Cultural sector invited to join the SHIFT Culture eco-certificate

For the past year, Culture Action Europe, together with 15 other international cultural networks, has been participating in the SHIFT eco-certification pilot phase. This process aims to co-develop a bespoke eco-certification for cultural networks, taking into account their specific needs and working methods. Such a certification, established in partnership with Creative Carbon Scotland and Green Leisure Group, environmental sustainability specialists from Scotland and the Netherlands, provides a scheme to improve, measure, monitor and evaluate efforts towards sustainability. This project will also encourage active climate action among the wider cultural sector and create a new alliance of like-minded networks and associations. As of December 2023, 9 new cultural networks and platforms are invited to join the SHIFT Culture eco-certificate pilot project.

The SHIFT eco process has allowed some of the largest cultural networks in Europe and beyond to jointly develop a unique programme which greatly increases their greening capacity, knowledge and confidence of teams and members, enables joint peer-to-peer learning process, contributes greatly to the overarching aims of the European Green Deal, and sets an example for other organisations.

Participants in the project will receive:

• Participation in and support from a community of European cultural networks acting to minimise their environmental impact.
• An annual workshop with other participants including training, surgery with the auditing organisation, opportunities to share progress among participants and a way to contribute to the ongoing development of the community.
• Access to tailored tools explicitly developed for this certification scheme and customised to the needs of European cultural networks.
• Tailored individual support from supporting expert arts and sustainability organisation Creative Carbon Scotland.
• A ‘buddy’ participant from within the group for peer-to-peer exchange and learning.
• An external audit from auditing organisation Green Leisure Group.
• On successful completion of the audit: a certificate demonstrating to partners, members, funders your organisation’s efforts to address climate change.

To assess their capacity to participate, applicants are encouraged to review the publicly shared SHIFT eco-guidelines on which the certificate is based and consider the mandatory norms within their organisations. Along with the time required to implement the guidelines, participants will need to build a relationship with their “buddy organisation”, prepare for and attend the workshop, carry out a self-review and a peer review for their buddy and have an external audit, which is estimated to take approximately one to two days per month.

Additionally, to cover the costs of running the eco-certificate, SHIFT asks for a contribution of 2500 Euros (including VAT) per year (subject if necessary to an inflationary increase for 2025) and a minimum commitment of two years. However, to reflect different types and sizes of networks, as well as geographical and economic contexts, a minimum contribution of 2000 Euros is proposed, with larger and more established networks which can afford it contributing the higher rate.

European networks, platforms and other international cultural organisations are encouraged to apply by Thursday 15 February 2024. Applicants will be notified of their selection at the start of February 2024 with a public announcement in the middle of the month.

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Participating Networks in 2023: IETM | European Concert Hall Organisation | ELIA | European Music Council | International Music Council | European Dance Development Network | REMA Early Music in Europe | Europe Jazz Network | Opera Europa | Culture Action Europe | Circostrada | ENCATC | ASSITEJ International | Res Artis | Aerowaves | On The Move