Benchmark Analysis: Environmental Sustainability in the Arts

November 2, 2021

Over the past decade, action on environmental sustainability has gained significant traction within both the public and private sectors, including the arts. Our latest Arts Executive Poll asked arts leaders on how their organizations are thinking about and making progress in this area. Highlights from the survey include:

• The majority of arts organizations are either currently taking action or planning on taking action in environmental sustainability in the short-term, but one-third of arts organizations are still unsure about their timeline of action.

• A lack of priority from internal stakeholders and reduced staff capacity are the hardest challenges that keep arts leaders from engaging more heavily in environmental sustainability.

• However, even if environmental sustainability is not the highest priority, there are many operational and artistic decisions in place that are green and sustainable, including reducing paper use and reusing artwork goods.