GCC CARBON CALCULATOR
Introduction
Welcome to the GCC’s Carbon calculator.
This free online tool is designed to help estimate the carbon footprint of your business based on metrics common to most art galleries in today’s international art world. It aims to be as easy-to-use as possible and provide a quick breakdown of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
User Guide:
- Unless your browser is in Incognito mode, data will be saved in your browser as you go along. It should still be available the next time you return to the calculator on the same computer. GCC members will also be able to save data to their membership account so that it can be accessed on other devices and compared with past or future years.
- Decide which year to assess by selecting an appropriate 'Year end' month. Make sure that all the data collected is from that year only. This could be a calendar year or a financial year. Be consistent in your time-frame year on year.
- Select preferred units for Distance, Fuel and Currency.
- Compile a list of all the flights taken on gallery business that year.
- List all long-distance art shipments paid for that same year, for which the following information is necessary: weight of material transported (including packaging) and airports, cities and ports moved between. Shipping companies should be able to provide this information.
- The amount of energy - gas and electricity measured in KWh - used in gallery/galleries that year. This should be visible on energy bills or available from energy suppliers.
Input the above information into the three main sections of the calculator, which will calculate the vast majority of your carbon footprint.
For a fuller picture, enter any or all of the following data. These are optional.
- Total amount spent on train travel in the UK or continental Europe
- Total amount spent on taxis, in different global cities
- Total distance travelled by car on gallery business
- Number of times art was transported by local van, car or courier
- Total weight of packaging used per year
- Total number and approximate size of books, brochures etc. printed
Note: The GCC recommends that any gallery serious about reducing its climate impact should look carefully at its events and, if possible, make a rough assessment of the climate impact of its guests’ travel behaviour. For example: The Thomas Dane Gallery calculated the carbon footprint of visitor travel to three events organised by the gallery in Naples. They found that visitor travel – particularly flights – to these three events would have added an extra 30% to the gallery’s annual carbon footprint. However, whether or not to include that visitor travel as part of the gallery’s annual carbon footprint and carbon reduction targets should be a case-by-case decision by the galleries themselves, as different approaches will be more useful or relevant for different organisations.
How accurate is it?
The carbon figures this calculator provides for passenger flights, air freight (transportation of artworks) and building energy should all be reasonably accurate - depending on the quality of the data entered. These three categories will almost certainly make up the great majority of a gallery’s carbon footprint. For a more complete figure fill in the other sections - but note that these are optional, and fairly approximate.
We designed this calculator to be reliable and robust, and recommend that you use it to give you an idea as to what your first steps on climate action should be. Knowing what is causing the majority of your emissions will help guide immediate decisions on what to do first. However, this is only a first step and if you are interested in moving beyond a general overview for target-setting and developing long-term plans, or for external reporting, then we suggest you commission a more comprehensive carbon audit. Feel free to contact us for more advice on how to do this.
Data storing & sharing:
By using our calculator, you are committing to sharing your data with us. This data will be absolutely anonymous and will not be linked to any one organisation or individual in particular. Your data will be useful in a few key ways:
- Collected data allows for a clearer picture of the carbon footprint of the art-world.
- It allows for more accurate advice and guidance across a range of scales and sectors—as well as in continually refining the accuracy of GCC tools.
- It allows for the development, and publishing, of innovative research based upon this data. This data may be shared anonymously for research purposes.
- Data will always be treated as anonymous unless otherwise specified.
Factors used:
“Carbon factors” are the amount of greenhouse gas emissions per km, per litre, per KWh etc. Most of the conversion factors utilised in this calculator are taken from the UK Government’s official annual set of Greenhouse Gas Reporting Conversion Factors, provided by BEIS Some data is taken from other sources around the world where available.
The GCC is grateful to our Environmental Consultants Danny Chivers and Harris Kuemmerle for their advice for the calculations.
Where can I get help using the calculator?
Please contact the GCC at info@galleryclimatecoalition.org if you have any questions or need any help or support with using this calculator.