ACTIONS
- Protect and safeguard cultural and natural heritage
- Learning and educational opportunities
- Cultural participation/social inclusion
- Sustainable tourism
- Support research
- Employment (recruiting, training, safety)
- Energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions
- Waste management and reduction
- Transport (forms of, energy use)
- Commercial activities including copyright and IP
- Governance and management
- Security, disaster preparedness, risk reduction
- External partnerships and collaborations
- Toolkit/framework/roadmap
- Case studies
Green Museums: A Step by Step Guide
Intended Audience
Museums
- Groundwork Derby & Derbyshire’s Green Museums programme initiated and funded by Museums, Libraries and Archives East Midlands, and Renaissance East Midlands.
“Whoever said “it’s not easy being green” (and I think it was Kermit the Frog) was not entirely right. Being green is not that difficult in itself. Actually, it can be surprisingly easy to make a difference (and surprisingly cheap), but sometimes we just need a helping hand to work out where to begin, or where to go next. That’s where this guide comes in. It aims to help museums take a close look at their operation and work out the most practical way to become a little (or a lot) greener.
Not being green is no longer an option. The dangers to the planet are well documented, and there is considerable political pressure to reduce our individual and collective carbon footprint. But aside from that, museums have a particular responsibility in this field. They are, after all, primarily about sustainability, and are unique in having responsibilities to people of the past, present, and future to ensure that collections remain in good shape and accessible for years to come.
Museums shape our view of the world. They help us understand who we are and the world in which we live. They influence how we think and the way in which we behave. They are, therefore, uniquely placed to help change attitudes towards all sorts of contemporary issues. Museums are ideally placed to make a difference.
So take this guide, use it and remember that a greener society really can begin with Green Museums.” (p.4)
Avaiable in
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SDGs LINKAGES
The resource supports several targets in SDGs 6 (Clean water and sanitation); 7 (Affordable and clean energy), 8 (Decent work and economic growth), notably 8.9 (Promote beneficial and sustainable tourism); 12 (Responsible consumption and production); 13 (Take urgent climate action); and 17.14. Education for sustainable development (4.7, 12.8, 13.3) is mentioned.
Click on the SDG Target to discover Our Collections Matter indicators
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Numbers of people in each type of programme drawing on collections from different demographic groups.
- Increases in numbers of people in each type of programme from different demographic groups.
- Proportion of people involved in such programmes in relation to overall audience size.
- Evidence that learners have acquired knowledge and skills to promote sustainable development.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Amount of pollutants, and reduction in pollutants, to water systems.
- Plans in place for the identification, reduction, replacement and recycling of hazardous chemical and materials, to prevent their release into water systems, with plans to eliminate their use as soon as possible.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Reductions in water use, increase in water recycling, preventing water shortages in vicinity.
- Information on, programmes relating to, and partnerships relating to water use drawing on collections and collections-based institutions in place, to support efficient use of water.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Proportion of energy that comes from renewable sources.
- Date to achieve net zero, and milestones towards that date.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Reduction in energy use.
- Upgrade of old equipment to more efficient equipment.
- Uptake of renewable sources of energy.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Plans in place to increase resource efficiency, reduce consumption, and to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Numbers of jobs created or supported that relate to sustainable tourism drawing on local products (e.g. craft producers).
- Develop and implement plans to reduce and remove negative impacts of tourism.
- Numbers of activities and/or products drawing on local culture.
- Value to artisans and source communities of activities and products drawing on local culture.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Number and proportion of collections facilities that make efficient use of resources, with an ongoing drive for efficiencies and reductions in energy use and waste of all forms.
- Number and proportion of collections facilities that use clean and environmentally sound technologies, including climate-friendly energy sources and materials, with an ongoing commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste of all forms.
- Number and proportion of collections facilities that adopt and/or prioritise collections-related processes and practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste of all forms.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Total expenditure (public and private) per capita spent on the preservation, protection and conservation of all cultural and natural heritage, by type of heritage.
- Plans, policies and procedures in place for the safe use of collections for a variety of purposes, protecting and safeguarding both collections and those who use them.
- Plans, policies and procedures in place for the identification, safeguarding and protection of cultural and natural heritage at risk.
- Collecting programmes in place to protect, safeguard and make use of cultural and natural heritage, addressing the needs of communities and stakeholders, and ensuring that collections can be an effective resource for sustainable development.
- Number and diversity of educational, awareness-raising, research programmes, and partnerships that aim to strengthen protection of cultural and natural heritage.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Reduction of material footprint in terms of reductions in consumption of biomass, fossil fuels, metal ores and non-metal ores.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Quantities, and reduction in quantities, of food waste, both in terms of waste going for treatment, and waste going to landfill or being otherwise discarded into the environment.
- Policies and plans in place to reduce and eliminate food waste as soon as possible.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Quantities, and reduction in quantities, of chemicals of all kinds, including chemicals used in maintenance of collections facilities, and chemicals used in care and preparation of collections, and all wastes throughout their life cycle, reducing release to air, water and soil.
- Plans in place to eliminate the use and release of hazardous chemicals and harmful wastes of all kinds into the natural environment as soon as possible.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Quantity and reductions in quantity of waste of all kinds, including avoidance/prevention of waste production, reuse, and recycling. Quantity of material recycled in comparison with quantity sent to landfill. Increases in recycling rate in comparison with landfill.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Clear visions, strategies and plans in place for all aspects of sustainability – environmental, social and economic (people, planet, prosperity)- across all areas of activity.
- Visions, strategies and plans relating to sustainability to be publicly available and incorporated into planning documents.
- Commitments to be in line with local, regional, national and/or international targets and ambitions.
- Incorporation of sustainability into reporting for funders and other stakeholders, including the public. Reporting to include commitments and progress towards targets.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Incorporation of sustainability considerations into procurement, in terms of advertisement and invitation to tender, contracts, and selection criteria for suppliers.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development (including climate change education) are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment.
- Extent to which global citizenship education and education for sustainable development (including climate change education) are mainstreamed in formal, informal and non-formal education programmes and activities drawing on and related to collections.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Plans in place to enhance positive contributions to addressing climate change through use of collections. Plans in place to ensure collections, collections institutions and broader society can adapt effectively to climate change.
- Plans in place for effective education and awareness raising on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
- Plans in place to reduce negative contributions of collections-related functions, e.g. measuring greenhouse emissions with plans and targets in place to reduce them.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Number of collections-related programmes, for example research and education, that aim to reduce marine pollution.
- Quantity, and reduction, of waste of all sorts, with plans in place to eliminate waste of all sorts as soon as possible.
- Quantity, and reduction, of plastic waste, with plans in place to eliminate the production and release of plastic waste as soon as possible.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Proportion of policies that incorporate sustainable development considerations, linking to SDGs and targets.
- Incorporation of policy considerations from outside the collections sector into policies of collections-based institutions, to facilitate partnerships and effectiveness.