Green partnerships

Sustainability

Green partnerships

A woman and a young child are writing on a plant label with small seed pots around them
Plant MAC's exhibition labels

Sustainable Art West Midlands

Sustainable Arts West Midlands is a network of cultural organisations based in the West Midlands who have joined together to collectively respond to the climate and ecological crisis.

  1. We recognise the important role that arts and culture has in understanding and processing environmental and climate issues and we accept our responsibility to work towards a more sustainable future.
  2. We support each other on our environmental journeys, pooling our collective knowledge and sharing ideas and resources.
  3. Our members are accountable to each other and publicly commit to minimising our environmental impact.
  4. We will lead the creative case for sustainability within the arts and beyond, and collectively advocate for positive change.

Members include: Birmingham Rep, Birmingham Museums, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), Ikon, Midlands Arts Centre, New Art Gallery Walsall, Newhampton Arts Centre, The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), Warwick Arts Centre, Culture Declares Emergency

Culture Declares Emergency

Culture Declares Emergency are a growing international movement of individuals and organisations in the cultural sector declaring climate and ecological emergency. This means telling the truth, taking action and seeking justice.

We, Midlands Arts Centre, declare a Climate and Ecological Emergency. We pledge to work with and support our community and local government in tackling this Emergency, and we call on others to do the same.

These are our intentions:

We will tell the Truth
Governments, and their public broadcasters and cultural agencies, must tell the truth about the Climate and Ecological Emergency, reverse inconsistent policies and communicate the urgency for far-reaching systemic change. We will communicate with staff and customers and support them to discover the truth about the Emergency and the changes that are needed.

We will take Action
Governments must enact legally binding policy measures to reduce emissions to net zero by 2025 and to reduce consumption levels. We pledge to work towards reducing our emissions year on year. MAC is apolitical and so is our response to the Climate Emergency. We will seek to engage our local representatives in our environmental activities where appropriate and facilitate conversation between them and our artists and audiences. We will actively work to imagine and model ways that our organisation can regenerate the planet’s resources

We are committed to Justice
The emergency has arisen from deeply systemic injustices. Arts and Culture can imagine and forge shifts in the ways we relate to one another and the world, in our values and behaviours. Through our arts programme and communications strategy we will enable dialogue and expression amidst our communities about how the Emergency will affect them and the changes that are needed. We believe that all truth-telling, action and democratic work must be underpinned by a commitment to justice based on intersectional principles, led by and for marginalised people.

Gallery Climate Coalition

MAC is an Active Member of the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC): an international community of arts organisations working to reduce our sector’s environmental impacts.

GCC’s primary goal is to facilitate a reduction of the sector’s CO2e emissions by a minimum of 50% by 2030, as well as promoting zero waste.

Our Active Member status has been awarded to MAC as we can demonstrate that our organisation has implemented environmental sustainability best practice in line with GCC guidance, via three simple criteria:

  1. Completed a CO2e report or audit for a 12 month period, within the last two years.
  2. Established and maintained a Green Team.
  3. Published an Environmental Responsibility Statement.

National Express West Midlands

You can now get discounted bus travel when you book tickets at MAC.

We’re working with National Express West Midlands to give our visitors 25% off a NX WM Day Saver ticket. To unlock this special discount, simply book your tickets to a MAC event and receive the offer via email, telephone or at our Welcome Desk.

We encourage all our visitors to use active travel and alternatives to cars where possible. Our partnership with NX West Midlands is part of our green commitment.