This is the third in our ‘Thinking about environmental sustainability’ blog series and focuses on adaptation. 

Applicants to Creative Scotland’s Multi-Year Funding stream may find this blog useful for shaping responses to: How will you manage the impact of the climate emergency on your organisation to ensure long-term business sustainability?

For individual and shorter project fund applications it is also important to consider whether there are climate-related risks that could affect your ability to deliver your project, such as travel disruption, and think through how you could manage these risks.

Read blog #1 – introduction to the series.

Read blog #2 – on mitigation.

In this blog:

• Climate change adaptation
• Local matters
• Risk
• Opportunities
• Preparing for the future

Climate change adaptation

Often when we first think about responding to climate change we think about how to reduce our emissions and wider environmental impact (mitigation) but over the past few years global climate statistics from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) as well as tangible recent weather events in the UK and abroad have driven home the fact that our climate is already changing, and we must adjust in response. The adjustments we need to make are what is generally known as adaptation.

The UN defines climate change adaptation as ‘adjustments in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities‘. In the arts, screen and creative industries this means ensuring that our buildings are physically equipped to deal with the weather and protected against risks of flooding, and thinking through our activities to understand where climate-related problems might arise so we can plan to reduce the risk. We can expect weather in Scotland to get warmer, wetter and wilder so buildings need to be able to withstand both hotter and colder temperatures as well as faster changes in weather – all the while without consuming more fossil fuels. We also need to look beyond physical risks to the opportunities that different weather patterns might provide, and build strong relationships with the communities we work in and with.

From 2018 to 2021, Creative Carbon Scotland led a Creative Europe project – Cultural Adaptations – working with cultural and adaptation partners in Glasgow, Ghent, Gothenburg and Dublin. It resulted in two useful toolkits: Adapting our Culture is for cultural organisations wanting to develop an adaptation plan, whilst our Embedded Artist projects for adaptation toolkit helps develop projects that involve artists in work with non-cultural organisations working on adaptation.

Creative Scotland is required by law to contribute to the Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme (SCCAP2 is the current version). Although few cultural organisations that we know of currently have a climate adaptation plan, Creative Scotland’s guidance for applicants on their Environmental Sustainability criterion for all funding programmes states: ‘Sector organisations should include climate risks and plans to mitigate those risks in corporate and major project risk registers and work towards the development of a climate adaptation plan if this is not yet in place [our emphasis]. This will help to minimise risks that staff, artists and audiences may not be able to attend activity or events being cancelled due to weather events.’

Local matters

Unlike mitigation, adaptation is something that will be different for each organisation: it is local and depends on very individual circumstances. Local authorities will have information about other local adaptation efforts and will know the changes expected in their area. Working with local communities and environmental groups will therefore be helpful to gain local knowledge and keep abreast of what’s going on in your area. If you’re looking for ways to connect in your local area you might like to find your nearest Climate Beacon, come along to one of our SPRINGBOARD local assemblies, or get in touch to organise one.

Risk

Creative Scotland now asks applicants to its main funding streams questions about their plans to respond to the impacts of climate change. Partly this is about risk, and this could apply to applications for longer-term support such as Multi-Year Funding or those for short-term, one-off projects. Questions an organisation could consider are:

Buildings

• Is your building (or land) at risk of flooding from rivers or sea level rise?
• Is your building at risk from heavy rain, snow or high winds?
• Is your building at risk of being unusable in very cold or very warm temperatures?

Events

• Could severe weather events (rain, snow, heatwave, cold snap etc) disrupt a performance or touring schedule?
• Could severe weather events hinder staff, artists or audiences from reaching an event or venue?

Supplies and supply chains

• Are your supply chains vulnerable to climate-related risks – either because the goods cannot be produced or because transport routes could become disrupted? Remember that severe weather or climate-related changes a long way away can impact on your activities at home.
• Will you be able to get artworks and goods that you supply to where they are needed on time?

These issues should be addressed in an organisation’s risk register or a project risk assessment with appropriate responses planned. These might be things that can be done in advance – taking out the right insurance, undertaking capital works to improve the building or shifting the timing for a project so that inclement weather is less likely to cause problems. Or, it might involve developing a plan to respond if the problem arises, such as knowing availability of back-up venues or researching where to get temporary equipment.

Opportunities

When it comes to longer-term planning, there might be opportunities to shift schedules or change types of events along with any changes and trends in seasons. Tourist seasons might change with new weather patterns. There might be the opportunity to hold outdoor or indoor events depending on how weather patterns change.

Building strong, cohesive communities is an important part of adaptation policy across the world. Cultural organisations can play a part in bringing communities together, developing narratives for a positive future in a climate-changed world. Cultural buildings can even provide a source of information and, in an emergency, a place of gathering and safety for local communities. Strengthening relationships with communities can increase cultural organisations’ social value and their support in times of decreasing funding.

Preparing for the future

We know that thinking about climate adaptation is a developing area for everyone across the cultural sector. We’ll soon be bringing together interested organisations in peer groups to learn more about adaptation and implement and review tools. Please contact us if you’re interested in learning more about this together. A good starting point might be our guide to adapting to climate change. For a deeper look, other resources include those developed and shared by Adaptation Scotland.

There are also climate justice considerations for adaptation. These will be covered in our blog on 18 October.

The post Thinking about environmental sustainability #3 appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

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NGS are looking to fill the position of Sustainability Officer for 9-12 months.

National Galleries of Scotland have a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Sustainability Officer to join the team. Looking for a confident, personable and adaptable professional with a passion for sustainability. We are particularly keen to hear from you if you’ve work experience in sustainability and environment sector.

You will be responsible for managing and co-ordinating the delivery of the National Galleries of Scotland Environmental Response Plan. This involves delivering the strategy for NGS, co-ordinating colleague engagement to support behaviour change and managing projects to reduce environmental impact and carbon emissions.

