As part of its research programme, Future Observatory has published three cultural policy reports across architecture, cultural institutions and exhibition impact which suggest how the UK cultural sector might adapt to meet national net zero commitments.

In January 2023, Future Observatory appointed six fellowships across the UK design landscape to better understand the next stage of sustainability best practice and suggest recommendations of how UK policy might adapt or support accordingly. In the first chapter of this research, three reports have been published – from URGE Collective, DSDHA Architects and South Ken ZEN+. The research is commissioned, funded and coordinated by Future Observatory at the Design Museum, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

URGE Collective has worked with the Design Museum’s Exhibitions and Environmental Impact team to explore the carbon impact of temporary and touring exhibitions in the UK museums and galleries sector. Architects at DSDHA considered retrofitting for cultural infrastructure through several case studies across the UK built environment. And the South Ken ZEN+ fellowship team (a collaboration between Exhibition Road Cultural Group and 3ADAPT) collaborated to develop a sustainability reporting framework for local cross-sector organisations.

To read and download the reports, which were designed by SPIN, visit the Future Observatory website here

Disclaimer: This research is supported by the DCMS Science and Analysis R&D Programme, according to UKRI’s initial hypotheses and output requests. Any primary research, subsequent findings or recommendations do not represent DCMS views or policy and are produced according to academic ethics, quality assurance and independence.

The link has been copied!