a Creative Climate Action Tool Kit for small creative businesses, SMEs, freelancers, and organisations to support their climate action journey. The took kit includes a video, worksheet, checklist. Use the worksheet to map your work and business needs and use the checklist to research further.
Books
- Low Cost/No Cost Tips for Sustainability in Cultural Heritage by Lorraine Finch, available in print and as an eBook from all online booksellers and Preservation Equipment Ltd.
- Museums and the Climate Crisis, edited by Nick Merriman.
- How Bad Are The Bananas?: The Carbon Footprint of Everything by Mike Berners-Lee.