It’s well known that sending art by sea significantly reduces the carbon footprint of fine art shipping and is advisable whenever timeframes permit.

However, new research shows there is another, more accessible way of reducing the carbon footprint of a fine art shipment by over 90% when traveling by any means.

We are living through a time of unbelievability. A time when political leaders attempt to remove fact from reality, and upturn efforts towards a more equitable, greener, progressive world.

Despite, or in spite, of this we are doubling down on facts. Progress on climate is underpinned by thoughtful, informed decisions, and we believe that focussing on independently assessed data will keep the world, and the world of art, moving forward.

Positive impact across all environmental categories

A new Life Cycle Analysis of commonly-used fine art crates found that ROKBOX crates reduce the carbon footprint of every fine art shipment by between 92% - 95%, depending on the journey, when compared to cardboard crates and various specifications of wooden crates.

The Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) carried out by a team at Northeastern University and overseen by Dr. Matthew Ecklelman, summarised:

“The LCA demonstrates that ROKBOX products outperform traditional art shipping crates across all environmental impact categories. These findings strongly support ROKBOX's position as a more sustainable alternative to traditional art shipping crates, with significant advantages across all environmental impact categories examined, including carcinogenic impacts, ecotoxicity, and greenhouse gas emissions. Most importantly, a single shipment using a ROKBOX Lite has less than one-tenth of the greenhouse gas emissions of its competitors.”

What does it mean for the art world?

We now have an independently proven and accessible circular tool for significantly reducing waste and emissions for the sector.

If just 40% of 2D shipments switched from wood and card board crates to ROKBOX, our sector would save 1million tonnes of CO2e in just 4 years (254,000k tonnes per year).1 Not to mention the packaging waste that other costs of disposable packaging.

Kim Kraczon, Conservator and Sustainability Specialist commented, “The data is clear: the circular design principles and lightweight materials selected and utilized by Rokbox significantly reduce carbon emissions when transporting artwork by truck, sea or air, compared to single-use wood and cardboard crates."

Protect art, protect the environment.

Read the full announcement

Download the 40 page Life Cycle Analysis

1 Calculations based on data from UBS Art Market report, Julie’s Bicycle Art of Zero report, STiCH report 2022 and ROKBOX LifeCycle Analysis 2025.