Closing date: 6 November 2023

Find out more and apply: https://ngs.ciphr-irecruit.com/Applicants/vacancy/212/Sustainability-Officer

(Top image ID: National Galleries Scotland pink and green geometric logo. [supplied])

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Creative Carbon Scotland is looking for workshop proposals to bring together the arts, culture and climate communities of Edinburgh with local partners to develop relationships that lead to local action addressing the climate emergency. The assembly will be held in early January 2024 (TBC).

Creative Carbon Scotland is working with cultural and climate organisations across Scotland to deliver a series of local assemblies for creative climate action. SPRINGBOARD brings together artists, cultural and sustainability organisations, climate workers, activists, local businesses, third-sector organisations and anyone interested in collaborating to form and support local networks for creative climate action. For our assembly in Edinburgh, we want to support existing networks and projects by bringing in the arts and cultural sector to be a part of local climate action.  

Seeking organisations, artists or local groups to deliver a workshop to facilitate creative climate action between culture and climate  

SPRINGBOARD local assemblies aim to optimise collaboration for creative climate action, building networks to share knowledge and skills that enable culture to play its part in the wider shift to a just and green future for all. 

Thanks to support from the City of Edinburgh Council, we’re seeking up to two partners within Edinburgh to develop a workshop at our SPRINGBOARD local assembly in Edinburgh. The workshop could promote and platform an existing climate project or network, or present new ideas to culture and climate about how they could collaborate to deliver creative climate action. The workshop should be 1 hour and 30 mins for between 30-40 participants.  

We are open to the structure and style of the workshop, with the key aim being bringing culture and climate together to deliver local creative climate action. So if you have a project that could benefit from working with the cultural sector, this is your chance to bring them in! Likewise, if you are an artist who wishes to engage with the climate sector. 

We offer each partner funding of up to £420 that can be used to cover staff time for planning and attending the event as well as materials. We can help to refine workshop ideas. We also offer to provide the venue, general organising and our support around promotion and communication for this work as well as support for connections with climate and cultural partners.  

How to apply

Please provide expressions of interest via attachment to an email to maja.rimer@creativecarbonscotland.com covering the following points by 12pm on 16 November 2023.

• A description of the proposed workshop (200 words maximum).
• How it will benefit your work and help achieve greater collaboration across culture, climate and community for creative climate action in Edinburgh (200 words maximum).
• An overview of your or your  organisation’s existing capacity and knowledge related to creative climate action and what beneficial experience you would bring to this activity (100 words maximum).

Creative Carbon Scotland will review expressions of interest with proposed activities that will achieve the desired impact from applicants with the capacity to deliver. Applicants can expect to hear from us by 21 November.

(Top image ID: Black background with white and yellow text: Creative Carbon Scotland seeks Edinburgh based organisation or practitioner to create workshops for SPRINGBOARD local assembly for creative climate action)

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Passionate about Scottish contemporary craft? Join Craft Scotland’s Board to support the development of an inspiring and creative sector.

In this Board recruitment round, Craft Scotland is seeking three new members to replace those whose terms of office are ending. We are keen to welcome people who can bring fresh perspectives, are passionate about craft, creativity or design, and can help us deliver our ambitions. Board members can be based in Scotland, the UK or internationally.

Additionally in 2023/24, we’re looking to appoint a Vice-Chair and a Chair of the Finance and Renumeration Committee from current and new Board members – if you would be interested in these roles, please let us know.

The Craft Scotland Board is responsible for shaping strategy, monitoring progress and ensuring robust and compliant operation. Together with the Director and senior staff we regularly review the programme, explore the wider landscape and jointly develop new strategy and plans.

Who are we looking for?

We are particularly looking for people with experience and expertise in one or more of the following:

• professional making/designing
• in-depth knowledge of craft practices and media
• curating or producing, particularly of craft/design
• tertiary education in the craft/design sector
• financial management, preferably with formal accountancy qualifications
• entrepreneurial income generation, commercial or trading activity
• fundraising
• addressing issues around equality, diversity and inclusion
• CEO experience at a similar scale of organisation

We would also welcome those with experience in:

• sustainability and tackling the climate emergency
• developing learning, outreach and community engagement
• international networks and impact
• promoting wellbeing, including mental health and resilience
• communications and digital, including developing wider audiences

Closing date and time: Sunday 29 Oct 2023, 11:59pm

Find out more about the opportunity and how to apply.

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In our digital age, technology’s rapid evolution has transformed how we live, work, and communicate. With each passing year, we eagerly anticipate the release of the latest smartphone, laptop, or gaming console. However, this constant desire for the latest electronic gadgets has created a growing problem that often needs to be addressed: electronic waste, or e-waste.

In this guest blog, Olivia Benson from Pure IT Refurbished, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of refurbished IT equipment, delves into the environmental impact of e-waste and explores sustainable solutions like recycling and refurbished desktops to mitigate this pressing issue.

The rise of electronic waste

Electronic devices have become integral to our daily lives. From smartphones and tablets to laptops and televisions, we rely heavily on these devices for various purposes. This increasing dependence on electronics leads to rapidly replacing older devices with newer models, resulting in a staggering amount of e-waste.

E-waste comprises discarded electronic devices like computers, smartphones, printers, etc. There will be over 347 Mt of unrecycled e-waste on Earth in 2023. China, the US and India produce the most e-waste. This growing pile of electronic waste has severe environmental consequences.

The environmental impact of e-waste

The environmental impact of e-waste is a complex and multifaceted issue that demands our attention and concerted efforts. As we continue to embrace technology and innovation, we must also consider the consequences of our digital lifestyles. E-waste is more than just a growing pile of discarded gadgets; it directly threatens our environment, health and future.

• Toxic chemicals – Many electronic devices contain chemicals like lead, mercury, cadmium and brominated flame retardants. When e-waste is improperly disposed of in landfills, these toxins can leach into the soil and water, posing significant health risks to humans and wildlife.
• Energy consumption – The production of electronic devices is energy intensive. Manufacturing new gadgets consumes vast resources and energy, contributing to carbon emissions and depleting natural resources.
• Resource depletion – Electronic production requires valuable resources such as rare metals, minerals and fossil fuels. The extraction of these resources contributes to habitat destruction and ecosystem disruption.
• Economic loss – The improper disposal of e-waste results in a significant economic loss. Valuable materials that could be recycled or reused are often discarded, representing a missed opportunity for economic growth and job creation.

