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
A How-To: Conduct an Environmental Audit in Your Library
Intended Audience
Librarians and library managers, building managers
- J. Norton, OLA Quarterly
“In the past year or so, I have been mulling over requesting permission from the library managers at Oregon Health and Science University to conduct an environmental audit of our buildings and practices. So, when asked if I would write an article for this issue, I jumped at the chance to get serious about the idea and to delve deeper into the logistics of an audit. What I found boggled my mind. There are so many approaches and issues to consider, from small audits focused on specific topics to full-scale audits that consider every aspect from a systems point of view. The variety of audits can be overwhelming, but there is likely at least one type of audit that will fit your library.”
Avaiable in
- English
5Ps
SDGs LINKAGES
The resource is most closely linked to SDG 12.6 (adopt sustainable practices and reporting), which helps support a number of targets around the sustainable use of natural resources (SDG 12.2), as well as promoting efficient use of water (SDG 6.4), adopting green energy (SDG 7.2), energy efficiency (SDG 7.3), upgrading infrastructure (SDG 9.4), promoting sustainable travel (SDG 11.2), and supporting climate action (13.3), all of which can reduce the environmental impact of cities (SDG 11.6).
Click on the SDG Target to discover Our Collections Matter indicators
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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:
- 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:
- Plans in place to reduce negative impacts on air quality, and volume and forms of waste.
- Plans in place to eliminate waste of all forms as soon as possible.
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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:
- 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:
- 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:
- Plans in place to ensure safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, in terms of accessing collections-based institutions.
- Plans in place to use collections-based institutions to provide education and awareness of public transport systems and their development.
- Special attention to those in vulnerable situations, including women, children, disabled and older people, taken in plans regarding public tansport.