The International Council of Museums (ICOM) and the Design Museum in London are suggesting several actions to develop more sustainable exhibitions.
Via an ICOM press release, a 2021 Ipsos MORI poll in the UK showed that respondents rated museum curators as more trusted than the police, judges and the clergy.
As global anxiety rises amid the climate crisis, the poll revealed that museums are in a unique position to inspire climate action while making changes in-house.
Elise Foster Vander Elst, head of exhibitions and environmental impact lead at the Design Museum, wrote for ICOM: “So, what is holding museums back from being more active in this space?
Data, training and allies: what museums can do
“Perhaps we’re afraid of ‘getting it wrong’. Maybe our house isn’t as ‘in order’ as we’d like from an environmental perspective.”
The Design Museum has been working to change the way it develops exhibitions since 2020, Vander Elst added.
Here are nine actions to develop more sustainable exhibitions:
Action 1: use your programme
For example, the Design Museum’s exhibition, Waste Age: What Can Design Do?, in 2021 was transformational as the design and production teams explored new materials for the show, and the learning team developed educational experiences around decarbonising businesses.
Action 2: develop your data
In 2021, the Design Museum built a carbon calculator, ultimately gaining a greater understanding of what made an exhibition carbon heavy. In October 2024, it started working with the Gallery Climate Coalition to develop a new tool for arts and cultural organisations to measure and reduce their carbon emissions.
Action 3: train your staff
Museums can benefit from hiring in-house sustainability specialists, but can also provide sessions and training to staff, and should create a culture where green teams are empowered and environmental efforts celebrated.
Action 4: be clear, be ambitious
Museums can set ambitious goals for collaboration, and ensure that environmental responsibility is a priority in design briefs, tender packs and interview questions.
Action 5: know what you don’t know
Institutions should collaborate with specialists or sector colleagues who can help.
Action 6: embrace existing tools
There are already many resources and tools available, including the ICCROM OCM toolkit and the Rethinking Touring Exhibitions tool developed by the Design Museum, Art Fund and the Exhibitions Group.
Action 7: find allies
Research suggests that for a group of people to embrace change, only 25 percent of that group need to be aligned. Therefore, museums don’t need to persuade everyone in the organisation to make changes.
Action 8: make a plan
This one speaks for itself, but organisations should make a plan and review progress regularly.
Action 9: breathe, it’s a marathon not a sprint
The situation is urgent, but meeting climate goals will take time, Vander Elst said.