Recycling e-waste: A sustainable solution

To combat the environmental impact of e-waste, recycling is a crucial solution. Proper e-waste recycling can help reduce the burden on landfills, minimize the release of toxic substances and recover valuable materials for reuse. Here’s how recycling can make a difference:

• Resource recovery – Recycling e-waste allows for extracting and reusing valuable materials like gold, silver, copper and rare metals. This reduces the need for mining and conserves natural resources.
• Energy savings – Recycling electronic devices requires less energy than manufacturing new ones. This helps lower carbon emissions and reduces the environmental footprint of the electronics industry.
• Toxic waste reduction – Recycling e-waste in specialised facilities can safely extract and dispose of hazardous materials, preventing them from contaminating the environment.
• Economic benefits – E-waste recycling creates job opportunities and stimulates the growth of a circular economy. It encourages businesses to invest in sustainable practices, benefiting the environment and the economy.

Promoting environmental sustainability

To tackle the growing e-waste problem effectively, individuals, businesses and governments must work together to promote environmental sustainability. Here are some steps we can take:

• Consumer awareness – Educate consumers about the environmental impact of e-waste and the benefits of recycling. Encourage responsible consumption and the use of electronic devices for their entire lifespan.
• Product design – Manufacturers should prioritize designing products with longevity and recyclability in mind. Modular components and easy repairability can extend the lifespan of electronic devices.
• Legislation and regulation – Governments should implement and enforce e-waste recycling laws and regulations to ensure responsible disposal and recycling practices.
• Promote refurbished electronics – Consider purchasing refurbished electronics, which are often as good as new and contribute to reducing e-waste. Refurbished desktops, laptops, and smartphones are cost-effective and eco-friendly choices. These devices are pre-owned but undergo rigorous testing, repairs and upgrades to ensure they meet or exceed the original manufacturer’s specifications.

How refurbished electronics contribute to sustainability

Here’s why refurbished electronics play a crucial role in mitigating the e-waste problem:

• Extended lifespan – Refurbishing can extend the useful life of electronic devices, reducing the frequency at which new devices are purchased and old ones are discarded.
• Resource conservation – When you buy a refurbished desktop, you recycle a device by giving it a second chance. This conserves valuable resources and reduces the environmental impact of electronic production.
• Cost savings – Refurbished desktops are often more affordable than new ones, making them an attractive option for budget-conscious consumers while providing high-quality performance.
• Quality assurance – Reputable refurbishment programs thoroughly test and restore desktops to ensure they function optimally. This means you can get a reliable device without compromising on quality.

Conclusion

The environmental impact of e-waste is a pressing issue that demands our immediate attention. As the world embraces technology, the pile of discarded electronic devices grows. However, we can collectively mitigate the environmental consequences of our digital age with responsible consumption, recycling and adopting sustainable electronics like refurbished desktops.

To address the e-waste problem, individuals, businesses and governments must work together. Raising awareness, implementing regulations and supporting recycling initiatives can pave the way toward a more sustainable future where electronic devices enhance our lives without harming the environment. Remember that your consumer choices can have a significant impact, so choose wisely and help us build a greener, more sustainable world.

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Written by Olivia Benson.

(Top image ID: Black and white photo of a small screwdriver sitting on top of a pile of computer e-waste. Image by Sasirin Pamais via Canva.com.)

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This is the second in our ‘Thinking about environmental sustainability’ blog series and focuses on mitigation. It’s a longish read, so settle in and enjoy.

Applicants to Creative Scotland’s Multi-Year Funding stream may find this blog useful for shaping responses to: How do you intend to reduce carbon emissions in line with Scotland’s pathway to net zero? and/or How have you considered your commitments to environmental sustainability in planning your international working?

Read blog #1 – introduction to the series.

In this blog:

• We’re not on track
• The routes to net zero
• Procurement
• Digital emissions
• Technological progress, infrastructure change and long-term plans
• Residual emissions
• Business models
• Other resources

We’re not on track

Creative Scotland’s Climate Emergency and Sustainability Plan sets out the agency’s aim for the arts sector, defined as all relevant funded organisations and individuals, to be on a trajectory to net zero by 2045, in line with Scottish Government targets¹.

We know from our work with organisations undertaking environmental reporting that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction in cultural organisations is possible. A total of 136 organisations report annually on their emissions and have plans for emissions reduction in place. Our environmental reporting framework guides this process of emissions measurement. Our website has an overview of the story so far. Due to actions that have already been taken, RFO emissions have reduced by 40% since 2015/16. But despite this relatively strong progress and great work by many organisations, RFO emissions are 3,500 tonnes higher this year than they were last year, which means they’re back at 2018/19 levels. The upshot of this is definitive: we’re still not on track to reduce emissions to meet the Scottish Government’s targets.

The routes to net zero

Buildings and energy use – approximately 60% of all reported emissions

For most arts organisations that own or manage their building, utilities (gas, electricity, other fuels and water) probably generate the largest proportion of their emissions. It is generally possible to reduce energy and water use, and thus bills, by about 20% through changes in practices (eg switch-off campaigns, reducing high-energy behaviours) and low-cost interventions (eg motion sensors on lighting, thermostatic radiator valves, alterations to toilet flushes, mending dripping taps etc). These actions can be taken by individual organisations and their green teams and you can find out more in our guide to energy.

Achieving the next level of emissions reduction may require more extensive capital works, especially for those organisations working in old and historic buildings. Boards and leadership of organisations that own their buildings can plan for future work. This could include:

• Allocating or sourcing funding to assess the future capital works required so that they can plan effectively
• Planning for potential closure periods to enable the work to be done
• Fundraising
• Strengthening their own knowledge of their building’s construction and the areas where work needs to be done
• Learning about and familiarising themselves with place-based plans in the local area such as Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies
• Developing the skills and capabilities of their staff to work in this area
• Ensuring that the knowledge is recorded to avoid losing it due to staff changes

Glasgow Women’s Library’s Net Zero Handbook provides an excellent practical resource for this work.

