Art Industry Reducing Its Carbon Footprint

Art Industry Reducing Its Carbon Footprint

Subject – Environment

Context – While several exhibitions in the past have been dedicated to nature and the need to arrest environmental degradation, art establishments now are also looking inward, analysing if the crisis begins at home.

Concept –

• “Waste Age: What Can Design Do” exhibition – looks at the global waste crisis and presents possible solutions through the use of reclaimed and natural material.

What is the exhibition?

• Timed around the UN’s COP26 conference that will take place from October 31 to November 12, the ongoing exhibition comprises more than 300 objects and features works of designers who are rethinking our relationship with everyday things, from the way we dress to what we eat and how we live.

What is an environmental audit?

• According to the University of London website, environmental auditing began in the US in the early 1970s.
• The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental audit as “a systematic, documented, periodic, and objective review of facility operations and practices related to meeting environmental requirements”.

Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) – the group’s aim is to persuade the art industry to reduce its carbon footprint.

The Carbon Calculator, available to its members free of charge, is designed for the art world and allows users to identify the primary reasons for the carbon footprint and take required action. The indicators include factors such as travel and transport arrangements, packaging and printing details.