As thousands of people worldwide declare a climate emergency, we know that urgent action is needed to address the reported unsustainable trajectory towards four degrees of warming. Global goals for 2030 and beyond can only be achieved through transformative change.

climate change

In support the International Institute for Conservation (IIC) has become an endorsing organisation to the Climate Heritage Network (CHN) launching in Edinburgh on the 24th October 2019. IIC is committed to working with our Members, Fellows, Institutions and Regional Communities to show climate leadership and help to tackle climate change.

“We will only overcome these major challenges if we choose to work together as a sector. We are a close community of conservation professionals, but we will not make a difference without harnessing the efforts and involvement of many”.

Sarah Stannage, IIC Executive Director

 As a community, we recognise that many of our members are dealing with the climate emergencies and in response are innovating and pioneering change. As an International Institute we will continue to do all that we can to mobilise support and action, including through our Special Interest Community on Sustainability, which is promoting awareness in the profession and is a space to share our collective experiences, knowledge and solutions.

Our forthcoming IIC Dialogue on the 5 - 6 March 2020 in Washington D.C., as part of the Smithsonian’s Symposium “Stemming the Tide: Global Strategies for Sustaining Cultural Heritage through Climate Change,” will be a critical moment to promote positive changes.

By supporting the CHN we will look to connect to the broader climate change conversations, whether that’s engaging with the scoping work for the European Commission’s goals for  2019-22 European Work Plan for Culture or contributing to the global efforts to reduce and mitigate  Greenhouse Gases (GhG) by helping to address the wider tensions between heritage conservation and climate adaptation goals. You can find our more about CHN here.

In the meantime IIC is taking positive steps to reduce its carbon footprint and will be introducing policies and procedures in line with ISO standards 14001 to help make sure that our operations as an organisation do not negatively impact the environment. Practical steps we have taken so far include working with our publishing partner Taylor and Francis to reduce plastic wrapping and packaging used to send out Studies in Conservation, and by introducing digital livestreaming and webinar access to our events and professional development series in order to reduce travel impacts. IIC will be collaborating with other like minded organisations working to address climate change and we will reporting on and promoting our partnerships in 2020 and beyond. 

These are the critical challenges for our age, please join us in our call for action.