67°51’54.2” N 176°7’30.5” W © Álvaro Laiz
Everything we do leaves a footprint on the planet.
Measuring, acknowledging, and sharing the carbon footprints of our activities is one of the first key steps towards sustainability. In Beyond the Edge, we were also able to reduce our carbon and waste impact through the circular design innovation project (RE)FRAME. To compensate for the remaining footprint, we have donated to initiatives aligned with the Gallery Climate Coalition’s Strategic Climate Funds framework.
The carbon footprint for Álvaro’s five years of field research, plus the production of the artwork for the exhibition, came to a total of:
22.5 TCO2E
22.5 tCO2e is equivalent to
0
x
the annual energy consumption of the average Spanish household
0
k
People driving 5 km (round trip) to visit a museum
0
People flying from Madrid to New York
0
Journeys to transport art between New York City and London for a large exhibition
Fieldwork Travel
19.7 tCO2E (87.6% of total)
Flights
70%
Carhire
16%
Tanks
11%
Helicopter
1.1%
Taxis
0.9%
Snowmobile
0.7%
Artwork, Book and Website
2.8 tCO2E (12.4% of total)
Artwork production - energy
8.8%
Book printing
2%
Artwork production - materials
0.6%
Artwork packaging
0.4%
Website
0.4%
Artwork transportation
0.01%
Through [RE]FRAME
Reduced the carbon footprint of the frames for the artwork by
80%
Diverted 210 kilos of waste from landfill.
210 kg
Offices of Forgotten People, Arizona, USA © Álvaro Laiz
Reciprocity with our planet
Donations through Strategic Climate Funds
Beyond The Edge has taken responsibility for its carbon footprint through a donation made in accordance with the Gallery Climate Coalition’s guidance on Strategic Climate Funds.
Álvaro Laiz donated to the Forgotten People — a non-profit, community-based organisation dedicated to improving the well-being of the Diné people, who live in the Navajo Nation in Arizona.
Supporting indigenous peoples as guardians of our land is one of the ways we can help our planet. As indigenous people are at the centre of The Edge, this is where we kept our focus.
Reciprocity with our planet
Systemic impact and alliances
Systemic impact and partnerships are at the heart of sustainability. Beyond the Edge engaged in systemic change and collaboration in several ways:
Climate Neutral Now
UreCulture signed a pledge to confirm Beyond the Edge’s participation in Climate Neutral Now (an initiative of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change which sets out three steps: Measure, Reduce and Contribute), later reporting on its achievements.
Museo Universidad de Navarra – Student Project
Beyond the Edge was used as an academic case study, as part of the university’s Horizon 2025 Strategy Programme, to investigate the building’s energy consumption. The main objective of the study was to connect three fields: art, architecture and sustainability. It was led by an associate professor at the School of Architecture who is responsible for Climate and Energy under the University’s H2025 Strategy Programme.
Museo Universidad de Navarra - Participation at ICOM 2022 Prague
The Museo Universidad de Navarra presented Beyond the Edge and the student project as part of the ICOM 2022 Prague programme. It was later featured at UMAC (the ICOM International Committee for University Museums and Collections), as an abstract in the UMAC Journal (Volume 14 (2) 2022) and as a poster at the UMAC Annual Conference.
We only take from nature
what we are able
to give back
what we are able
to give back
— we restore —
and we give to nature
in gratitude for all
that we receive
in gratitude for all
that we receive
— we regenerate —
Sacred Reciprocity or Ayni
(a spiritual principle of the Q’eros indigenous community of the Peruvian Andes).
(a spiritual principle of the Q’eros indigenous community of the Peruvian Andes).
