Environmental Responsibility Statement

Nomad recognises that the design and touring exhibitions industry has an important and urgent responsibility to adapt to ensure we collectively protect our planet from the devastating effects of climate change. The 2015 Paris Agreement set out a central goal to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by mid-century. It is clear that this target cannot be achieved by relying solely on governmental action and that we all need to change our behaviour to work towards a climate neutral world. Exhibition production has traditionally relied on materials that have high levels of embodied carbon and cannot be recycled, high rates of waste to landfill, and large volumes of freight with a reliance on air transportation. Nomad Exhibitions was created to counter these issues and operate a new model of sustainable touring exhibitions.

Nomad was one of the first arts organisations in the world to sign up to the UN Climate Neutral Now initiative in 2020; that pledge signified our objective to participate in efforts to tackle climate change and we hope to also set a precedent for others in the industry to make similar commitments. Our own commitment is to comprehensively evaluate the full life cycle of each touring exhibition we produce, and the operations of our company, by meticulously measuring Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions. Until recently we have published this data annually on the Climate Neutral Now platform. At the end of our 2023 year, and with the winding down of the Climate Neutral Now programme, that reporting will now be carried out through SME Climate Hub.

Measuring is only the first step in our process and more importantly we are fully committed to reducing emissions throughout all activities, and compensating for any emissions that cannot be avoided through carbon mitigation programmes and charitable donations.

Nomad’s unique sustainable exhibition design approach is based on the principles to reduce, recycle and reuse. We reduce through designing and making our exhibitions with modular components and material selection that ensures we can operate a zero waste and zero landfill policy throughout exhibition tours. Our exhibitions also pack into lower volumes and at lighter weights than typical touring exhibitions so our touring logistics have a lower climate impact. We are also reducing our use of airfreight as a means to transport our exhibitions, using road, rail and sea transport wherever we can. We recycle all components of our exhibitions that have reached the end of their life, and we choose materials in our productions that can be recycled through the most energy efficient processes. The modular design approach to our exhibition systems, and their inherent robustness, ensures that we can continually reuse components in new productions until they reach the end of their life.

Nomad accepts that off-setting as a means to compensate for our measured GHG emissions is contentious and problematic. In acknowledging this we have developed a three-step methodology that ensures our carbon footprint is fully measured and realistically mitigated.

The first step is to evaluate our emissions footprint by tracking our activities throughout the year and accounting for these emissions in the most comprehensive way possible; for example, in our transportation calculations we use a well-to-wheel calculation methodology, and for the audio visual hardware we acquire we allow for full life cycle embodied carbon. The second step involves us calculating the equivalent cost of our total emissions at a value £100 per tonne of CO2e, as recommended by Arts Council England. The third step is to mitigate our emissions, at the financial value calculated through step two, by providing services annually in partnership with not-for-profit organisations working in carbon reduction sectors. This approach aligns with, and was inspired by, studies on Strategic Climate Funds carried out by the Gallery Climate Coalition. To achieve this aim in 2023 we have worked in partnership with SolarAid who provide solar lights to sub-Saharan African communities. Through this partnership we provide SolarAid with in-kind support, exhibition materials and design services to better promote their work.

We acknowledge that we still have a lot to do and are continually learning how we can work better and more efficiently. We are also committed to learning from and sharing our own knowledge with our partners, and the audiences to our exhibitions wherever we can.