It is with great pleasure that I have observed an increasing interest in the subject of ecology in Polish cultural institutions. Browsing through their event calendars, I notice that community centres, theatres and museums are all including projects related to the climate crisis and our relationship with nature and landscape in their programmes. These institutions offer not only exhibitions of artistic works, but also reading sessions, workshops, walks and even longer participatory projects related to these subjects. Several of these institutions conduct their curriculum in a traditional way, without paying attention to the material or relational resources they are using on such occasions. Others involve ecological thinking, but only at the level of specific projects.

The climate crisis requires decisive action. At the same time, it challenges our imagination and sense of agency. The chunks of information on our social and climate-related situation, dubbed by Timothy Morton as ‘eco-facts’, can either paralyse us or make us procrastinate with the decision to change our behaviour   ^1  1   T. Morton, Being Ecological, Penguin, London 2018.  ↩︎. In the context of climate crisis, the metaphor of a boiling frog is often brought up: we tend to accustom ourselves to new, ever more extreme situations, slowly but steadily. This article refers to the vision of “green cultural institutions” – ones that not only recount the climate crisis, but also initiate social change.  I will make use of the analyses conducted by the Culture for Climate collective [Kultura dla klimatu] of which I am a member, together with Ewa Chomicka, Anna Czaban, Aleksandra Janus, Iza Kaszyńska, Magdalena Klepczarek, Magdalena Komornica, Joanna Nuckowska and Maria Wilska. The collective was formed in response to the need to ecologise the field of culture on a structural level – reformulating the way we think about organising and communicating the work of an art institution, programming, politics and the way we relate to our partners and audience.

Degrowth and sustainable cultural institutions

More and more is happening in the field of politics and the social understanding of the climate crisis. Our ecological consciousness develops while the media publish stories related to the environment, ever more boldly linking them to social issues. At an international, political level, a strategic programme called the European Green Deal was introduced in 2020. Its goal is to transform the economy of Member States to achieve carbon-neutrality by 2050   ^2  2   A European Green Deal. Striving to be the first climate-neutral continent, https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en, accessed 16 June 2022.  ↩︎. This idea has permeated the concept behind the UN Sustainability Goals, proclaimed by its member states in 2015   ^3  3   These goals encompass the elimination of poverty in all its forms around the world; the elimination of hunger, providing food safety and promoting sustainable agriculture; providing a healthy life to all people of every age; providing everyone with high quality education; empowering women and girls; providing people with access to fresh water and good sanitary conditions as well as to stable, sustainable and modern energy at a fair price; promoting stable, sustainable and inclusive economic growth and decent work for all; building stable infrastructure, sustainable industrialisation and support for innovation; reducing inequalities between and within countries; making cities and communities safer, more stable, sustainable and inclusive; providing models of sustainable consumption and production; taking up urgent action against climate change and their effects: protecting oceans, seas, and maritime resources and using them in a sustainable way; protecting, recovering and promoting sustainable land ecosystems use; promoting a peaceful and inclusive society and providing people with access to judicial services; enhancing the ways global partnership for sustainable development is implemented. More: https://www.un.org.pl, accessed 16 June 2022.  ↩︎. Both documents give some hope for change. They underline the fact that environmental issues are vital for the survival of mankind, but they also constitute an asset in their own right. They associate sustainability with such values as equality, justice, and freedom. At the same time, as Jason Hickel noticed, some of the UN resolutions contradict one another. Being in harmony with nature and protecting the planet against degradation is not compatible with economic growth of 3% per year. Hickel explains that reducing the use of resources and CO2 emissions is not possible unless we abandon the idea of growth and focus on moderation: curbing consumption and supporting actions that enhance the sense of community   ^4  4   Hickel, The contradiction of the sustainable development goals: Growth versus ecology on a finite planet, “Sustainable Development”, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/sd.1947, accessed 16 June 2022.  ↩︎.

The climate crisis is above all an “inequality crisis”: not everyone is equally responsible for the current situation   ^5  5   J. Hickel, Less is more. How degrowth will save the world, Cornerstone, London 2021, p. 55.  ↩︎. The degrowth movement tries to answer these challenges   ^6  6   J. Rok, M. Czepkiewicz, P. Morawski, R. Skrzypczyński, W. Parfianowicz, Jak rozmawiać o dezwroście i postwzroście?, “Czas Kultury”, https://czaskultury.pl/czytanki/jak-rozmawiac-o-dewzroscie-i-postwzroscie/, accessed 16 June 2022.  ↩︎. It questions not only the ideas of progress – understood as growth and accumulation, but also ownership as a way to manage resources. For the degrowth movement, the category of welfare is of utter importance – it is also linked to the redefinition of labour in the social system. A systemic change encompasses a struggle towards equality, linked to the premises of intersectional thinking. Degrowth and intersectionality are two perspectives from which we can perceive social and ecological issues as overlaying forms of oppression that come from various sources   ^7  7   A. Sisson Runyan, Co to jest intersekcjonalność i dlaczego jest taka ważna, “Poradnik Sojuszniczy”, no. 1/2020, http://poradniksojuszniczy.pl/2020/11/intersekcjonalnosc/, accessed 16 June 2022.  ↩︎.

