A Practical Resource to Reduce the Environmental Impact of Touring Exhibitions

At The Exhibitions Group, we believe the cultural sector has a critical role to play in addressing the climate crisis—and that responsibility must reach beyond exhibition content to how exhibitions themselves are created and delivered. From selecting contractors and materials to coordinating travel and transport, every decision shapes the environmental footprint of a project.

We know it can be challenging to implement sustainable practices—especially when navigating the logistics of collaborative, touring exhibitions. That’s why we’ve developed a new toolkit to guide you through the process.

Created in collaboration with Art Fund and the Design Museum, this resource is designed to support museum professionals in embedding sustainability at every stage of planning. It offers clear prompts and questions to consider, along with signposts to further reading and tools to help gather data and make informed choices. While initially tailored to UK organisations involved in touring exhibitions, the guidance can be adapted for a range of project types.

The toolkit is grounded in the five pillars of Sustainable Development: People, Prosperity, Peace, Partnership, and Planet. Our aim is to equip professionals across the sector to champion environmentally responsible approaches and foster new standards of practice in collaboration with partners and supply chains.

The resource is available in both English and Welsh (Cymraeg).

This toolkit has been developed in partnership with Art Fund and 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.