Convelio has recently published its first emissions report which details all company emissions for 2020, as well as the process to put it together. You can read through it here.
There is a section in the document detailing how to build out your own emissions report, which we encourage you all to do. However if you are still finding it difficult to start we would suggest having some conversations with organisations supporting the art world through the transition period.
We wanted to shine a light on some of these that we know are doing some important work advocating for change within the art industry. All of them are building communities of like-minded companies to advance conversations around environmental sustainability. Many of them offer tools, support, and clear guides on how to implement a sustainability strategy.
Feel free to reach out to us too, we are always happy to talk about our experience of setting up the Climate Care program and the steps we are putting in place to reach our ambitious goal to be net zero by 2050.
##Art World Specific Coalitions and Organizations
The Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) is a charity founded by a voluntary group of London-based gallerists and professionals working in the commercial arts sector as an attempt to develop a meaningful and industry-specific response to the growing climate crisis. The GCC has built a carbon report tool for businesses, they also organize sub committees on specific sustainability related issues to develop resources and drive discussions.
Julie’s Bicycle is a pioneering not-for-profit mobilizing the arts and culture to take action on the climate and ecological crisis. Combining cultural and environmental expertise, Julie’s Bicycle focuses on high-impact program and policy change to meet the climate crisis head-on. JB supports the arts and culture to: become net-zero carbon and restore nature, inspire public action on climate and ecology, and champion environmental justice and fairness.
Art/Switch was launched as a non-profit, in the fall of 2019, to introduce a new generation of sustainable practices to the arts. Based between Amsterdam and New York, they bring together a global community of museum professionals, academics, art professionals, and artists with the aim to connect discussions, promote existing knowledge and pave the way for sustainable solutions in the arts. They have a regular calendar of panel discussions and meet-ups.
Ki Culture is a group of cultural professionals who believe in sustainability and see culture's potential to inspire the rest of the world to create meaningful change. They have a Ki Futures program that offers all the resources, expertise, and advice a cultural organization needs to develop a sound sustainability approach. With a focus on collaboration Ki Futures aims to connect institutions, cultural professionals, and sustainability specialists on a global level, while also engaging with other organizations to develop new tools and resources to spread sustainable practices in the cultural sector.
Art to Zero supports visual arts organizations—of all types and sizes—to take action on climate. They engage directly to develop and implement climate action plans, providing access to resources and to discovering solutions. They build communities by facilitating cross-sector knowledge-sharing and collaboration, while advancing education and innovation through partnerships with climate + sustainability leaders.
Galleries Commit is a worker-led collective committed to a climate-conscious, resilient, and equitable future for New York City galleries. Current initiatives include a public commitment letter, a climate action database, and a collective land conservation partnership with Art to Acres. Past initiatives have included a survey of gallery climate actions and a series of community roundtables.
Art to Acres (DBA Art to Acres) is an artist-founded non-profit environmental and art initiative based in California, United States focusing on large-scale land conservation for climate, Indigenous peoples, and biodiversity support. Founded in 2017, the initiative stewarded the permanent conservation of 22 million acres of tropical and boreal forests on behalf of artists, galleries, and institutions, in conjunction with matching funds partners, into the creation of new National Parks, Regional Parks, Indigenous Reserves and a range of International Union for Conservation of Nature 1a and 1b reserves in the form of land trusts and civil associations.
Art + Climate Action was founded in 2005 and is a community of art professionals, who deeply believe that what artists have to say about climate change will shape our values and behavior for years to come. They support artists, facilitate discussions, and have built a community of people working to the shared vision. They have also put together a list of organizations working in the art industry to lead meaningful change, which you can find on their site here.
Museums for Future are a non-profit, independent organization that unites a global community of museum professionals and cultural institutions. In a mutual aim to remain below +1.5°C global heating - as stipulated in the Paris Climate Agreement - and to establish global climate justice. They envision a world in which every museum and cultural organization is climate-neutral and a bold advocate of ecological and social justice.
We are Museums campaign for a new understanding of museums as society's mentors and architects of change in respect of people and the Planet.
Antiques are Green is a movement that started in September 2009, and which encouraged hundreds of antique and vintage businesses “to promote the green credentials of antiques.” The aim is to encourage the purchase of antiques and vintage as a recognized sustainable green choice. They also released a landmark study that showed that a new chest of drawers will have a carbon impact up to sixteen times higher than an antique chest of drawers. It has now become commonplace for the green credentials of antiques to be cited by television presenters, journalists, dealers, and consumers, frequently referencing the concept of reusing the past.