Making sustainable exhibitions: where it all starts
Commitment: Climate & biodiversity crisis
Sustainability is a pressing issue today – not only as a topic for the exhibitions we are showing, but increasingly also with the regard to the production of the exhibitions themselves. Production processes, energy consumption, or the materials used for exhibits and scenographic elements are becoming more and more important for any exhibition, regardless of its topic. Clients and exhibition makers have to find a new mutual understanding of what they mean by ‘sustainable exhibitions.’ However, new standards and production procedures are only slowly emerging.
In this session, two science centres and a production company present their projects and their experiences with this new endeavour to promote sustainable practices. Can we agree on a set of new standards for exhibitions?
Facilitator
Director Exhibition Development
Session speakers
Director Exhibition Development
Christian will focus in his contribution on the materials used in the exhibitions and on the standards used to monitor sustainability. For a new building and new exhibitions (c. 3.600 sqm), the science centre experimenta committed itself to an independent certification process on its sustainability. The project shows: It is not an easy process, but it is worthwhile: experimenta has received the highest possible certification for its new science centre!
Maarten will shortly talk about 3 different items on this subject based on a durable scan at Bruns by Conformiso. 1. The development of a certified cooperation with our suppliers.2. organised databases with durable materials and tracking of different aspects in relation to people planet profit. Experimenta played an important role to use “better” materials and build up a transparent database on this subject. 3. The development furthermore on durable design and engineering at Bruns.
Program Manager, Exhibition
Sustainability is at the core of Experimentarium’s mission and it plays a key role in the new strategy. The strategy is two-fold - communicating sustainability to visitors and focusing on sustainability behind the scenes in the way we produce our experiences and the way we behave when we do so. Experimentarium is currently developing a new exhibition called Climatopia due to open in October 2021. Climatopia communicates important issues about our carbon footprints and sustainability in relation to everyday life via storytelling about teenagers in the future who travel back to earth and via interactive exhibits where visitors can explore and find out how to reduce their own carbon footprint. The production of Climatopia is also to be as sustainable as possible.
