The Contemporary Art Society Green Team is committed to creating a meaningful Framework for sustainability that can be actioned and evaluated on a regular basis.
This policy forms the spine for our Climate Protection & Sustainability actions across Contemporary Art Society. It has been developed after an 18-month period of discussion, reflection and auditing, which was carried out by a cross-departmental Green Team investigating ways and means of mitigating our carbon footprint and acting as advocates for positive change within our sphere of influence.
Built into this policy is the need for collaboration and learning: internally, from one another; and externally, from other arts and culture organisations. We as an organisation are committed to attaining a carbon-neutral position. CAS joined the Gallery Climate Coalition in 2023 to further support the missions and goals of the broader cultural landscape and is an Active Member having completed a Carbon Audit, established and maintained a Green Team and published an Environmental Responsibility Statement, which are all revisited on an annual basis to maintain our membership.
This policy is reviewed on a quarterly basis shared with the CAS Board of Trustees and Arts Council England as part of our reporting processes. Our first annual Climate Protection and Sustainability report will be issued in the second quarter of 2024.
Our Work
CAS is working towards a 50% reduction in carbon emissions across the organisation by 2030. Our work to achieve this reduction is reflected in different activities across our organisation, whilst acknowledging the Contemporary Art Society’s position as an influential advocate for our museum members and consultancy clients.
These activities include:
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Assessing our funders and supporters to ensure they align with our objectives;
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Monthly deletion of emails to reduce carbon footprint;
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Logging and tracking of all work-related travel – advocating for carbon-light options at all times;
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Shutting down office climate controls every week (Thursday pm -Monday am)
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Advocating for carbon-light and seasonal catering across CAS-related events
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We provide green messaging across our networks, including environmentally-friendly ways for our Patrons to travel to events
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We log and monitor staff travel, encouraging train travel over flying where feasible
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If flying is necessary, we endeavour to follow GCC’s 10 steps to lessen travel impact
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We attend idea-sharing events to keep abreast of sector-specific sustainability best practice
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Office supplies and suppliers are assessed against green credentials as well as financial costs
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Discussion with our software support team about streamlined and carbon-light data storage
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Annual Acquisitions and Consultancy book has been altered – we now print 50% less copies and feature the book on our website in ISSU format
CAS is an active member of the gallery climate coalition (GCC). You can explore some of the useful resources provided by GCC below.
GCC Artist Toolkit Resources
The GCC Artist Toolkit brings together practical ideas, actions and resources to support artists in addressing the climate crisis.
The Green Team
About
