Tate’s plans for the future – particularly Transforming Tate Modern – have presented an opportunity for us to be a leader in the sector in sustainability.
Our work on sustainability has been gathering pace since April 2007, when we agreed to participate with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on its climate change project. Tate also resolved to form a policy on climate change and a strategy to deliver it.
New projects such as Transforming Tate Modern are a chance to build sustainability into plans from the start, and this is being done with innovative design and engineering, and a waste heat recovery system which supplies free heating and hot water to the building.
But sustainability is not being limited to major new projects: other measures are also being put in place across the organisation, with the help of a dedicated delivery team. Tate Enterprises is reducing packaging and waste and phasing out plastic bags; Tate Liverpool is recycling redundant furniture at local resource centres; and Tate St Ives is part of the South West’s ‘low carbon economy’. Tate’s Director Nicholas Serota has raised the issue of collections care and sustainability with European museum directors and with their support, Tate will advance this discussion with international colleagues.