Those organisations that lease buildings from third parties such as local authorities will need to work with their landlords.

Travel, transport and freight – approximately 30% of all reported emissions

Emissions from travel and transport are generally the hardest to reduce for arts organisations and artists alike. They tend to be the most erratic part of any organisation’s footprint, varying year on year depending on planned activities and programme, particularly for organisations that don’t run a building. International collaborations often lead to an increase in the use of aviation, which comes with higher emissions. The cost can be a challenge for tight budgets and slower travel can be challenging for organisations working with freelance performers with packed schedules and/or caring responsibilities at home. We know many organisations are taking action and making good efforts but despite this in 2022/23 emissions from flights among reporting organisations increased five-fold compared with 2021/22 and were 8 % higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Organisations that are making good progress in reducing their emissions from travel use a combination of policy and carbon budgets. Policies that will support ongoing emissions reduction could include banning flights within the UK, Europe, or going entirely flight free. Measuring emissions from travel is relatively easy and can be done through claimexpenses (to which Scottish arts organisations get a discounted subscription rate). Organisations can use these figures to set carbon budgets and clear reduction pathways. Since travel often relates to working with other organisations there is also an opportunity to influence other organisations to think about the impact of travel and how to reduce it. For example, working up a budget for a lower carbon alternative even if a higher carbon option is taken – this can help to build knowledge and pressure to change how we budget for and fund travel in the arts.

Audience travel, while not a part of an organisation’s direct carbon footprint, can still account for a significant impact on GHG emissions so we need to carefully consider how we can minimise the impact in that area, maybe through building relationships and awareness among local partners and public transport providers, timing shows to coincide with public transport timetables, and encouraging awareness and use of sustainable travel methods among audiences.

For action on travel take a look at our guide to writing a sustainable travel policy and our guide to measuring your travel.

Waste – approximately 1% of all reported emissions

While waste is the smallest part of the overall emissions from reporting organisations, it’s often very visible to audiences and partners alike and can provide an opportunity to connect with local authorities and communities. Avoiding waste is also the underlying principle of all carbon reduction. The most effective way of reducing waste is to explore how an arts organisation can participate in and support a circular economy. Groups such as the Circular Arts Network, the ARMS Group and Re-Set Scenery have started work in this area.

Procurement

Emissions from procurement aren’t easy to measure (we have just started asking reporting organisations to think about them) but are worth getting an understanding of to evaluate whether the impact of supply chains can be reduced. This can most effectively be done through procurement policy underpinning engagement with suppliers proportional to the amount being spent. Being part of a circular economy minimises procurement emissions as well as those from waste.

Digital emissions

Digital emissions are an even more complex area because the emissions generated are beyond the direct control and, in many cases, influence of organisations aside from carrying out good digital housekeeping. Globally, emissions from ICT total about 3% of emissions overall but this is projected to rise to 15% by 2040 as other elements of infrastructure change and our use of digital technologies increases. Start with our guide to your digital footprint and figure out your first steps with our guest blog by Glasgow-based digital carbon company, Neuto.

Technological progress, infrastructure change and long-term plans

We’ve already seen some emissions-saving technologies become available and/or being more widely used, eg electric vehicles and on-site renewables (three Scottish cultural organisations have taken this step). Organisations with scope to consider and introduce newer technologies can plan their implementation into their activities, acknowledging any risks. It’s worth remembering that new and improved technologies will become available and companies should research and build these into their longer term plans.

Another factor in emissions reduction so far has been changes to infrastructure beyond our control, which we can expect to continue and can work together to support. For example, as more renewable energy has been brought onto the wider UK grid, we’ve seen a reduction in the carbon intensity of electricity. This means that in 2015 using 1kWH of electricity resulted in 0.46kgCO2e whereas in 2023 using 1kWH of electricity results in 0.21kgCO2e, a reduction in carbon intensity of more than 50%. Greener public transport infrastructure has also become more available. Transport Scotland aims to decarbonise Scotland’s railways by 2035 and scheduled flights within Scotland by 2040. Similarly improved technologies will enable more buildings to be decarbonised more easily as time goes by.

Organisations can work together to influence the wider changes that need to happen. For example, groups such as the Scottish Classical Sustainability Group have made good progress with their report on train travel, and the ARMS Group.

Organisations should research relevant changes and build these into their net-zero trajectory, whilst not relying on a ‘magic bullet’ some way into the future to enable them to avoid taking short-term actions.

Residual emissions

Many organisations have asked us about what to do about those emissions that they don’t think they can cut out. These are known as ‘residual emissions’ and often people consider ‘offsetting’: buying carbon credits from an organisation that can reduce carbon (eg by replacing carbon-emitting infrastructure or equipment with carbon-free kit) or sequester carbon (very commonly by planting trees). The Scottish Government has created some guidance on this, and Creative Scotland has followed this with its own guidance.

The key message is that organisations should concentrate on reducing their emissions as far as possible before considering offsetting, or even insetting, which is where ‘offsetting’ is undertaken within the wider Scottish public estate. The cost of carbon credits will be incurred every year until the carbon emissions are cut out of the organisation’s activity: better to spend the money on your own reduction effort, which may then reduce costs each year, rather than give it to someone else.

Over the longer term it is likely to be necessary to consider not only how you can do what you do more efficiently and in a lower carbon way, but also what you do to achieve your artistic, social, financial and environmental goals. The most innovative organisations are already considering their business models.

Business models

It is telling that despite widespread support and commitment to greening the sector, our collective emissions have now ‘recovered’ from the COVID-19 pandemic and are drifting upwards again. This is related to real or perceived pressures around what making and sharing cultural work entails. Emerging artists and producers wanting to raise their profiles seek opportunities to travel more widely, venues aim for bigger audiences leading to more energy consumption and higher emissions from audience travel, and theatre companies develop by planning tours further afield leading to higher travel emissions.

