Guggenheim Bilbao unveils its strategic plan for sustainability

On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao presents its sustainability plan: an ambitious plan of innovative measures that aims to reduce carbon emissions, including indirect emissions, on several levels: energy management, exhibition programming, and public programs. It aims to raise awareness and minimize the environmental impact of its operations through sustainable energy solutions and environmentally friendly processes, while promoting an eco-efficiency-oriented business.

In addition to direct emissions, the museum venue calculated indirect carbon emissions in 2019, which totaled 4,313 tons. The method followed for this calculation, called Scope 3, is key to identifying all means of achieving energy efficiency by saving within daily activities. It is the first international museum to take this type of measurement.

It has also calculated carbon emissions related to the transportation of artworks and business travel, which account for one-third of total emissions. Therefore, the museum has consolidated some initiatives and intends to implement new measures to reduce energy and raw material consumption related to the organization of exhibitions, in particular it plans to prioritize the rental of packaging for artworks rather than the manufacture of new cases; share the transportation of artworks with other establishments, avoiding exclusive shipments as much as possible and favoring surveillance by telematic means to avoid the displacement of people; limit the construction of new walls by reusing or adapting exhibition sets; and share reusable museum equipment such as pedestals, plinths, or showcases with other establishments in the region such as Bizkaikoa or Bilbaoarte.

The sustainable development plan is part of the commitments set out in the museum’s Strategic Plan 2021-2023 and aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations’Agenda 2030. As part of this, an interdisciplinary team of people working in different departments of the museum (the Gu-Zero group) was recently created with the goal of informing, raising awareness and engaging staff in this commitment to sustainability, identifying improvements and opportunities, promoting the measures taken in the annual sustainability program and ensuring their follow-up.

The exhibition program for 2022 also includes a series of actions that invite the public to think about environmental issues. For example, the current exhibition Autos, Art, Architecture traces the industrial history of the 20th century and hosts in its concluding section the"Gallery of the Future," a space where sixteen world-renowned universities in the fields of design and architecture address the challenge of future mobility with a focus on sustainable innovation and energy transition. In October, the museum will also host the international conference Water Ecologies with the aim of fostering dialogue and collaboration among artists, scientists and technologists in the global context of climate change and its associated challenges.

In terms of energy efficiency, the museum plans to launch a dynamic lighting project this year that will reopen the skylights and return the third-floor galleries to their original layout by combining sunlight and new LED lighting fixtures. The museum also plans to further reduce its energy consumption by installing photovoltaic panels.

Guggenheim Bilbao unveils its strategic plan for sustainability

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