Sustainable Ability

Mapping the current response to climate change and resource scarcity and  understanding the practical and behavioural barriers preventing greater breadth and depth of response

Resource scarcity, (particularly fuel, food and water), climate change and the industrial growth economy that is causing them are becoming the major challenges of our times, ones which all sectors, industries and communities need to respond to urgently and effectively.

In the last two years or so in the UK arts and cultural sector, there has been an increasing flurry of new activities around climate change. Thus far these have been primarily artist-led initiatives responding through creative practice. More concerted efforts are beginning to emerge where arts and cultural organisations are being encouraged to review the impact of their carbon footprints at an operational level. However, feedback from the sector to MMM is showing that whilst initiatives by funding and independent agencies are emerging in this latter space, the burgeoning set of benchmarking and audit offers is beginning to cause confusion about where to go to access information and support and there is a major risk that lack of ‘joined-up’ thinking and doing will reduce engagement and impact.

In addition, given that the issue of climate change is being prioritised above resource scarcity, organisations need to be persuaded to expand their action to include their wider ‘ecological rucksacks’ and presently, there appears much less of a support framework for organisations around this agenda.

In the light of these concerns, MMM in partnership with ERA21 and through the support of The Paul Hamlyn Foundation conducted research to catalogue initiatives and responses across the ERA21 group, the Arts Councils across the UK and the museums and galleries agencies client base

The SUSTAINABLE ABILITY materials are now all available on a dedicated website.  VISIT NOW.

In this site you will find:

  • A major new report by Hilary Jennings and Lucy Neal OBE on the UK arts and cultural sector’s response to climate change and resource scarcity
  • An interactive google map of the UK initiatives referenced in the report
  • The findings of a related survey of UK creative and cultural professionals
  • Additional resources