To date, success is shaped around economic models that encourage and rely on growth. Unless we can very swiftly find a way to decouple carbon emissions and economic growth, we need to explore different business models with different measures of success, and if we’re serious about achieving our ambitious climate goals then we need to start learning about and testing these now. Boards and company leaders seeking Multi-Year Funding can use the first period of funding to explore these new business models, on their own and with peers and their core funders, to inform and enable them to move towards them gradually rather than being forced into sudden change in the future.

Other resources

• Starting Point
• Environmental reporting (including a carbon management planning tool and a carbon budget calculator)
• Theatre Green Book
• Arts Green Book
• Guide to preventing, reducing and recycling waste

There are also climate justice considerations for mitigation. These will be covered in our blog on 18 October.

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¹ At Scottish Government level, Scotland is committed to a legally binding national target of net zero by 2045 with interim targets of a 75% reduction in emissions against a 1990 baseline by 2030, followed by a 90% reduction by 2040. Multi Year Funding will take organisations funded up to 2028 at the least, getting close to 2030. For those based in places around Scotland that have set more ambitious targets (Inverness and Dumfries and Galloway are aiming for net zero by 2025, Glasgow and Edinburgh by 2030), these targets need further consideration when your organisation is planning its operations and activities.

(Top image ID: Wavy lines in varying shades of green with the text ‘BLOG SERIES: Thinking about environmental sustainability #2’)

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In this new series of six blogs, Creative Carbon Scotland will provide some thinking about ways in which potential applicants can respond to Creative Scotland’s Environmental Sustainability criterion.

All applicants need to meet this criterion (and others) to secure funding. The answers applicants give to the questions will depend on their individual circumstances – if they are an organisation or an individual and, if an organisation, their size, the sort of work they do, the sort of organisation they are etc. Our blogs aim to help you think clearly about the criterion rather than provide any specific recommendations. We have made sure that nothing we say is contradictory to Creative Scotland’s own thinking, but otherwise these are our thoughts and should not be read as suggestions or official guidance from Creative Scotland.

To find out about Creative Scotland’s wider work on the climate emergency, you can read about their Climate Emergency & Sustainability Plan, which we, along with a team of carbon reduction and climate adaptation experts, helped them to write in 2021/22.

Three of our blogs will directly cover the key work areas identified by Creative Scotland in their guidance; two later ones will be relevant to all of the key work areas.

Mitigation

Mitigation is the technical term for carbon reduction or, more correctly, the reduction of greenhouse gases. Scotland’s target of reaching ‘net zero’ by 2045 is set in law and the arts and culture sector, along with the rest of society, will need to change radically to help meet it. Our blog will explore the mitigation strategies, including the question of how to address ‘residual emissions’ ie the emissions that are caused by essential activity that can’t be reduced. ‘Offsetting’ is the best-known approach, but it is problematic and controversial.

This blog about actions towards net zero will be written by our Green Arts Manager, Caro Overy. You may find it useful when you’re answering the questions: How do you intend to reduce carbon emissions in line with Scotland’s pathway to net zero? and/or How have you considered your commitments to environmental sustainability in planning your international working?

Look out for the blog on 4 October. If you can’t wait for the blog, there are many resources about this on our website and Starting Point is a good place to begin.

Climate change adaptation

Although mitigation is what most people think about when they think about climate change, recent weather events in the UK and abroad have driven home the fact that our climate is already changing, and we must adjust in response. Adaptation Scotland has some excellent resources on this topic.

Climate change adaptation is defined by the UN as ‘adjustments in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities‘. For our Creative Europe project Cultural Adaptations we produced two useful toolkits, exploring both how cultural organisations can adapt to the impacts of climate change, and how artists and creative practitioners can contribute to wider adaptation projects.

We hope this blog will be useful if you’re an organisation applying for longer term funding when you’re answering questions like: How will you manage the impact of the climate emergency on your organisation to ensure long-term business sustainability? For individual and shorter project fund applications it is also important to consider whether there are climate-related risks that could affect your ability to deliver your project, such as travel disruption, and think through how you could manage these risks.

This blog, by Green Arts Manager, Caro Overy, and our Director, Ben Twist, will be published on 5 October.

Programming focus

Artists and cultural organisations have an enormous opportunity to use their powerful influence to shift society’s thinking about climate change. They can do this through making or presenting work that directly or indirectly touches on climate change, or framing their work so that climate change themes are brought out. See, for example, this short film that CCS produced for COP26, working with many of the national cultural institutions.

How cultural organisations behave is also important: they can communicate and work with audiences, acting as ‘trusted messengers’, informing them about the climate actions they are taking, and more. Failing to do this makes the problem worse – we are all influenced by the stories and messages we hear whether consciously or not, and putting across ‘high-carbon’ stories, images or behaviours, or even simply continuing as though nothing has changed, reinforces the unsustainable ‘business as usual’ model.

CCS Director Ben Twist and Green Arts Manager Caro Overy will write our blog on how the climate emergency can be considered in both programming and programme delivery. It may prove useful or bolster your thinking when responding to: How will the climate emergency be considered in your programme and the ways it is delivered? We’ll publish this blog on 11 October.

Climate justice

Climate change exacerbates existing inequalities, both globally, where the poorest countries are most at risk of floods, heatwaves, drought etc, and at home, where poorer and disadvantaged people tend to live in homes that are harder to heat or cool and will be less able to afford the ways to protect themselves or adjust to the changing climate. Younger people and next generations will have to deal with the increasing impacts in the future, and women often have to manage the problems caused by the impacts of climate change today. People most affected by the impact of climate change are the least likely to have caused the greenhouse gas emissions that create the problem. Thus, climate justice requires rapid and robust climate action, which it will necessarily help to shape. Such action needs to be fair and equitable and should counter rather than worsen existing inequalities.

Although Creative Scotland doesn’t ask any specific questions about climate justice, clearly there are many intersections with equalities, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and Creative Scotland’s EDI criterion. This is an important theme: our website has an introduction to climate justice and our culture/SHIFT Manager Lewis Coenen-Rowe’s blog will be published on 18 October.

