Environmental Sustainability

As an organisation dedicated to making museums better places to visit for children, young people and families, Kids in Museums wants to support and take action in response to the issues that are important to this group. We have decided to declare a climate emergency in support of all of the young people who are concerned about the impact of climate change including those involved in the youth climate strikes in the UK and because climate change will have the most impact on future generations.

In October 2018, the International Panel on Climate Change announced that there are only 12 years to make urgent and unprecedented changes. The way things stand now, we have only 1% chance of doing this, and only a 5% chance global average temperatures can be limited to less than 2° Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels. The impact of this situation can be seen all around us and will affect younger generations the most.

In response, we pledge to work with and support museums, galleries, historic homes and other heritage sites in tackling this Emergency, in particular through the work they do with families and young people and we call on others to do the same.

In response to the Declaration created by Climate Declares Emergency, these are our intentions:

 We will tell the Truth

Governments, and their public broadcasters and cultural agencies, must tell the truth about the Climate and Ecological Emergency, reverse inconsistent policies and communicate the urgency for far-reaching systemic change.

• Kids in Museums will support museums to incorporate the issue of climate change into their programmes for families and young people and where appropriate create new online resources with partners to support museums, galleries and heritage sites to do this.

 We will take Action

Governments must enact legally binding policy measures to reduce emissions to net zero by 2025 and to reduce consumption levels.

• Kids in Museums pledges to work towards reducing our emissions to net zero* by 2025. For the day to day work of our small organisation this means maximising the use of video and phone conferencing, ensuring that public transport is the default choice for business travel, providing at least 50% vegetarian food at all Kids in Museums events, promoting paperless working, encouraging staff to take personal steps to reduce their environmental footprint during the working day (promoting reusable cups etc).

We will challenge policies and actions of local and national governments and their agencies, where we interact with them, that do not help to reduce emissions or consumption levels.

• Kids in Museums will work with our key funders as partners such as Arts Council England to support larger efforts to minimise the environmental impact of the cultural sector.

We will actively work to imagine and model ways that my practice / our organisation can regenerate the planet’s resources.

• Kids in Museums will support museums to work with children, young people and families to create projects that incorporate issues around climate change.

We are committed to Justice

The emergency has arisen from deeply systemic injustices. Arts and Culture can imagine and forge shifts in the ways we relate to one another and the world, in our values and behaviours.

We will do what is possible to enable dialogue and expression amidst our communities about how the Emergency will affect them and the changes that are needed.

• As a Sector Support Organisation, Kids in Museums will participate in conversations in our sector about climate change and try to support museums and heritage sites to work with families, children and young people to discuss this issue.

We will support demands for more democracy within our civic institutions and government.

• Kids in Museums will champion the voices of young people and support museums to enable them to take on decision making roles for example through Youth Panels. We will support this in our own organisation with Young Trustees and a Youth Panel made up of 18-25 year olds.

We believe that all truth-telling, action and democratic work must be underpinned by a commitment to justice based on intersectional principles, led by and for marginalised people.

• Kids in Museums supports a commitment to making museums as open and accessible as possible to all children, families and young people. We champion their voices in museums on the issue of climate change and every other issue.

*Net zero means that on balance one’s activities are zero emissions, taking into account all possible Greenhouse Gas emissions and actions taken to mitigate or offset those emissions.

 

Climate Perks

In January 2024, we signed up to the Climate Perks scheme, organised by climate action charity, Possible. This means our staff are now eligible to claim paid ‘journey days’ on top of their annual leave if they travel by train, coach or boat instead of flying.

Flying less is one of the most powerful actions we can take to cut carbon, however choosing clean travel often takes longer and means sacrificing hard-earned annual leave. By giving employees extra time off if they holiday by coach, train or ferry instead of flying, we hope this empowers them to act on their values and help cut carbon.