Culture for Climate’s vision of ecologising culture draws from both fields, proposing a holistic approach to culture and its institutions. The values of moderation, equality and solidarity are of utmost importance to us. We refer to them in the Declaration of Culture Workers for Climate, which is our first step towards building a wider movement   ^8  8   https://www.kulturadlaklimatu.pl/deklaracja/, accessed 16 June 2022.  ↩︎. We invite institutions that feel ready to initiate social change and sign the declaration. We are aware that this work requires time and proper preparation. Collaborating with institutions, we are mindful of the specifics of their form of operation and current capabilities. We ask about their material, symbolic and relational resources and on that basis, we think collaboratively about how the ecologisation process could look like in a particular place and context.

We are sure that the field of culture, and especially state-funded institutions, are more accommodating to experiments and have a more radical approach than business. Degrowth is, at its core, anti-capitalist and anti-consumerist, so sustainable activity in this area is grossly limited by the logic of global market operations. For many companies, introducing ideas such as moderation and slowing down on development while retaining or even reducing the scale of action is a difficult task. B-corps are an interesting example: these are companies with a B Lab certificate that highlights their social and ecological contribution. They are not only pursuing financial gain, but also following other important criteria, such as responsibility for their employees and clients and care for the environment   ^9  9   https://bcorporation.eu, accessed 16 June 2022.  ↩︎. Patagonia – one of the first B-Corps – is a brand known to people who enjoy travelling. For some time already, it has conducted campaigns discouraging customers from buying new clothes; it has also opened repair centres for mending used garments. Nevertheless, as a growing company, it also opens new stores and sells an increasing number of products. If we take a closer look, we can observe that the percentage of people mending their clothes is still quite low, and most of Patagonia’s clients still decide to buy new items   ^10  10   J. B. MacKinnon, Patagonia’s Anti-growth Strategy, “New Yorker”, 21 May 2015, https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/patagonias-anti-growth-strategy, accessed 16 June 2022.  ↩︎.

Such a business model could be inspiring to cultural institutions that aim to ecologise their practices: it could be used in marketing campaigns and specific procedures that aim towards minimising their ecological and social impact. At the same time, the obligation to achieve financial gain means that the values present in the degrowth and intersectional movements cannot be achieved more fully.

The paths to ecologisation

Polish culture, being mostly financed by public funds, is facing some slightly different challenges. Organisers at the level of regional and state governments expect cultural institutions to promote specific values, which can interfere with the way the ecologisation process is pursued. For public institutions, the financial aspect is important, but economising is not the only thing that motivates change.

The sustainability standards for cultural institutions have not yet been proclaimed. This is why, upon preparing our “ecologisation manual”, we addressed it to those who are only starting to work in this field – those who have no internal support within institutions or their organisers, and who need specific examples and detailed information on how to conduct change. A holistic approach to institutions requires taking into account every aspect of their activity. In our manual, we focus on such aspects as: building, information and communication technologies, programming, communication, institutional policy, greenery and neighbourhood, audit, nature, employees, everyday practices, financing, partnerships and ecological coalitions, environmental impact. In each chapter, we describe solutions that are organised by scale in terms of engagement and financial capacities of the institution. Each activity is divided into three steps. The first step encloses simple ideas that can be implemented without more significant financial costs and changes in the way the institution functions. Further steps require greater input in terms of work, money and the readiness needed to modify the work structure and relations. The majority of recommendations refer to low-cost or zero-cost activities that are supposed to encourage changes without activating additional financial resources.

We assumed that some of the people who visit our website, kulturadlaklimatu.pl, are already conducting some activities on their own. For them, it is important to gain the necessary distance towards their activities, an assessment of their own capabilities and an analysis of the current situation the institution is in. It is important to ask the question: who, apart from me, is interested in sustainability? Could I build a coalition within the institution? Will I be understood by the management? How much of the knowledge I have gained can be shared with other people working in the institution?