Collaboration and place-based working

Collaboration and place-based working are not explicitly covered by Creative Scotland’s guidance. There won’t be any specific questions on this topic in the Multi-Year Funding or Open Fund application processes, but successful climate action is something that neither arts and cultural organisations nor public and private bodies can achieve on their own. Scotland’s remote communities, different languages and islands highlight the need for place-based working, leading to an intersection with the EDI criterion. We must all collaborate, both within the arts and cultural sector, and across boundaries with organisations that have different aims and backgrounds.

Meanwhile, building strong and resilient communities is the best way of meeting the challenges of both mitigation and adaptation, and arts organisations and individual practitioners can help. Forward-thinking organisations will find new opportunities for rewarding and innovative work in a different Scottish cultural landscape. Our Climate Beacons project and SPRINGBOARD local assemblies are examples of collaboration, while artists and organisations across Scotland are already leading on place-based working. We’ll publish this blog on 19 October.

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Creative Scotland’s guidance also references ‘a nature positive economy’ and although we won’t write a blog about this, it should be threaded through everyone’s thinking about climate change in their work. By a ‘nature positive economy’ Creative Scotland is linking the financial sustainability of the organisations it supports with their environmental sustainability. Avoiding taking the actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or to adapt to the impacts of climate change will increasingly lead to increased costs as air fares and gas bills rise, and to increased risks as changes in our climate lead to damage to buildings and cancelled events.

Any organisation seeking funding for an extended period needs to demonstrate how it is reviewing its business plan to ensure that it remains both financially and environmentally sustainable in the future. Many features of ‘business as usual’ in the arts and culture are neither environmentally sustainable nor financially sustainable in the longer term: we all need to think hard about what our core objectives are and how they can be achieved. This may well mean doing different things as well as doing the same things more efficiently.

We hope this introduction and the later blogs will be helpful to anyone applying for Creative Scotland funding – and will also help you to strengthen applications to other funders, who are increasingly looking for similar thinking through their support programmes. Ideally, your thinking about climate change will not be confined to Creative Scotland’s Environmental Sustainability criterion and answers to those questions, but will be threaded through your whole application, informing your responses to Quality and Ambition, Engagement, Equalities, Fair Work and International. Climate change is caused by and is affecting everything we do, and we can’t put it to one side in its own box.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that climate change is only one of several interlinked emergencies that we face. Biodiversity doesn’t feature in Creative Scotland’s criteria, but the Scottish Government’s Biodiversity Strategy demonstrates how considering these wider issues in conjunction with work on climate change can contribute to a strong organisational approach and accordingly a convincing funding application.

For applications to the Multi-Year Funding programme particularly, it is important to recognise that this period of funding doesn’t start until 2025 and runs at least until 2028, when the impacts of climate change will be increasingly strongly felt and the Scottish Government targets for carbon reduction will be getting closer. Climate change is showing that our current way of being in society as a whole and our way of working in the cultural sector is unsustainable. We need to imagine a new society and a new ‘good life’: a task that the arts are particularly suited to.

The post Thinking about environmental sustainability #1 appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

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Amplify is a contest designed to celebrate the most impactful works related to environmental themes.

Why focus on the environment?

Our world is ever-changing, prompting numerous questions and discussions about our role within it. From the beauty of nature to the complexities of climate change, we want to explore it all. By recognising and sharing your exceptional work, we hope to not only support you but also foster meaningful conversations about the environment.

Why submit your work?

The 25 artists who make it to the shortlist will have their work reviewed by top industry judges. These judges will then select the top three finalists, including the ultimate winner.

It is free to submit your work, and those on the longlist also stand a chance to be featured on our website.

This contest also serves as a fundraising initiative for our chosen charity, Arts Catalyst, a visual arts organisation and charity based in Sheffield, UK, who are enabling people in South Yorkshire and beyond to engage in creative experiences that increase ecological awareness, encourage positive social action and open up new ways of learning about the world around us:

‘We activate spaces for people to think differently about the world around them using art to explore social and environmental issues, provoke debate, and test out alternative ways of learning. We collaborate with artists, activists and people with different kinds of knowledge to organise creative projects that respond to social and environmental issues. Our programme often takes place within community spaces, unusual sites and outdoors.’

You’ll have your work seen by our industry guest judges:

Laura Clarke – Artistic Director of Arts Catalyst
Polly Bates – Founder of ‘Artists Responding To…’
Clare Dudeney – Associate for Sustainability First
Sinead McCoy – Coastal Communities Manager for Clean Coasts

Prizes

First place

• £1000 cash prize
• An interview included in the magazine ‘Artists Responding To…’
• Homepage feature
• Exclusive interview on our blog + newsletter
• Promotion across our social media channels (combined audience of 72,000+)

Second place

• £250 cash prize

Third place

• £150 cash prize

Public vote award

• £100 Amazon voucher

Who can take part?

This contest is open to anyone who has created work focusing on the environment. We are less concerned with the medium of the work submitted and more interested in its impact. We believe a piece of art, theatre, poetry, sculpture, game and all types of mediums can all sit side by side in making positive change. However, if you have previously won a Zealous opportunity, you are not eligible to apply.

Scoring criteria

Judges will be scoring work on their impact, originality, and story.

Is it free?

Yes! Submitting to Amplify is absolutely free.

How to apply

Apply now!

Each submission you make needs to represent one project or work.

This could be a short film, performance, artwork, script, design, game, etc. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list and is just here to provide ideas of what your submissions could look like.

To give us a good representation of the work, we allow each submission to contain 5 items (a mix of images, videos, music, text…). The first item should be the piece you want to be considered, all other items are optional and should be made up of supporting elements (eg stills, close-ups, synopsis, etc).

Closing date

Monday 23 October 10am

Find out more and apply via Zealous website.

The post Opportunity: Zealous Amplify Environment contest appeared first on Creative Carbon Scotland.

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On 8 August 2023, CCS Director, Ben Twist, spoke at a Climate Co-Lab event hosted by Edinburgh Science – ‘Co-creating a sustainable ecosystem for tourism & cultural events’. This blog is a slightly edited version of his provocation along with some post-event notes.

