The visual arts sector has long been a space for imagination, experimentation, and cultural leadership. Today, it also has the potential to lead on one of the most pressing challenges of our time: climate change.

Our recent Stocktake Report offers the clearest picture yet of the sector’s environmental impact. We estimate that visual arts organisations collectively produce between 11 and 13 million tonnes of CO₂e each year. This scale can feel daunting - but the data also tells a hopeful story.

Change is already underway.

Among GCC members who have been reporting since 2019, nearly four in five are on track to meet the shared target of halving emissions by 2030. This demonstrates what is possible when organisations commit to measuring their impact, taking action, and learning from one another. The opportunity now is to scale this progress.

If the approaches already being implemented by these organisations were adopted more widely across the sector, the potential impact is significant: an estimated reduction of 5 million tonnes of CO₂e every year. That’s comparable to the annual emissions of a small country.

This is what climate leadership looks like in practice - not isolated efforts, but collective progress grounded in evidence. It is about building a shared direction of travel, demonstrating what works, and accelerating change across the sector.

The visual arts have always played an important role in shaping how we see the world. Now, they can help envision a more sustainable one.

Read the full Stocktake Report to explore the data, methodology, and what comes next.