Our audience consists of individuals who are curious about how others work and where to apply for grants to finance sustainability projects. The ecologisation project described in the manual begins with a series of interviews with employees. Our goal is to understand how the subject of ecology is prioritised in specific places, and to determine whether the employees have already taken action towards building a more sustainable approach, or how they envision such a transformation. We also recommend implementing an ecologisation process whose shape is based on a consensus with the employees. We assume that not everyone will be equally engaged in change – therefore we suggest building specially designated teams who will function as leaders, initiate the exchange of knowledge in terms of ecology and test new solutions. In some institutions, these groups are called e.g. “green teams”. These additional support structures are enhanced by individuals who run sustainability projects.

The change towards sustainability usually begins by changing the way material resources are managed. Employees might have extensive knowledge about how an institution operates. They want to segregate waste, reduce the use of paper, energy, water, recycle materials, or utilise eco-friendly hygiene products. Their interest in ecology may also encompass communication with the public. Then, the focus is on the tools and formats used to promote projects. The teams question whether they should print posters for a certain project, whether they should need any gadgets and work on an alternative way to reach their audience. Their reflection can also touch upon collaborating with neighbours and organising participatory events. Some institutions who benefit from possessing green spaces decide to create a garden or a beekeeping facility. These actions are visible for the audience, achieved as part of specific projects, or stem from everyday practices. It is a considerable challenge to turn those grassroots gestures into permanent activity that would influence the way the entire institution functions.

Some institutions decide to take yet another step, i.e. conducting an audit. This could be an important moment in the ecologisation process, because it allows for a precise description of the current situation and possibilities. The audit is based on verifying documentation referring to the institution’s environmental obligations and analysing its supply chain and environmental impact. It can also include studying the employees’ everyday practices, as well as processes and usage of the building. The audit makes it possible for the institution to choose the tools that enable the best possible use of its resources. It seems that the most difficult stage in implementing an audit is when we face recommendations that tell us that a more sustainable approach to resources requires a change in the organisation’s culture.

What might a cultural institution look like in the future?

A green institution organised by the rules of degrowth and intersectionalism undertakes an ethical approach towards society and the environment. Its goal is to support the climate movements and building intersectional climate coalitions; caring for social justice and local entrepreneurship, reducing the use of resources and implementing an economical model based on sharing   ^11  11   https://www.kulturadlaklimatu.pl/deklaracja/, accessed 17 June 2022.  ↩︎. A green institution of the future does not necessarily have a building. It can use other locations for its purposes, such as other cultural venues or unused spaces. It can borrow equipment needed to carry out its programme from a cooperative   ^12  12   http://spoldzielniakultury.waw.pl/, accessed 17 June 2022.  ↩︎. If a new building is being built, it is designed to be energy-efficient and use the location’s potential to its full. The environs of a cultural institution are treated with much attention. Neighbourly relations are important, and neighbours are invited to co-create the programme, or to collaborate as allies. The institution also cares about the natural ecosystem, taking care of a rain garden or a park. It includes non-humans in their activities and alleviates the lives of animals. Its structure is not hierarchical. The workers assume different roles in the team on a rotational basis; their span of work is discussed and modified collectively, if needed. The institution operates three days a week. The employees organise their work according to the needs and possibilities, either online or on-site. The responsibility for the institution’s activities is portioned equally onto its members with the payroll publicly known and evenly distributed. A solidarity budget plays an important role – it is launched in crisis situations, e.g. health-related problems. The financial support does not have to be returned. The wage is not the only benefit of working in the institution. The employees can also provide other services to each other, in the form of swapping items, services and skills   ^13  13   http://kooperacja.wymiennik.org, accessed 17 June 2022.  ↩︎. Together, they take decisions regarding the institution’s budget. One of the important goals is to foster cooperation with social organisations working for public benefit. These can include cooperatives producing goods or offering services based on local potential. The institution can collaborate with sponsors, but there is a defined procedure for that. Money from companies that exploit the environment or their employees is not accepted. Within the institution, decisions are taken by objection, i.e. according to the systemic consensing method   ^14  14   J. Maiwald, Smart decision-making: Systemic Consensing for Managers, A-bis, Holtzkirchen 2018.  ↩︎. People propose their ideas, which are then discussed and later tested. Each person is asked about their objection against the proposal, based on a scale (e.g. from 0 to 2, or from 0 to 10). Zero is accepted as a lack of objection, whereas the highest mark, e.g. 10, is a total lack of acceptance towards the idea. There is no option not to vote. Anyone who does not test together with others is responsible for the consequences of their decision. The key element of this method is to redirect attention from the preferred solution (as in a vote for) towards the question about objection. Thus, a wider acceptance towards new proposals occurs – ones that may not be ideal for the person proposing, but which may be appropriate for the group. The option that gains the smallest sum of points is the one that the group opposes the least. It means that it is likely to be the easiest to implement. Thanks to practicing the consensing method, the employees are empowered to express their objection more freely. It is treated as an important piece of information and integrated into the final solution. The longer they implement the method, the less they need it, because they can come up with a common solution more quickly during a discussion   ^15  15   Ibid., p. 401.  ↩︎.

