Winner

The University of Queensland Art Museum

Carbon Neutral Certification for the “Oceanic Thinking” exhibition

In February 2022, The University of Queensland Art Museum received Climate Active carbon neutral certification for the exhibition Oceanic Thinking. Climate Active is Australia’s certifying body operated by the Australian Government to provide a rigorous and consistent measure for carbon neutrality. UQ Art Museum’s team aimed to receive official certification so that they could model best practice and demonstrate their commitment to sustainability to their audiences, the university community and to the wider museum and gallery sector.

The process to become carbon neutral certified involved assessing the carbon footprint of the organisation or activity being undertaken, including gathering and counting emissions from a range of activities. They weighed rubbish, counted electricity use for everything from air conditioning to the water fountain at the front of the Art Museum and, in their case, also chose to include optional factors such as freight chains related to artwork shipping and the carbon footprint of their visitors.

Once the data had been collated and their carbon footprint calculated, they looked at how they might remove or reduce this. Any emissions that couldn’t be removed or reduced were offset through the purchase of carbon offsets and using UQ’s carbon credits.

To their credit, UQ Art Museum is the first Queensland-based museum or gallery to have an officially certified carbon neutral exhibition.

Going through the certification process has informed the Art Museum’s strategic planning in areas including sustainability, exhibition development and design. Significantly, they are developing plans to formally share what they have learned with colleagues in the sector, including an educational program on achieving carbon neutrality for regional institutions.