Sustainability and Climate Action Community Challenge Programme

International Community Challenge Overview

#IICEditsforClimate

Conservators and cultural heritage professionals inherently care about sustainability - preservation of cultural heritage is linked to preservation of humanity and our planet. We have seen the positive impact we can have as a profession by coming together to engage and discuss with open minds the best routes to tackle the global challenges we face. Now, as we take on one of the biggest  environmental crises of our time,  what are we actually doing to be more sustainable? How can we all engage in the climate agenda?

The Special Interest Community for Sustainability and Climate Action for IIC members is championed by Sarah Stannage, IIC Executive Director and supported by IIC's Environmental Sustainability Associate Editor and Regional Programme Manager, Marina Herriges.

What's Coming Up

'Sustainable Solutions for Conservation: New Strategies for New Times' is the theme of IIC's biennial Congress, hosted online and in-person in Lima, Peru will take plan in September 2024. You can find out more about the Congress here.

 

You can also take part in IIC's new Net Zero pilot initiative - find out more here.

How you can participate and make a difference

"It's more interesting to make change happen than to be swept along by it"  Velson Horie

Details and guidance on registering for the workshops, training webinars and meetings online will be posted below with regular updates on the IIC Community platform. A full programme can be viewed at the bottom of this page.

If you are a conservator or cultural heritage professional making change happen and are willing to share insights regarding sustainability and your most impactful actions, please get in touch with IIC's Associate Editor for Environmental Sustainability and Regional Programme Manager, Marina Herriges. We are looking for blog and article contributors for the IIC Community and News in Conservation  e-magazinePlease contact:  marina.herriges@iiconservation.org

Joint Committment for Climate Action in Cultural Heritage

The Joint Commitment for Climate Action is a global initiative that unites three of the leading international bodies (IIC, ICOM-CC and ICCROM) within the conservation sector for cultural heritage. 

You can find out all about the announcement and watch the launch video here

Resources and Past Programme Activity

Below is an outline of our activities from the last three years. IIC members can access recorded sessions and learning materials on the IIC Community platform from the table below. We have also included links to external partner content and publications where available. 

20 September 2019 IIC Declaration: Climate and Environmental Emergency  IIC Declaration and Call to Action
24 October 2019 Endorsing partner to Climate Heritage Network launch event. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) 
6 March 2020

Partner to the Stemming the Tide: Global Strategies for Sustaining Cultural Heritage Through Climate Change symposium at the Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.

The IIC Point of the Matter Dialogue was hosted as part of the symposium Heritage at Risk: A Dialogue on the Effects of Climate Change 

"Watch Parties" were also hosted throughout 2020 on Facebook.

29 July 2020

Online Member Meeting - recording available on IIC Community platform

The Future of Sustainability
4 November 2020 IIC Dialogue Chaired by Dr Ewan Hyslop (Historic Envronment Scotland and Climate Heritage Network)  'Climate Change and Covid-19: What is the heritage impact?'
12 April 2021 (12-4pm CEST) IIC President, Julian Bickersteth at the G20 Webinar  Addressing the Climate Crisis Through Culture

19 April 2021 (8 p.m. BST)

AGM Talk with Dr Jenny Newell, Australian Museum. (Recording available on IIC Community platform) Reaching Carbon Neutral at the Australian Museum and the Role of Conservators
15 October 2021 Joint Committment for Climate Action in Cultural Heritage: IIC, ICOM-CC and ICCROM Formal announcment,Joint Commitment for Climate Action in Cultural Heritage
30 October to 12 November  2021

COP26 - IIC Official Green Zone Exhibitor, Edit-a-Thon and film release.

Film: Nothing is Stable

Report: From the Green Zone

Google Arts + Culture: IIC A Time for Action in Cultural Heritage Conservation

10 November to 11 November 2021 IIC International Edit-a-thon 2021 : live and at COP26 Glasgow  #IICEditsClimate - 24 hour global edit-a-thon  in partnership with Wikimedia UK
25 March 2022 Our Collections Matter: Connecting the dots between cultural collections and sustainable development Blended online course and workshop with ICCROM for IIC members.
2 Year Project (2022-2023) Net Zero: Heritage for Climate Action   Initiative led by ICCROM with activities supported by IIC.
10 November 2022 Sustainability Art: People, Practice, Planet in Contemporary Art Conservation  Online Workshop  for IIC Members with Henry McGhie and Jose Luiz Pederzoli (ICCROM) Our Collections Matter.

16 - 17 November 2022 

IIC International Edit-aThon 2022 : live and online at COP27 Egypt #IICEditsClimate - 24 hour global edit-a-thon  in partnership with Wikimedia UK
30 January 2023, 6.45pm (GMT) AGM Talk with David Saunders, "the museum environment in an era of sustainability" this will be a hybrid event. Courtauld Research Centre. 

March 2023 &

July 2023

A Climate of Change: Round Table Series  Post Congress Events Programme - Conservation and Change: Adaptation, Response and Leadership.
March to April 2024  IIC's new Net Zero pilot initiative - find out more here. Launched at the IIC's AGM in January 2024, with a presentation from Dr nick Merriman OBE. IIC's new climate action and sustainability initiative to support a credible pathway to the Net Zero for the sector.
 September 2024 Sustainable Solutions for Conservation: New Strategies for New Times 30th Biennial Congress Lima 2024