SCFs are GCC’s proposed solution to the problems associated with offsetting and are intended to encourage ethical and effective funding of environmental action within the visual art sector and beyond. Unlike offsets, SCFs are designed to encourage action and tangible results in the near term, incentivise transparency and accountability, and, crucially, do not allow for misleading ‘net zero’ or ‘carbon neutral’ claims. This approach is in line with the position taken by an increasing number of environmental organisations, backed by a growing body of evidence.
This will allow arts organisations to tell a positive story about their support for urgent climate action, and give a platform to inspiring projects and initiatives, without getting tangled in the messy and contentious world of carbon offsets, “climate compensation” or carbon removals. Following these guidelines should help arts organisations to avoid accusations of greenwashing by clearly communicating the actions they are taking both to reduce their own emissions and to support meaningful systemic change in the wider arts sector and beyond.
In short, setting up a Strategic Climate Fund means allocating money into a set fund every year with the aim of strategically using our money to support effective climate action. Funds can then be used to support external organisations working on the frontline of the climate crisis, or to invest in internal sustainability initiatives that remove emissions and waste directly from operations and the supply chains.
As a starting point, GCC recommends choosing a figure between 0.1 and 1% of annual revenue. The exact figure will depend on the type and size of the organisation, as well as what is realistic for you. This will be different for everyone. Most importantly, whatever the total, your fund should contribute to meaningful change at a level proportionate to your organisation, while also being achievable and financially sustainable.
Rather than a one-off donation, SCFs should be considered as an ongoing responsibility to support climate action and drive systemic change in the sector. In light of this, SCFs should be integrated into annual budgeting and ringfenced. Given that this will require approval from senior staff and finance teams, GCC recommends getting senior buy-in from the start. We suggest working with your finance director to build a multi-year strategy for how you will spend internal investments and designate external donations.
As with any new system, SCFs may not work perfectly for everyone immediately. If you are struggling to get sign-off for an SCF policy, we would recommend starting where you can - even if this means allocating a small amount in your fund in the first year and then gradually building up from there. If you currently use a different method for calculating an SCF (e.g. based on your measured emissions, as per our previous guidance), we appreciate that it may not be possible to change this immediately. Any contribution to SCFs through either method is a positive action that we wish to celebrate, as we transition towards what we hope will be a fairer and more straightforward revenue-based system.
Non-profit arts organisations with more tightly regulated budgets may wish to take a different approach to their SCFs, by setting a target amount and then creatively fundraising towards it.
In the short term, any contribution that is achievable for your budget could fund crucial climate action. We simply ask our members to be transparent about their own SCF process before making any claims about their fund.
If everyone committed in this way, we could rapidly decarbonise the visual art sector and provide significant funding for effectively tackling the climate crisis.
Over the past few years, we have adapted our SCF policy as the thinking around climate finance evolves and the best practice changes. This is a fast moving field, but we are committed to keeping our members up-to-date and will continue to improve and expand the policy - and all of our guidance - in step with the progressive leaders in this area.
For example, the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) released new guidance in February 2024, encouraging businesses to support “Beyond Value Chain Mitigation” (BCVM) initiatives - essentially, taking further climate action in addition to reducing their own emissions. SBTi’s guidance includes options for supporting climate initiatives that fall outside the carbon markets, and our SCF recommendations are in line with their “Money-For-Money” method for allocating BCVM funds.
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Avoid or delay urgent decarbonisation (If you are unfamiliar with GCC’s guidance on urgent decarbonisation, which must happen before embarking on the SCF process, we would encourage you to read more here before proceeding).
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Make claims of ‘compensation’, ‘zero emissions’, ‘carbon neutrality’ or similar.
SCF summary
The essential idea is that, rather than spending money on conventional carbon offsets, arts organisations should:
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Measure their own emissions and create an action plan for reducing them by at least 50% by 2030, and then
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Set aside additional money, if they can, to support frontline climate projects, without claiming that these in any way "neutralise" or "cancel out" their own emissions.
GCC would be happy to speak with any member who needs help establishing their SCF programme. Reach out to a member of our team at info@galleryclimatecoalition.org.
Further SCF reading:
