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
SDGs
- Publication/report
- Toolkit/framework/roadmap
- Sign-post to other resource (database)
- Case studies
A Sustainable Development Guide for Canada’s Museums
- Canadian Museums Association
2006
“This guide gives a basic explanation of sustainable development (SD). Its main goal is to help museums develop and implement SD policies and practices. According to the Brundtland Report: Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: • the concept of ‘needs,’ in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and • the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.”
Avaiable in
- English
- French
Actions
SDGs LINKAGES
The resource is primarily focussed on environmental sustainability. Implementing the resource links with many SDGs and SDG targets.
Overall, the resource is most closely linked with SDG 12.6 (adopting sustainable practices).
Chapter 1 relates to SDGs 12.6 and 17.14 (policy coherence for sustainable development).
Chapter 2 relates to SDGs 8.8 (on a healthy, secure workplace) and SDG 4.4 (staff training).
Chapters 3, 4 and 5 relate to SDGs 12.2 (sustainable use of natural resources), 12.4 (managing chemicals and chemical waste), 12.5 (reducing waste generation and increasing reuse and recycling), 6.3 (reducing pollution of water), 11.6 (addressing air pollution), 8.4 (resource efficiency) and 14.1 (preventing marine pollution), many of which contribute to climate action (SDG 13.3). Chapter 5 also relates to the learning environment (SDG 4.A), and the uptake of digital technologies (SDG 9.C). Chapter 6 also relates to SDG 12.3 (reducing food waste). Chapter 7 relates to sustainable procurement (SDG 12.7). Chapters 8 and 9 also relate to SDGs 6.3, 12.4, 12.5 and 14.1 on management of wastes.
Chapter 10 relates to energy and resource use of building, the subjects of SDGs 7.2 (green energy use), 7.3 (energy efficiency), 6.4 (water efficiency), 9.1 and 9.4 (develop and upgrade infrastructure), 13.3 (climate action), and providing inclusive green spaces (SDG 11.7).
Chapter 11 relates to green transport (part of SDGs 7.2, 7.3, 9.1, 11.2, and 13.3).
Chapter 12 relates to funding, which forms part of SDGs 16.6 (effective, accountable and transparent institutions) and 17.17 (multistakeholder partnerships).
Chapter 13 is concerned with communicating institutions’ sustainable practices, which contributes to SDGs 12.6 (sustainable practices and reporting), 16.6 (effective, accountable and transparent institutions) and 16.10 (access to information). Education programmes on sustainability contributes to SDGs 4.7 (Education for Sustainable
Development), 12.8 (information for lifestyles in harmony with nature) and 13.3 (climate change education).
Chapter 14 is concerned with using recognized standards, so supports SDGs 12.6 (sustainable practices and reporting), 16.6 (effective, accountable and transparent institutions) and 16.10 (access to information).
Click on the SDG Target to discover Our Collections Matter indicators
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Number of young people and adults in skills-development activities and programmes drawing on collections, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.
- Increase in number of young people and adults in such programmes.
- Number and proportion of staff who have received training in the last year, to better support their contribution to the SDGs.
- Programs and processes in place to ensure the availability of a skilled workforce.
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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:
- Number and proportion of education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive.
- Proportion of education facilities that provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.
- Number and type of initiatives to improve effectiveness of learning environments.
- Support given to other education facilities to make them more inclusive and effective.
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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:
- Number and proportions of staff working with collections in safe and secure working environments.
- Number of accidents and other health and safety incidents reported.
- Training and support provided for staff to ensure their wellbeing, health and safety.
- Education, awareness-raising and partnership programmes drawing on collections that address labour rights, notably those of migrant workers and others in precarious employment.
- Reduction of numbers and proportions of staff on short-term or zero-hours contracts.
- Fair pay policies and procedures in place to prevent exploitation.
- Procurement policies that ensure that collecting institutions make use of people who are in decent employment, and that avoid exploitation throughout the supply chain.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Development of research-useful collections to support reliable, sustainable and resilient use by researchers and others.
- Number and proportion of collections facilities and stores that support economic development and human well-being.
- Number and proportion of collections facilities and stores that provide affordable and equitable access for all.
- Investment in collections facilities.
- Inclusion of collections information in regional and transborder initiatives, notably via digital access for discoverability.
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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:
- Number of collections facilities that provide access to ICT.
- Number of collections facilities that use digital programmes to connect people with heritage and sustainable development agendas.
- Number of programmes that support access to the Internet in least developed countries.
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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:
- Numbers of people accessing collecting institutions from different demographic groups, notably women, children, older people and persons with disabilities.
- Increases in numbers of people accessing collecting institutions from different demographic groups.
- Measures taken to remove barriers to access green and public spaces.
- Extent of green space provided by collections institutions.
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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 the population [audience/users/non-users] satisfied with their last experience of public services.
- Access to information, and accountability policies and mechanisms, in place.
- Effective institutional arrangements, both for own working and for working in partnership with other sectors, in place.
- Plans and arrangements in place for extraordinary circumstances such as natural and human-caused disasters.
- Effective arrangements in place to fulfil legal and social obligations and responsibilities.
- Effective arrangements in place for transparent communication and reporting of institutional performance.
- Effective arrangements in place for transparent decision-making and accountability.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information.
- Plans in place, and plans implemented to enhance public access to information relating to collections.
- Plans in place, and plans implemented to support fundamental freedoms, in line with human rights, national and international agreements and legislation.
- Plans and procedures in place for public access to information relating to the operation and management of collections-based institutions.
- Complaint mechanism in place for public to use where public access to information and fundamental freedoms not supported or fulfilled.
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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.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Amount of United States dollars committed to public-private and civil society partnerships.
- Number and/or increase in number, and diversity of local, national and regional multi-stakeholder (public, public-private and civil society) partnerships that address the SDGs drawing on collections, or that otherwise involve collections-based organisations and institutions.
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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.