Germany recycles 95% of exhibition waste... Carbon neutrality introduced in building management [Sustainable K-Art]②

Eco-friendly Buildings Evaluated for Energy Saving and Pollution Reduction
German IMEX Sustainability Report Highlights Resource Recycling Best Practices

Tate Modern in London, UK, transformed from a coal smoke-emitting thermal power plant into a contemporary art museum. Opened in 2000, this place was originally the Bankside Power Station, an eyesore abandoned on the banks of the Thames River, built to supply electricity to central London shortly after World War II. After being closed due to pollution issues and left unused for over 20 years, the power plant was reborn as the Tate Modern contemporary art museum through a UK government urban planning project.

The Tate Modern in London, UK, transformed from the Bankside Power Station into a contemporary art museum. In 2019, Tate Modern declared a 'climate emergency' and began its transition to an eco-friendly museum.
[Photo by Tate Modern Museum]

In 2019, Tate Modern declared a 'climate emergency' and announced plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. They attracted global attention in the art world by installing solar panels on the museum building for renewable energy use and establishing recycling measures to minimize waste. The industrial revolution-era power plant that once supplied electricity to London using coal-fired power now makes electricity with solar panels outside the building and collects rainwater to flush toilets, writing a new history as an eco-friendly museum in the carbon-neutral era.

Museums are one of the sectors with high carbon emissions. Hosting exhibitions, which can last from as short as 3-4 days to as long as 1-2 months, requires significant costs for exhibition space design, but once the exhibition ends, the materials immediately become waste. Additionally, carbon emissions arise from the labor and materials used in exhibition construction, as well as the transportation of artworks and artists. Simply put, fossil fuels must be used when transporting people, artworks, and materials by car or airplane. Using fossil fuels is synonymous with carbon dioxide emissions. There have been ongoing calls for the introduction of ESG management in the exhibition industry.

Leaders and governments worldwide, especially public institutions, have begun to face pressure for eco-friendly achievements in connection with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conferences of the Parties. Museums are no exception.

Museums around the world first inspected their buildings. Foreign eco-friendly building certification systems such as the UK's BREEAM, the US's LEED, and Australia's EARTH CHECK evaluate and certify architectural elements that contribute to energy saving and pollution reduction throughout the entire process of design, construction, maintenance, and management. Not all museums can build new buildings. The history of buildings also varies. Remodeling has emerged as a good alternative.

The Royal Academy of Arts in the UK received a BREEAM Outstanding rating by incorporating eco-friendly elements such as solar power during the remodeling of its aging building.
[Photo by Royal Academy of Arts]

The Royal Academy of Arts in the UK prioritized the environment from the building renovation stage during its 2018 school renovation, undergoing remodeling with eco-friendly and sustainability goals and receiving BREEAM Grade 1 certification. To achieve eco-friendly results, the Royal Academy of Arts began recycling materials used in exhibitions. Since 2021, before bidding for exhibition installation, they have checked policies on waste management and recycling with companies. They also reduced waste by about 30% by reusing packaging materials needed for transporting exhibition items.

Around the same time, the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK made headlines by transferring and reusing materials used in exhibitions to its newly opened branch. The museum shared exhibition content in advance with the branch 'Young Victoria and Albert Museum' opened in Bethnal Green, East London, inspected the necessary materials, and immediately dismantled and transferred the materials after the main exhibition ended.

As a model case of concretely designing recycling goals and methodologies from the planning stage, Germany's IMEX, an industrial exhibition event, publishes an annual 'Sustainability Report.'

Sustainability report announced in 2023 by IMEX, the German MICE exhibition.
[Photo by IMEX]

IMEX, the world's largest MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions) exhibition held in Frankfurt, Germany, sets environmental performance goals and specific methodologies from the planning stage and publishes an annual sustainable event report. IMEX summarizes and discloses carbon reduction achievements, becoming a benchmark for others and establishing itself as an advanced case.

For example, in 2023, IMEX recycled or converted 95.5% of all waste into energy. The landfill rate was below 0.5%, and the use of disposable plastic event products was only 5%. Most importantly, the electricity used at the event was 100% renewable energy, which was considered the most significant and concrete achievement of that year's event.

Tom Bowman, a US eco-friendly exhibition consultant, advised, "For environmentally friendly exhibitions, attention should be paid to the eco-friendliness of materials, such as using FSC (Forest Stewardship Council-certified products made from sustainably managed forest resources) wood and carbon-neutral carpets or flooring with high recycled content. Also, using non-VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) paint or eco-friendly adhesives and replacing halogen lighting with LED lighting are eco-friendly efforts that start with training and mark the first step toward sustainable exhibitions."

Tom added, "Minimizing transportation as much as possible, including exhibits, furniture, audiovisual equipment, and lighting, distributing QR codes instead of tickets, and web images instead of brochures to reduce paper waste and save printing costs are also environmentally friendly options."