Calculating the Greenhouse Gas Emissions of the Central Depot of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna – First Results of the Pilot Study

ABSTRACT

Museums are important actors in the fight against climate change. In order to limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5° Celsius, European museums are required to reduce their CO₂ emissions to contribute to climate protection. The first step towards reducing the CO₂ footprint of a building is to know about its current status. The acquisition and analysis of an organization’s emissions is performed by means of a CO₂ balance; this evaluation identifies relevant action, indicates the saving potential, and enables a prioritization of procedures. In the museum sector, the carbon footprinting is a relatively new concept. The first initiatives in the German-speaking countries focus on the portions of museums used for exhibits. As part of her dissertation, the author started a pilot project with the KHM-Museumsverband (KHM Museum Association) in Austria to document CO₂ emissions in the storage areas of the museum. The Competence Center for Climate Neutrality at the Center for Global Change and Sustainability at the BOKU – (Universität für Bodenkultur Wien, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna) – offered valuable expertise to support this study. This article provides the first insights into the research project, which started in fall 2021 and presents preliminary results of the case study.

RÉSUMÉ

Les musées sont des acteurs importants de la lutte contre le changement climatique. Afin de limiter le réchauffement climatique à un maximum de 1,5° Celsius, les musées européens sont tenus de réduire leurs émissions de CO₂ pour contribuer à la protection du climat. La première étape vers la réduction de l'empreinte de CO₂ d'un bâtiment est de connaître sa situation actuelle. L'acquisition et l'analyse des émissions d'une organisation se font au moyen d'un bilan CO₂; cette évaluation identifie les actions pertinentes, indique le potentiel d'économies et permet de prioriser les procédures. Dans le secteur des musées, calculer le bilan carbone est quelque chose de nouveau. Les premières initiatives dans les pays germanophones se concentrent sur les parties des musées utilisées pour les expositions. Dans le cadre de sa thèse, l'auteure a amorcé un projet pilote avec le KHM-Museumsverband (Association des Musées KHM), en Autriche, pour documenter l'émission de CO₂ dans les réserves du musée. Le Centre de Compétence pour la Neutralité Climatique au Centre pour le Changement et la Durabilité Mondiale du BOKU (Universität für Bodenkultur Wien, Université des Ressources Naturelles et des Sciences de la Vie de Vienne) a apporté une expertise précieuse pour appuyer cette étude. Cet article donne les premiers aperçus du projet de recherche lancé à l'automne 2021 et présente les résultats préliminaires de l'étude de cas. Traduit par Isabelle Cloutier.

RESUMO

Os museus são atores importantes na luta contra as alterações climáticas. A fim de limitar o aquecimento global a um máximo de 1,5° Celsius, os museus europeus são obrigados a reduzir as suas emissões de CO2 para contribuir para a proteção climática. O primeiro passo para reduzir a pegada de CO2 de um edifício é conhecer o seu estado atual. A captura e análise das emissões de uma organização é realizada pelo método de medição de CO2; esta avaliação identifica ações relevantes, indica o potencial de poupança e permite a priorização de procedimentos. No setor de museus, a impressão da pegada de carbono é nova. As primeiras iniciativas nos países de língua alemã centram-se nas partes dos museus utilizadas para exposições. Como parte da sua dissertação, a autora iniciou um projeto piloto com a KHM-Museumsverband (Associação de Museus KHM), na Áustria, para documentar as emissões de CO₂ nas áreas de armazenamento do museu. O Competence Center for Climate Neutrality at the Center for Global Change and Sustainability at the BOKU (Universität für Bodenkultur Wien, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna) partilhou conhecimentos valiosos para apoiar este estudo. Este artigo fornece as primeiras informações sobre o projeto de pesquisa iniciado no outono de 2021 e apresenta resultados preliminares do estudo de caso. Traduzido por Teresa Lança.

