CCB Magazine

The Culture4Climate initiative aims to advance climate and sustainability goals in the cultural sector - funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment. What distinguishes it from the many other initiatives and projects currently underway? We talked about this with Ralf Weiß.
 

INTERVIEW   Boris Messing

CCB Magazine: Hello Ralf, you are on the board of the 2N2K network Sustainability in Arts and Culture and coordinate the Culture4Climate initiative. Please tell us briefly who you are and what did you do before the project?

Ralf Weiß: I'm a cultural scientist and economist and have been working on the topic of sustainability for many years. I have worked with companies in the field of innovation and sustainability for a long time and have also done a lot of research on the topic. To give you an example: In Berlin, with the Borderstep Institute, for which I was working at the time, we oversaw a green startup initiative across Germany for three years. This was about supporting startups that were active in the field of circular economy, renewable energies and the like. In this context, we also developed a green startup monitor.

CCB Magazine:What is the Culture4Climate project about?

Ralf Weiß:As the name suggests, the main focus is on climate engagement in the cultural sector. This applies in particular to cultural institutions of all kinds, libraries, theaters, festivals, museums, sociocultural centers etc. On the one hand, it's about addressing the issue of climate change in terms of content. On the other hand, it's about saving greenhouse gas emissions in the respective cultural institutions. To give you a figure. We have calculated that we could save two million tons of C0₂ in the cultural sector within ten years. This includes classic areas such as buildings, mobility, energy, but also organizational measures. And that's what we want to work on with the cultural players.

CCB Magazine:There is already the Aktionsnetzwerk Nachhaltigkeit (Sustainability Action Network), which deals with the topic of ecology measurements in cultural institutions. What is the difference between you and them?

Ralf Weiß:In fact, there are many more players than just these two projects, and it is a good thing that there are many players. We are in good exchange with the Aktionsnetzwerk Nachhaltigkeit, we complement each other with very different support offers. Culture4Climate is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment and will run for three years, during which we will implement very specific measures. The National Climate Protection Initiative supports innovative climate protection projects, which means that our program modules do not exist in this form before and we go beyond existing approaches and model projects.

Numerous artists and filmmakers have been addressing the issue of climate change for many years. The situation is different when it comes to dealing with one's own C0₂ footprint in the cultural sector, this awareness has only existed for a few years

CCB Magazine:What are these measures? How can you help cultural institutions reduce their greenhouse gas emissions?

Ralf Weiß:We have a toolbox of different measures that complement each other. Basically, we want to support cultural institutions in anchoring the topic of climate protection and sustainability in their respective organizations. To this end, we are introducing a sustainability declaration for cultural institutions. And in this context, we offer a format - so-called Global Goals Labs - to also develop larger measures, where the cooperation of many actors is needed, for example also from the city administration. There is  funding coaching for that as well. Another very important thing is that the cultural sector can contribute to a general cultural change in society by opening up other perspectives.

CCB Magazine:But again, back to the measures. Can you please give an example?

Ralf Weiß:One simple measure is to switch to green electricity. This has enabled the Gropiusbau, for example, to save around 860 tons of C0₂ annually since 2013. We consider such a simple measure to be easily achievable in the majority of cultural institutions.

CCB Magazine:I have to admit, I'm not entirely convinced. A boss of a cultural institution can't come up with the idea of switching to green electricity on his own? Even I have had green electricity in my house for many years. It doesn't take much brains. Do you have another example of a more complex measure?

Ralf Weiß:Often, it's not just a lack of an idea, but rather inhibiting structures or guidelines. To give another example from the field of cultural heritage: So many fossil-fueled vehicles and machines are still used in the maintenance of park landscapes because the alternatives are not yet available.

It takes a variety of actors to support cultural institutions. Three or five or ten actors are not enough. With Culture4Climate, we can contribute to an important dissemination, but we will only cover a partial area

CCB Magazine:The sponsors of your project are the Netzwerk Nachhaltigkeit in Kunst und Kultur, the Kulturpolitische Gesellschaft and the Öko-Institut. Off the top of my head, I could name a few other initiatives and projects that deal with the topic of sustainability and culture. Who is supposed to keep track of them all? Aren't such redundant parallel structures actually detrimental to the cause in the end? Possibly also because the small amount of funding available is given to too many actors?

Ralf Weiß:(grins) That is, of course, a classic journalist's question to get me off the hook here. I'll answer the question like this: Let's take the example of renewable energies and energy efficiency. Across Germany, we probably have about a hundred research institutes working on this complex, plus a four- to five-figure number of funding projects and several thousand companies, and so on and so forth. What I mean to say is that if there are five or ten players in the cultural sector who are dealing with the issue of sustainability in culture, they are still far from covering the large demand. We have to remember that we are talking about over 7,000 museums, 9,000 public and academic libraries, theaters, cinemas, and so on. So here, too, a large number of players are needed to support these cultural institutions. Three or five or ten actors are not enough. With Culture4Climate, we can contribute to an important dissemination here, but we will also only cover a partial area.

CCB Magazine:The climate researcher Joachim Schellnhuber, whom we interviewed for the CCB, has accused the cultural sector as a whole of failing to get off the ground when it comes to sustainability. Do you agree with him? Has the cultural sector jumped on the bandwagon too late? And if so, what was the reason?

Ralf Weiß:I think this requires a more differentiated approach. Numerous artists and filmmakers have been dealing with the topic of climate change for many years. The topics of nature, environmental problems, etc. have often been addressed, especially in the cinematic field or in exhibitions. Twenty years ago, pioneers also initiated the Tutzing Manifesto for a stronger role of culture in the sustainability model. The situation is different when it comes to dealing with one's own C0₂ footprint in the cultural sector; this awareness has only existed for a few years. Schellnhuber is right about that. So what was the problem? For a long time, environmental policy focused on the big emitters in the economy, which is why cultural institutions have remained a bit under the radar. And cultural policy was also relatively late in recognizing the issue. The funding system is also linked to this, because culture is of course particularly dependent on funding.

In terms of climate protection, the cultural sector contributes to a cultural change in society by opening up other perspectives

CCB Magazine:The private sector has so far been the most prominent driver of the energy transition. It provides the technological basis for this and has the greatest reach. Wouldn't it make sense to bring together creative artists and innovative business players?

Ralf Weiß:Yes, we do that, too. Our measures and modules include promoting tandem partnerships between cultural players and companies. Both sides benefit from a transfer of knowledge. Companies often know a lot about environmental and sustainability management; conversely, the cultural sector often shines with its creativity and willingness to experiment.

CCB Magazine:On April 1, Culture4Climate will kick off in Berlin and via livestream. What can the audience expect?

Ralf Weiß:There will be exciting speakers and actors, both from the grassroots movement such as the Orchester des Wandels and from large cultural organizations such as the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. There will be an interesting Berlin roundtable, where the focus will be on the cultural sector and climate neutrality in the capital. We can look forward to Klaus Lederer's keynote. And then there will be another round, where we will discuss with various associations, for example the German Museums Association or the German Orchestra Association. The main focus will be on the question: what is the next step in terms of climate protection and sustainability in the cultural sector.

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