Many arts and cultural organisations report that they generate financial benefits as a direct result of environmental initiatives. For example, in the last six years, organisations in the UK saved £16.5 million in energy costs.38

These figures only scratch the surface. Organisations can demonstrate significant benefits by embedding environmental sustainability into their business practice. These include improving staff engagement and motivation, encouraging more consistent building management and enhancing reputation in the eyes of audiences and stakeholders.

‘’Carbon literacy across a rich cultural community can yield so much more than carbon reductions’’39. 

Starting from the basics – carbon footprints – this deceptively simple policy is demonstrating how a sustainable cultural sector might actually work; inspiring deeper exploration and connections between climate and social justice, investment and innovation, clean energy and new materials, empathy and biodiversity. Some may argue that focusing on impacts is missing the point, that environmental action across the arts is best served by focusing on artists and content. This is a misconception: we need both.40

Inevitably, action is changing the way the creative sector goes about its business. New priorities, practices, skills and investment are kick-starting a new creative ecology, which is generating jobs and driving demand for greener products and services. New skills, roles and knowledge are supporting clean technologies, sustainable goods and services, waste solutions and the emergent circular economy.41

38 “Environmental Change,” Chartered Institute of Fundraising - Environmental change, accessed 9 December, 2022, https://ciof.org.uk/events-and-training/resources/environmental-change 

39 “Just Launched: Sustaining Great Art and Culture 2017/18,” ROCK, accessed 9 December 2022, https://rockproject.eu/news-details/97

40 Sustaining Great Art and Culture, 2021.

41 Arts Council England, ‘Sustaining Great Art and Culture - Environmental Report 2017/18’, November 2018, https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/download-file/Sustaining%20Great%20Art%20and%20Culture%202017_18.pdf