RESUMEN

Los museos son actores importantes en la lucha contra el cambio climático. Con el fin de contribuir a la protección del clima, los museos europeos deben reducir sus emisiones de dióxido de carbono (CO₂) y así limitar el calentamiento global a un incremento máximo de 1.5° Celsius. El primer paso para reducir la huella de carbono de un edificio es conocer su estado actual. La adquisición y el análisis de las emisiones de una organización se realizan mediante un balance de CO₂; esta evaluación identifica las acciones pertinentes, el potencial de ahorro y permite priorizar los procedimientos. La huella de carbono es una novedad en el sector museístico y las primeras iniciativas en los países de habla alemana se centraron en los espacios destinados para exposiciones. Como parte de su tesis, la autora inició un proyecto piloto con la KHM-Museumsverband (Asociación de Museos KHM) de Austria para documentar las emisiones de CO₂ en los depósitos del museo. El Centro de Competencia para la Neutralidad Climática del Centro para el Cambio Global y la Sostenibilidad de la BOKU (Universität für Bodenkultur Wien, Universidad de Recursos Naturales y Ciencias de la Vida de Viena) ofreció su valiosa experiencia para apoyar este estudio. Este artículo ofrece un primer esbozo del proyecto de investigación iniciado en el otoño de 2021, así como los resultados preliminares del estudio de caso. Traducción y primera revisión: Mónica Pérez y Mirasol Estrada; revisión final: Amparo Rueda e Irene Delaveris.

KEYWORDS:

• Museum collections
• storage facility
• sustainability
• climate balance
• GHG balance
• Co₂ balance
• Co₂ footprint
• preventive conservation

Acknowledgments

BOKU Competence Center for Climate Neutrality: Joachim Thaler, Sascha Mohnke, Sarah Siemers, Sigrid Karl, and Maximilian Auer (Project staff). KHM Museum Association: Elisabeth B. Mittendorfer (Environmental and Sustainability Officer), Albert Badr (Head of Security and Buildings), Stefan Fleck (Head of Construction Projects and Procurement), Paul Frey (Managing Director), and Sabine Haag (Director General). Thesis supervision: Martina Griesser-Stermscheg (Team Leader, Research Institute, Vienna Museum of Science and Technology), and Gabriela Krist (Head, Institute of Conservation, University of Applied Arts Vienna).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 As examples we may mention the ICOM-Austria Symposium “Museumsdepots und Depoteinrichtung,” March 4–5, 2011 in Innsbruck, the Congress of the Dörner Institute “Climate for Collections: Standards and Uncertainties,” November 7–9, 2012 in Munich, the German Congress event series “Das Grüne Museum,” October 9, 2012 or the HTW Symposium “Choosing the Green Way. Sustainable Strategies in Cultural Heritage”, 4 May 2015 in Berlin.

2 The GHG Protocol is the most recognized international standard for greenhouse gas accounting of companies and projects. According to this standard, emissions are divided into three “Scopes.”

3 The terms “climate balance” and “greenhouse gas balance” are used synonymously, both of which express the impact on the greenhouse effect. In this respect, they represent the carbon footprint of the evaluated object (cf. Baumast 2021, 7).

4 While kilowatt peak or kWp gauges the performance of a photovoltaic system, kilowatt hours, kWh, signify the amount of energy produced by the system.

5 In order to estimate the amortization period at least roughly, the sum of the acquisition costs including ancillary costs is divided by the sum gained from income and write-offs. The result then represents the amortization period of the photovoltaic system in years.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tanja Kimmel

Tanja Kimmel is head of the Textile Conservation Department at the Institute of Conservation of the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Following her training as a tailor, she studied the conservation of textiles and leather objects at the Cologne Institute of Conservation Sciences (CICS)/Technische Hochschule Köln (University of Applied Sciences) and graduated with a Diploma. From 2004 to 2015 she was textile conservator on the staff of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, where she worked for different collections including the Museum of Carriages and Department of Court Uniforms and the Tapestry Collection in the Kunstkammer. As a member of the relocation team she coordinated the entire relocation of the museum’s extensive collections to the museum’s new central depot, where she was in charge of all conservation matters after the building was put into operation. In October 2018, she started a part-time doctoral program in philosophy, which she successfully completed in February 2024. She is committed to sustainability, an essential topic and focus of her work, which she actively and ardently implements in university teaching and research. Address: Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien, Institut für Konservierung und Restaurierung, Salzgries 14/ 3, Stock, 1010 Wien, Austria. Email: [email protected].