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As we continue to explore different avenues to expand environmental sustainability in museums, we must consider how exhibit design and construction fits in.
Choosing a “greener” approach to exhibit design and construction not only reduces the environmental footprint of heritage institutions but can also promote local and circular economies and other wider sustainability goals.
Planning plays the largest role in “green” exhibit design. The overall reduction of waste by decreasing new materials purchased, is the best way to limit the footprint of exhibit manufacturing. This includes recognizing the display needs of objects instead of specific exhibits, and pursuing modular or standardized displays and cases, which will reduce waste by limiting the exhibitry acquired by an institution overall and allow for reuse. Beyond the planning phase of exhibits, museums have begun to experiment with reusing and recycling exhibit materials in a wide variety of ways. The end of life for exhibit furniture is also a serious consideration. Commercial and industrial recycling of some materials is possible, but should be considered as a final option, as the emissions from recycling processes vary by material and not all materials can be recycled indefinitely meaning they will end up in the trash eventually.
Planning for Reuse
Likely, the easiest way to reduce the footprint of exhibit design and construction is preparing exhibit furniture with the intention of reuse. Reusing and repurposing materials for future exhibitions keeps them from crowding museum storage facilities and can also present opportunities to reduce both an institution’s environmental footprint and the costs of new and updated exhibits. Modular case systems and displays that are designed to be easily dismantled after the exhibit allow for both environmental and economic sustainability. “The key for reuse is standardisation… we build less super custom stuff that can work in any museum so less ends in a trash heap,” explains Michael Sampliner, former chief operating officer at Arts and Exhibitions International.
Temporary walls, display stands, and other furniture can be reused, and elements that are manufactured for specific exhibits can be dismantled and hardware and wood can be reused as well. The Juno Beach Centre (Normandy, France) reused not only showcases and furniture from previous exhibits, but also screws, fasteners, and panels when they refreshed their galleries in 2022, they saved an estimated 4-5 cubic metres of wood, demonstrating that the reuse of materials even on a small scale can make a difference.
Construction Material Selection
Material selection is an important part of creating “greener” exhibits. Most materials and products used in standard exhibit construction produce VOCs that can harm collections and patrons, contribute to environmental degradation and/or come from sources that are not rapidly renewable, such as common plastics (plexi-glas/Perspex, paints, carpeting, and fabrics), plywood and particle board, and many types of stains and paints. It is important to limit the use of these materials and replace them wherever possible with more sustainable alternatives, whether that be recycled materials or materials that are considered ecologically regenerative.
The Madison Children’s Museum promotes both “greener” materials for use in exhibit, administrative, and commercial areas of the museum but also highlights the need to purchase in bulk to reduce shipping emissions, expenses, and waste, as well as requisition that contractors recycle or reuse at least 75% of construction waste. The museum also highlights that materials should be derived from local sources, placing a maximum radius of 350 miles between the resource and its fabrication. This reduces emissions from the transportation of both materials and the finished products and supports local economies, which is a wider sustainability goal.
The upfront costs of environmentally sustainable materials (FSC certified wood, soy-based inks, etc.) can be higher. However, the calculated savings of the majority of these materials due to the investment in their reuse, can outweigh these concerns, and should be considered during exhibit planning.
After the Exhibit: Internal and External Reuse
Not all exhibit materials can be kept for reuse in the next exhibit. However, there are still ways to limit the amount entering normal waste streams.
The easiest (and possibly most prevalent) method is to reuse as much as possible in-house and then donate marketing and display materials as teaching resources and art supplies, allowing them to have a second life following an exhibit.
Cases and exhibit furniture that is harder to store after an exhibit can also have a second life outside of their original institution. This is where the museum and heritage sector needs to work harder on cementing larger exchange and recycling groups. Just because your institution no longer has need for a specific display case or period appropriate prop, does not mean they are not useful elsewhere, including surrounding museums, schools, or local community centres. Not only does this cut down on waste, but it also promotes another UN Sustainability Goal regarding community support and circular economies.
Exhibit Recycling/share groups:
Recycling
Recycling has been the face of environmental sustainability for a long time. However, it should always be considered after all options to reuse, repurpose, or donate have been exhausted. Not all recycling is created equal. Recycling aluminum saves ninety-five percent of the energy it would take to produce new products from aluminum ore. Conversely, plastics require a large amount of energy and resources to recycle including in some instances the addition of virgin material. Thus, commercial recycling should be considered as the last option. Choosing to use more responsible materials at the beginning of the design process (mentioned above), allows for easier recycling at the end of their use. This includes recycled paper, fabrics, and cardboard.
A growing movement in recycling is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), also known as “take-back” programs, where the original manufacturing companies establish methods to reclaim and recycle their own products. This helps combat dubious claims regarding the recyclability of materials and can also limit the environmental cost of some recycling techniques (namely with plastics). This requires research prior to the procurement of new materials but may also be useful for the recycling of extant materials used in exhibits. Many commercial carpet and ceiling tile companies have established EPR programs. Other companies should have documentation available of their products if they’re being recycled at a high rate.
Overall, we should focus on forward planning when it comes to exhibit design. This will allow institutions to limit waste in the construction and refresh of exhibit spaces, which promotes both economic and environmental sustainability. Modular systems for collections display are the easiest way to achieve this goal, but considering materials that can be reused individually is also important. If exhibit furniture cannot be reused, we must consider, and promote, inter-institutional exchanges, both within the sector and the wider community. Commercial-level recycling should be the last option considered. Whilst it is still an important element within the wider purview of sustainability, there are other options available that mitigate the potential cost of recycling materials such as plastics.
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Other News from the Committee:
The Green Tea Podcast has been thriving on Spotify. Thank you to those followers who tune in each month for new episodes!
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For more information about mitigating exhibition waste, check out our recent episode with Alessandro Scola of John Hopkins University Library discussing his modular system for book cradles used in exhibitions.
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Other new episodes include:
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We’re crowd-sourcing information for a future Green Tea episode later this year: Please fill out the linked survey and share with colleagues, if you haven’t already: Composting in Conservation
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We’re starting to build our schedule for speakers to join us for episodes in early 2025. Do you have any success stories about sustainable action from your institution or private practice? Have you been inspired by someone’s experiences that you think would be a good speaker for others to hear on the podcast? Are there any topics you want more information about? Reach out to aicsustainability@gmail.com with the subject line “Green Tea”: we’d like to hear from you to make the podcast as relevant as possible.
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Please fill out the interest survey if you are involved or considering pursuing methods for greening your conservation lab and would like to join monthly meetings on the topic. The intention of this group is to offer peer to peer support and resources as we implement practices that lessen our impact on the environment.
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