• Galleries / Institutions / Museums / Auction Houses:

    • Work towards using a majority of non-air freight for artwork transport by 2028.

    • Plan programmes and related shipments in advance to allow for alternative routes that are more sustainable but may have longer lead times.

    • Prioritise consolidated shipments as standard.

    • Adapt exhibition programmes as well as packing methods to allow for reducing the overall volume of shipments.

    • Adhere to the insurance guidelines for sea freight.

    • Consider a default lower-emission transport option at point of sale or loan agreement, for which collectors or clients must actively opt out of if they wish to use air freight.

    • Petition shipping partners to provide standardised emissions data on quotes and invoices, in line with GCC Sustainable Shipping Campaign.

    • Immediately reduce excessive or unnecessary packaging, whilst ultimately working towards near-zero waste by 2030.

    • Choose reusable, repurposed and commonly (curbside) recyclable packing materials as standard.

    • Prioritise reusable or recycled crates and softpacks. Plan the crating of artworks far enough in advance to allow for bespoke,  best practice packaging. Donate unwanted crates to a local crate bank or BARDER.art

    • Commit to using low or zero emissions vehicles for all local deliveries, wherever possible.

     

     

    Shippers:

    • Offer regular consolidated sea and road freight options for the most common transport air routes, where possible.

    • Offer options for consolidation wherever possible.

    • When quoting on air freight, include an emissions comparison for lower carbon shipping options (i.e. road or sea freight, where routes apply), allowing clients to make informed decisions based on environmental impacts as well as cost and time, following the GCC template.

    • Include all data required for carbon reporting on invoices in a standardised format, GCC will provide examples of this in due course.

    • Adhere to the insurers guidelines and insurance checklist for sea freight.

    • Reduce volume of single use plastic packaging and introduce reusable packaging materials as standard. Prioritise single-use recyclables, e.g. paper based products, as long as they are disposed of appropriately.

    • Work to implement packaging best practice and reduce waste.

    • Offer clients reusable crates or a recycled crate scheme, in the first instance.

    • Work towards replacing the revenue stream from single-use crates with a rental model for reusable crates.

    • Cooperate with other shippers for reciprocal reusable crate sharing schemes or ‘lending library’ and facilitate a ‘take back’ or ‘crate bank’ program for wooden crates.

    • Explore new options for rail freight services. GCC will provide examples of this in due course.

    • Explore options for upgrading delivery fleet to electric vehicles.

    • Share road and sea shipping deadlines and options for as far in advance as possible. 

     

     

    Artists:

    • Ask galleries and institutions exhibiting works to prioritise non-air freight and consolidated shipments wherever possible. 

    • Stipulate that no single use packaging materials be used when transporting works. 

    • Accept adapted lead times and earlier collection deadlines in order to allow for low emission freight routes.

    • Include packing considerations as part of the fabrication process. Unless the work will be on permanent display, consider giving it a crate-for-life or prioritise reusable crates. 

    • Be flexible with where works can be fabricated or framed. Allow for the possibility of this happening locally to the installation venue (local-to-install).

    • Petition shipping partners to provide standardised emissions data on quotes and invoices, in line with GCC Sustainable Shipping Campaign. 

     

     

    Art Fairs:

    • Incentivise fair participants to use low carbon freight options.

    • Ask participating galleries to avoid single use packaging and generally reduce waste associated with transporting works to fairs.

    • Encourage participants to prioritise reusable crates and packing materials.

    • Work with local waste management companies to offer effective recycling services during fairs in order to ensure that no packaging materials end up in landfill or the natural environment.

    • Organise collection points for recyclable materials that are not curbside recyclable, e.g. Tyvek and polyfoams are not typically curbside recyclable but can be collected and sent in bulk to recycling facilities (depending on the country).

    • Commit to a near-zero waste by 2030 target.

    • Share road and sea shipping deadlines and options as far in advance as possible.

    • Petition shipping partners to provide standardised emissions data on quotes and invoices. 

     

     

    Collectors:

    • Work towards using a majority of non-air freight for artwork transport by 2028.

    • Discuss sustainable shipping options with the seller and make them aware that you are keen for a low emission option.

    • Plan shipments in advance to allow for alternative routes that are more sustainable but may have longer lead times.

    • Prioritise consolidated shipments as standard.

    • Adhere to the insurers guidelines for sea freight/have a discussion with your insurance to understand the constraints.

    • When loaning works, allow borrowers to use non air freight options whilst also keeping insurance requirements.

    • Start the conversation earlier (at point of sale) allowing shippers to plan transport in advance so they can keep in line with export and VAT constraints.

    • Accept that repurposed or reused packaging may not appear to be in pristine condition upon delivery.

    • Prioritise reusable or recycled crates and softpacks. Donate used wooden crates to a local crate bank or share with a circularity scheme such as BARDER.art or Circular Arts Network.

    • Petition shipping partners to provide standardised emissions data on quotes and invoices, in line with GCC Sustainable Shipping Campaign.

     

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