People hired in a cultural institution of the future will be well accustomed to the nonviolent communication model (NVC)   ^16  16   M. B. Rosenberg, Porozumienie bez przemocy. O języku życia, transl. M. Markocka-Pepol, M. Kłobuchowski, Czarna Owca, Warszawa 2016. [M. B. Rosenberg, Nonviolent communication. A Language of Life, 2003].  ↩︎. They are aware that people have the same needs but seek different ways of fulfilling them. The institution organises empathetic meetings providing an opportunity to share with others. Such conversations are valued for being with another person in such a way that they are able to experience and perhaps even name what is important for them. The person sharing must not be interrupted, interpreted or diagnosed. If a conflict occurs, a reconciliation circle is organised and the whole team participates. One person shares their feelings about being in the given situation and then asks a selected companion to repeat what was said. If they are content with that, the voice is given to another volunteer who shares their own perspective and then asks another person to paraphrase. When all the voices are heard, and when everyone feels that they have been heard, the solution phase begins. The team works on what can be done to mend relationships and act differently.

The institution’s programme is a result of discussions between employees and their allies – such as climate activists, neighbours and certain social organisations. The main goal is to create a friendly “educational situation” for the public   ^17  17   https://grupatrop.pl/o-sytuacji-edukacyjnej-o-uczeniu-sie/  ↩︎. 

 It presupposes the existence of safe spaces where activity is meaningful and builds a community. Programme proposals are analysed according to those criteria. If the projects do not meet these requirements, they are modified by seeking consensus through conversation or systemic consensing. A green institution is constantly learning.

Conclusion

The process of ecologisation requires that various resources be mobilised within the institution. The stability and durability of its effects depends on the employees’ level of engagement and their support of the end goal. This requires a way of thinking that is based on openness toward development and an innovation-friendly environment. It is also important to enhance teamwork and collaboration, which increase the space for experimenting and making mistakes, which is key in the process of reshaping institutions and the ways we make culture. This is a large-scale project – but not as large as the extreme effects of the climate crisis. All of the ideas proposed above have been drawn from organisations known by me, which act “here and now”. The solutions are within reach. The question remains: why do we not reach out to them more often?

Bibliography:

A European Green Deal. Striving to be the first climate-neutral continent, https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en, accessed 16 June 2022.

Hickel, Less is more. How degrowth will save the world, Cornerstone, London 2021.

Hickel, The contradiction of the sustainable development goals: Growth versus ecology on a finite planet, “Sustainable Development”, 3 April 2019, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/sd.1947, accessed 16 June 2022.

http://spoldzielniakultury.waw.pl/, accessed 17 June 2022.

http://kooperacja.wymiennik.org, accessed 17 June 2022.

https://bcorporation.eu, accessed 16 June 2022.

https://grupatrop.pl/o-sytuacji-edukacyjnej-o-uczeniu-sie/, accessed 17 June 2022.

https://www.kulturadlaklimatu.pl/deklaracja/, accessed 17 June 2022.

https://www.un.org.pl, accessed 16 June 2022.

B. MacKinnon, Patagonia’s Anti-growth Strategy, “New Yorker”, 21 May 2015, https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/patagonias-anti-growth-strategy, accessed 16 June 2022.

Maiwald, Smart decision-making: Systemic Consensing for Managers, A-bis, Holtzkirchen 2018.

Morton, Being Ecological, Penguin, London 2018.

Rok, M. Czepkiewicz, P. Morawski, R. Skrzypczyński, W. Parfianowicz, Jak rozmawiać o dezwroście i postwzroście?, “Czas Kultury”, https://czaskultury.pl/czytanki/jak-rozmawiac-o-dewzroscie-i-postwzroscie/, accessed 16 June 2022.

B. Rosenberg, Porozumienie bez przemocy. O języku życia, trans. M. Markocka-Pepol, M. Kłobuchowski, Czarna Owca, Warszawa 2016 [M. B. Rosenberg, Nonviolent communication. A Language of Life, 2003.]

Sisson Runyan, Co to jest intersekcjonalność i dlaczego jest taka ważna, http://poradniksojuszniczy.pl/2020/11/intersekcjonalnosc/, accessed 16 June 2022.