Oudolf Field, Hauser & Wirth Somerset. Photo: Jason Ingram

Joining the Gallery Climate Coalition’s ‘Active Members’

10 May 2023

An initiative to encourage tangible climate action in the visual arts

Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) has announced Hauser & Wirth amongst the first wave of its members who have achieved ‘Active’ status. GCC launched plans for the Active Member designation in October 2022, to coincide with its two-year anniversary. The initiative is intended to celebrate the organizations and individuals who have taken effective steps towards environmental responsibility as well as incentivising those who are yet to honor the coalition commitments. The launch of this initiative marks an evolution in GCC’s strategy from awareness raising and community building to one focusing on near-term tangible progress, starting with three key actions:

1. Completing a CO2e report or audit 2. Establishing and maintaining a Green Team 3. Publishing an Environmental Responsibility Statement

Hauser & Wirth supports the development of a meaningful and industry-specific response to the climate crisis and have been patrons of the GCC since 2020. We have qualified as a 2022 Active Member by demonstrating that our organization has implemented environmental sustainability best practice in line with GCC guidance. The GCC has been instrumental in evolving the resources, tools and research driven reports that have aided the development of Hauser & Wirth’s approach to environmental sustainability.

‘We commend the GCC for the work they are doing to galvanize the art community and are delighted to be awarded Active Member Status.’—Cliodhna Murphy, Global Head of Environmental Sustainability

‘Eduardo Chillida’ at our Somerset gallery was the second gallery exhibition to receive a Climate Impact Report published with Artists Commit © Zabalaga Leku. San Sebastián, VEGAP (2023). Photo: Ken Adlard

Mika Rottenberg’s exhibition at our Los Angeles gallery was the latest in a series of Hauser & Wirth exhibitions to receive a carbon emissions calculation © Mika Rottenberg. Photo: Zak Kelley

In the first cohort of Active Membership almost 10% of GCC’s 800-strong member base have demonstrated that their organization has implemented environmental sustainability best practice in line with these areas. GCC congratulates all members that have accomplished this but particularly acknowledges the significance of the work done by the many small organizations, artists and individual professionals that have made transformational changes in implementing these effective actions.

As part of the initiative, GCC has provided qualifying members with a badge, renewable annually, to recognize and celebrate the action that they have taken.

Cliodhna Murphy joined Hauser & Wirth in 2017 as Director of Operations based in London and, as part of that role, led the gallery’s carbon footprint calculation initiative. As our Global Head of Environmental Sustainability, Murphy has written on Science Based Target Initiative for the GCC (Gallery Climate Coalition) here and in addition is a volunteer member of the GCC’s Waste Management steering group.

‘We have pledged to cut our carbon footprint by 50% by 2030,’ says Cliodhna Murphy. ‘To achieve this goal, we need to be determined and increasingly innovative to find more sustainable ways of conducting our business. The scale of the challenge facing all of us requires immediate and long-term measures. We commend the GCC for the work they are doing to galvanize the art community and are delighted to be awarded Active Member status.’

Learn more about the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) ‘Active Members.’

Learn more about the gallery's sustainability measures.