There’s a risk here that we are fiddling while Rome burns. I’ve been to and spoken at many events over the past 10 years, and to be honest, nothing much has changed. Carbon emissions are increasing. We have wildfires and a life- and crop-threatening heatwave across much of Europe, deadly floods in China, another heatwave in North America, ocean temperatures way above normal and at record levels. We have the risk that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation may break down within my lifetime and that of just about everyone here (we’ll be thinking differently about cultural tourism then!). And summer Arctic sea ice is disappearing fast.

Meanwhile, we have governments in Scotland and the UK – along with all other rich world nations and nearly all opposition parties – still fixated on economic growth. But nobody has yet shown how you can decouple economic growth from a rise in carbon emissions.

Take a moment to look into your hearts, and then raise your hand if you really, really believe that economic growth can be decoupled from growth in carbon emissions.

[Post-event note: about 10% of attendees raised their hands, suggesting that 90% weren’t sure that this decoupling is possible. I found that a very powerful comment on the credibility of a widespread government approach.]

So, to avoid fiddling amongst the flames, we need real change.

Some questions to start.

When we talk about co-creating a sustainable ecosystem for tourism and cultural events, what do we mean by sustainable?

What are we trying to make sustainable? Are we trying to co-create an ecosystem that is itself sustainable in the face of climate change, so it doesn’t get legislated or taxed or priced out of existence? Or are we talking – and I hope we are – about co-creating an ecosystem for tourism and cultural events, which means that the wider environment is sustainable?

Sustainable over what time frame? Are we talking about co-creating an ecosystem that will be sustainable for the foreseeable future – maybe until we all retire and don’t have to worry about it anymore? Or are we saying – and I hope we are – that this ecosystem should result in wider sustainability not just for now, but for our children’s children’s children? At the moment we’re trashing their future.

Sustainable for whom? Are we saying it should be sustainable for the people who come and take part, who earn a living from these industries? For the people of Edinburgh, some of whom never participate? Or are we saying – and I hope we are – that it should be sustainable for the people of sub-Saharan Africa and other affected places, who are paying the price today for every event, every festival, every tourist attraction that isn’t carbon negative, or at least carbon neutral ?

And finally, what kind of sustainability do we mean? Alongside the climate crisis there’s an inequality crisis – one which is partly caused and is certainly exacerbated by the climate crisis. It is local – inequality between communities in Edinburgh, Scotland and the UK – and global – inequalities between nations across the world. Are we trying to co-create a socially as well as an environmentally sustainable ecosystem for tourism and cultural events?

Those are my glass half empty questions. Here are some glass three quarters full thoughts.

There is still hope

First, I don’t think we should despair. Humans have caused more carbon emissions since 1992 – the year of the Rio Summit – than in all the years before that. If you look at the graphs of atmospheric CO2 and global temperatures, the big change took place in the 1980s, when consumption grew rapidly, owing to the falling cost of travel and transport, the ending of constraints on international capital flows and, arguably, the increased use of shipping containers, which were only invented in the 1950s. If we can do so much damage in 30 or 40 years, we can stop doing that damage in the same period – between now and 2050, say. But we’ll have to work just as hard to do so as we did on growing consumption since the 1980s. Really, we need to make good the damage we’ve already done – and by the way, neither offsetting nor carbon capture and storage is a magic bullet.

Complex systems

Second, an ecosystem is a good way to think about this challenge. I’m going to get a bit technical for a moment, so bear with me – I’m reusing some thinking from my PhD here.

An ecosystem is a complex system: an open system consisting of many elements or agents that interact dynamically between themselves and indeed with influences outside the system. These interactions are rich, in that one agent may influence and be influenced by many others. They are non-linear, in that small changes can have large effects or vice versa. My point here is that the ecosystem for tourism and cultural events involves many agents of all sorts: castles, museums and festivals, yes, but also restaurants and hotels, B&Bs, off licences, campsites, bus companies, airlines, train companies, sole traders and corporations, public bodies, local authorities, governments at all scales.

Complex systems have emergent properties – properties of the system as a whole rather than of any one agent or element. And the emergent properties of the current ecosystem for tourism and cultural events are deeply unsustainable practices and outcomes. It’s an ecosystem causing carbon emissions, big-time – through travel, energy use and consumption by producers, audiences and visitors. If we want sustainable emergent properties, we have to change the complex system. And that’s hard.

The thing about complex systems is that no one agent controls them. Some agents have more influence than others, but it requires joint and co-ordinated action to bring about change. We need to work together to create a tipping point – another feature of complex systems – so that radical change happens.

How do we do this? We at Creative Carbon Scotland were involved in a project called Clyde Rebuilt with Glasgow City Region, which was funded by EIT Climate KIC, the EU’s climate innovation hub, and used an approach they have developed. First, you need to understand the complex system – mapping it to grasp who the agents are and how they interact. Then you need to identify where the points of intervention are that might create tipping points. Then you try to do just that, exploring different ways of bringing about change.

But the crucial point is that it requires lots of different agents working together: providers of finance, the people who create the rules such as local and national governments, industry and commercial players, community organisations and civic society, public bodies, the media. And, I suggest, the arts and cultural sector.

It’s not necessary for every agent to be involved in the work to create a tipping point, but you need the relevant and important ones. There’s an interesting book by Simon Sharpe, called Five Times Faster, in which he points out that three jurisdictions effectively shape the regulations for vehicle emissions: California, the EU and China. If you could get the right people from those places to agree radical emissions reduction regulation for road transport, the rest of the world would follow: a tipping point.

But, if one of those groups isn’t pushing in the right direction, there’s a danger that it stalls progress.

Currently, one of the problems we have is that different players are pushing in different directions – and sometimes some of them are pushing in two directions at once. There’s a demand for increased turnover, increased productivity, increased customers, increased audiences – and a demand to reduce emissions.

So, my provocation to you is to ask: Are you pushing in the right direction? Are you working sufficiently hard with others, maybe in completely different fields to your own, to understand your own and others’ place in the ecosystem and to find the points of intervention where you can bring about a step change, a tipping point?

There is perhaps a particular responsibility on those who make the rules – the local and national governments, but also the financiers, the trade bodies, the bigger parties which have more heft – to play their part.

