Sustainability Committee

The committee aims to promote sustainability as an equal factor in decision-making processes. The committee creates and publishes new research, while highlighting and contributing to work done by our colleagues.

Our charge is:

• To provide resources for AIC members and affiliated professionals regarding sustainable approaches to the preservation of cultural heritage, including conservation, restoration, collections and preventive care. Resources may be provided via electronic media, workshops, publications, and presentations.
• To define research topics and suggest working groups as needed to explore various aspects of sustainability and conservation.

The committee was founded in August 2008 as the Green Task Force (GTF) with the initial mission to evaluate U.S. conservators’ current awareness of sustainable practices in institutions and private businesses. In September 2010, the GTF became the Committee for Sustainable Conservation Practices (CSCP). In July 2013, the CSCP renamed itself the Sustainability Committee (SC) to clarify our objectives, to appeal to a wider audience, and to increase our visibility.

The committee is comprised of eight voting members - one committee chair, six professional members, and one student member.

Roster

Our Resources

Sustainable Practices Wiki

This wiki on various subjects related to sustainable conservation, such as information about purchasing decisions, recycling, waste management, and energy use as related to specific materials. Includes: a list of all publications created throughout the history, a summary of presentations given during AIC annual meetings, and a detailed page of referenced and related resources, as well as a list of sources at Works Cited and Further Reading.

Member Survey Report

In October 2008, the Sustainability Committee (formerly the Green Task Force), sent a survey to members in an effort to evaluate their current awareness of this topic. The results of this survey were presented our 37th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles. The presentation explored who responded, their awareness of sustainability, examples of sustainable and unsustainable practices and products, and future work for the committee.

View Report

Meeting Presentation

This presentation at AIC's 38th Annual Meeting addresses how conservators add to burgeoning landfills, place stress on waning resources, use toxic products that pollute our environment, and set standards that increase our carbon footprints. It does not tell conservators how to work, instead it begins to provide information so we can make environmentally conscious decisions with the goal of reducing our collective carbon footprint.

Questions?

Contact sustainability@culturalheritage.org

Note: We do not promote specific companies or materials but may mention them when exploring information relevant to the field of conservation.