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
- Case studies
- Video
- Sound recordings
UNESCO Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage: SDG 12
Intended Audience
Heritage practitioners
- UNESCO
“Browse the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Register of good safeguarding practices The Committee meets annually to evaluate nominations proposed by States Parties to the 2003 Convention and decide whether or not to inscribe those cultural practices and expressions of intangible heritage on the Convention’s Lists.
By clicking on the inscribed elements listed below, you can discover the nominations, photos and videos, together with Committee decisions and evidence of community consent.”
Avaiable in
- English
Actions
- Protect and safeguard cultural and natural heritage
- Learning and educational opportunities
- Cultural participation/social inclusion
- Sustainable tourism
- 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 LINKAGES
The resource can help support targets in SDG 12 (12.2-12.8, 12.B), as well as a wide range of targets in other SDGs, including for 1.4 (equal access to basic services), 4.4 (skills for work), 4.7 (Education for Sustainable Development), 6.3 (preventing water pollution), 6.4 (efficient water use), 7.2 (adopting clean energy), 7.3 (energy efficiency), 8.3 (job creation, notably in small businesses), 8.4 (promoting the circular economy), 8.5 (decent work), and 8.9 (sustainable tourism), 9.1 (develop sustainable infrastructure), 9.4 (retrofit existing infrastructure), 11.4 (protect and safeguard cultural and natural heritage), 11.6 (reduce negative impacts on air quality, and volume and forms of waste), 13.3 (climate action), 14.1 (reduce marine pollution), 14.2 (protect marine habitats), 14.7 (sustainable coastal tourism), 15.1 (protect terrestrial and freshwater habitats), 16.10 (public access to information), 16.B (support laws and policies for sustainable development), 17.14 (policy coherence for sustainable development) and 17.16 (international partnerships) and 17.17 (cross-sector partnerships). Individual case studies in the List will relate to particular targets within SDG 12, and may also relate to other SDGs and targets.
Click on the SDG Target to discover Our Collections Matter indicators
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Numbers and proportions of people from particular groups using collections in comparison with demographics in broader society.
- Numbers of people accessing collections.
- Number of targeted programmes that aim to enhance access to collections by disadvantaged groups.
- Sustainable tourism that enhances local communities’ access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property (including cultural and natural heritage), as well as to technology and markets.
- Involvement of people from disadvantaged groups in decision-making activities and processes relating to collections and collections-based institutions.
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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:
- 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:
- Development-oriented policies in place for the range of activities, or development-oriented considerations are included in other policies.
- Number of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises supported.
- Number and proportion of formalised arrangements with micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises.
- Total value of financial services or financial support provided to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.
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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:
- Increase in number of people in full and productive employment relating to collections, through job creation and recruitment.
- Increase in proportion of existing staff working with collections in productive employment.
- Increase in number of men, women, young people and persons with disabilities in development and training programmes drawing on collections that support them in employment.
- Removal of pay disparities by gender and/or other status for those working with collections.
- Policies and plans in place to ensure that all suppliers and others in the supply chain are in decent and productive work.
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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:
- 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:
- 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:
- 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:
- 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:
- Quantitative and qualitative metrics identified, collected and reported for evaluating performance of tourism in terms of social, environmental and economic benefits and impacts for:
-jobs
-promotion of local culture
-local and related products
-positive social and environmental benefits
-reduction of negative impacts of tourism, e.g. climate impacts, negative social and environmental impacts.
- Quantitative and qualitative metrics identified, collected and reported for evaluating performance of tourism in terms of social, environmental and economic benefits and impacts for:
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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 marine and coastal areas in a good ecological condition.
- Numbers of educational and awareness-raising programmes, research activities, and partnerships drawing on collections aiming to support protection of marine and coastal areas.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Number of activities that support sustainable tourism relating to Small Island developing States and least developed countries.
- Economic benefits by value to Small Island Developing States and least developed countries.
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Our Collections Matter indicators:
- Proportion of terrestrial and inland freshwater systems in a good ecological condition.
- Information on, educational programmes, collections development, research and partnerships relating to terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems drawing on collections in place.
- Policies relating to collections and their use aligned with international agreements for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
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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 population [audience/users/non-users] reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law.
- Number and proportion of policies that incorporate sustainable development considerations, in the full sense of recognizing all three of social, economic and environmental considerations.
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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:
- Number and/or increase in number, and diversity of global and international multi-stakeholder partnerships that share collection-related knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources to address the SDGs, or that otherwise involve collections-based organisations and institutions.
- Number and/or increase in number, and diversity of global and international multi-stakeholder partnerships involving developing countries that share collection-related knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources to address the SDGs.
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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.