The Green Museum

The single largest cause of CO2 emissions at Museum Folkwang remains the building’s air conditioning technology, which is in part powered by natural gas; the system can be subdivided into cooling technology, heating and steam supply systems. In cooperation with the City of Essen property management office and GVE Grundstücksverwaltung, in 2020 the cooling system was switched over to equipment powered by eco-electricity using the latest technology and featuring a free-cooling function as well as far lower process losses. In this way, the consumption of natural gas and the related CO₂ emissions have already been reduced by on average 40-50%. Moreover, since then far more climate-friendly “Low GWP” cooling agents are being used. Museum Folkwang pursues the goal of switching the heating and steam supply system over to heating pumps powered by eco-electricity and thus completely avoids natural gas in order to guarantee fully climate-neutral energy supplies for the museum. The supply of eco-electricity that has been in place since 2010 is being supported by an inhouse photovoltaic plant with a 237 kWp output installed in 2022, and all the electricity generated is inputted into the museum supply system. Parallel to this, Museum Folkwang is busy trying to further reduce the energy requirement, among other things by successively replacing the halogen lamps lighting technology with LED lamps, introducing additional shading systems and the temporary and/or permanent deactivation of facilities technology that is not compellingly necessary.
 

The agenda
It is through the museum programmes and curatorial work that we raise awareness for sustainability issues. There are, for example, programmes that explicitly address the topics of sustainability and climate protection such as our collaboration with numerous local and international initiatives that negotiate social and ecological transformation, which grew out of the long-term project “Folkwang and the City.” In addition, an effort is being made to stage special exhibitions created from focal points of the collection so that it is possible to draw on holdings from the museum’s own collection and avoid exhibits being transported over long distances. Finally, more recently Museum Folkwang has also included in its programme exhibitions featuring digital art that obviate altogether the need for transporting exhibits. 

The pilot project “Carbon Footprinting in Cultural Institutions,” initiated by the German Federal Cultural Foundation enabled Museum Folkwang not only to compute its own climate carbon footprint for the first time in the years 2019-20 but also to share experiences and learn from others in a “convoy process” with the other cultural organizations taking part and accompanied by experts. In the meantime, Museum Folkwang has expanded its exchange efforts and networking of in the field of sustainability and continues to pursue its goals through numerous committees and work meetings. In 2023, Museum Folkwang joined the nationwide “Aktionsnetzwerk Nachhaltigkeit” sustainability network funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. The network offers a central, cross-sector platform gauging the environmental impact of operations in culture and the media – with the aim of identifying and networking pioneers with interested parties, preparing and making accessible valuable past experiences, as well as initiating and accompanying future cooperations and pilot projects.
 

Motivated by the desire to support biodiversity in the urban domain, in 2022 Museum Folkwang teamed up with the municipal departments responsible for urban green spaces and the Grugapark (Grün und Gruga) and had herbaceous perennials planted in the green areas around the museum grounds. Special consideration was given to the aspects of hardiness and longevity, favouring domestic or naturally occurring plants and providing protection for insects. Not only were bulbs planted such as narcissus and grape hyacinths but also flowering plants like yarrow, goldenrod, and woodland sage, not to mention grasses and other plants ensuring that this greenery would survive for several years. By preferring domestic varieties, it is possible to encourage biodiversity and natural flora and fauna in an urban area. Watering is done by an integral, irrigation system that can be digitally controlled. This greening project is financed entirely from the EU’s European Fund for Regional Development (ERDF).

Museum Folkwang is currently planning to green the roof areas of the museum, supported by the future initiative KLIMA.WERK of the Emschergenossenschaft/Lippeverband. In a further step, bird protection measures tested by NABU (The Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union) have already been effectively implemented on the building.

In addition to the emissions caused by the museum’s energy requirements and its operation the arrival and departure of visitors to Museum Folkwang will also be included in the museum’s audit of its carbon footprint. Several measures have already been undertaken to cut emissions in this area: the installation of an e-charging station for cars in the museum’s own underground carpark, the promotion of the museum as a cycle-friendly destination as well as cooperations with the local public transport company (Ruhrbahn) on tickets for travel to selected special exhibitions. In 2023, Museum Folkwang  is conducting a survey on the topic of visitor mobility. This will also include the effects of the introduction of the new D-Ticket (49-Euro ticket) allowing free travel on local and regional services in Germany. Further incentives for climate-friendly visitor mobility are to be developed based on the study findings.