The role of arts and culture

My third glass three-quarters full point is about the role of culture and tourism in this venture. Obviously, they play a big part in Edinburgh’s and indeed Scotland’s and the UK’s economy and character. But I think they’re more important than that. In fact, I think they’re essential.

Changing the ecosystem so that its emergent properties are sustainable doesn’t just mean tweaking it around the edges. We’ve been doing that for the last three decades and it hasn’t worked. It means radical change. I think we need a paradigm shift, where we’re working within a different, shared view of how the world is arranged, how it works.

Thomas Kuhn was the philosopher of science who popularised the term paradigm shift. He argued that science – and I think we can widen this to society as a whole – operates within a paradigm, where everyone agrees on the basic structures and mechanisms and we argue about details within that paradigm, without disagreeing about the overall picture. But there are always anomalous results, things that don’t quite fit. Eventually there are too many of these to ignore, which creates a need to shift to a new paradigm, where everything we knew for certain is still explained, but the problem results, the uncomfortable bits, also make sense.

The bit of Kuhn’s thinking that is often forgotten in the popular use of this theory is that to have a paradigm shift, it’s not enough to know what the problems are with the current system. You also need to have a new paradigm to shift to. And I think one problem now is that we know there are lots of problems with the current paradigm, but we don’t yet have the new one to shift to. That’s one of the reasons no one can think beyond economic growth as the sole measure of success of a society.

Cultural organisations – from festivals to theatres to museums to those who look after castles and everything in between – provide all sorts of opportunities to do thought experiments about different ways of imagining society. Heritage organisations have knowledge about how things were or were done in the past – for good or ill – and what we can learn from that. Theatres, novels, films ask the question: ‘What if…?’ and the characters and the audience explore that idea together.

There’s a researcher at the University of Edinburgh, Alette Willis, who’s also a storyteller. She argues that ‘We live by stories’. The stories we tell ourselves, each other, our children, our colleagues, create who we are and shape the society we live in. Cultural organisations tell stories, in the work they make and present and the way they engage with their audiences. They bring communities together to think about those stories collectively – to interrogate them, to understand them, to improve them. Through those stories, cultural organisations can try out new paradigms – and nobody needs to die in the process. If the paradigm is wrong, we try out another. Artists are quick at dumping bad ideas and trying a different one.

And so my third point is that to create this new paradigm, we must recognise that cultural organisations need to be in the mix.

Takeaways:

• We need change, and radical change.
• We need to co-create an ecosystem for tourism and cultural events that is socially and environmentally sustainable not just for itself, and for the short term, but for the wider environment, for people across the world and for future generations.
• To achieve this we need to work fast and hard.
• We need to understand the complex system, and work together to activate tipping points.
• And culture has a role to play.

[For more thinking about measures of success other than economic growth, you may be interested in the Beyond Growth conference website. Beyond Growth 2023, held online and in person in May, was a cross-party initiative of 20 Members of the European Parliament, offering an opportunity for discussion across institutional boundaries and with European citizens. Videos of many of the sessions are available as is more news and information.

You can also watch a recording of ‘Decolonising the social imaginary degrowth, culture, and new narratives of the good life’, Dr Halliki Kreinin’s keynote from SPRINGBOARD 2023.

In Scotland, both the Wellbeing Alliance Scotland and Enough! provide useful resources, information and opportunities.]

(Top image ID: A visual depiction of crossroads. The left side of the road is black and white and the sign reads ‘Economic growth’. The right side of the road is bright and the sign reads ‘Sustainability’.)

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Communities across Glasgow are invited to take part in Creative Climate Futures, a new project to support local climate action over the next two years.

Creative Carbon Scotland is working on Creative Climate Futures with project lead, sustainability charity Sniffer, and partners Community Land Scotland, Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector, the Scottish Communities Climate Action Network and Glasgow City Council. Between now and September 2023 we are inviting community organisations to express interest in taking part in the project.

Find out how to get involved

There are two opportunities for community organisations to take part:

• As one of two “pioneer” neighbourhoods. From Autumn 2023, the project partners will work with community organisations and embedded artists in two Glasgow neighbourhoods. Community organisations in these neighbourhoods will be offered support from the project partners, alongside funding of up to £80,000 to support staff and project costs, to co-design climate ready futures, and identify and act on local priorities.
• Through a city-wide learning, training and capacity sharing programme, starting in 2024. The programme will support community organisations across the city to act on their local priorities.
  This project will prioritise working with communities in Glasgow that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Find the places that we are particularly keen to work with.

To find out more and get your questions answered, register now to come and meet us at one of the following introductory mixer events:

• 12:00 – 13:30, Wednesday 23 August, in-person at GCVS, 44 Ashley Street, Glasgow G3 6DS
• 17:30 – 18:30, Thursday 24 August, online
• 11:30 – 12:30, Friday 25 August, online

About the project

Glasgow is already feeling the impacts of climate change. This includes milder, wetter winters, more summer heatwaves, and more frequent, heavier downpours. We need to build resilience to these impacts and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to climate change. This means our neighbourhoods will need to look and feel very different if they are to flourish in the future.

Change will need to be collaborative, with communities having an equal seat at the table and given real power to drive forward the changes they know are needed. Through Creative Climate Futures, communities across Glasgow will be invited to collaborate with decision-makers, technical experts and artists to understand what climate change means for their neighbourhoods, imagine climate ready futures, and speed up local action to make these a reality.

The project will have climate justice at its centre – recognising that our response to climate change must also tackle inequality and its underlying causes. Creative Climate Futures will combine this approach with arts and creativity to help Glasgow neighbourhoods drive action to create the futures they want.

Stay up to date

• Sign up to the Creative Climate Futures mailing list
• Contact the project team at CreativeClimateFutures@sniffer.org.uk

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Creative Climate Futures is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The funding has been awarded through Glasgow City Council’s Communities and Place Fund.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.

(Top image ID: Former City of Glasgow College with its window facade covered in pink with white text sporting the city’s logo: ‘People Make Glasgow’. © Glasgow City Council. Used with permission.)

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