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Social Sustainability Initiatives

Social Sustainability Initiatives

Declaration: A Museum Dedicated to Social Sustainability

We hereby declare a new guiding museum philosophy of social sustainability in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), based on discussions held at the ICOM Kyoto 2019 General Conference on the topic "Creating Sustainable Futures through Museums." While recognizing the individual ideas, values, and intellectual independence of our staff members, we collectively commit to addressing the following issues:

  1. Taking measures to further environmental conservation. We recognize that the preservation and exhibition of cultural properties in museums is closely related to the reduction of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, the securing of resources required for the conservation of cultural properties, and other matters closely associated with the global environment.
  2. Bettering human health and happiness by enhancing the museum experience for our visitors and improving the workplace environment for our staff.
  3. Rectifying inequalities through improved social inclusion and equity in our visitor services.

Kyoto National Museum
October 2020

Our Museum's Implementation of the United Nations' 17 Goals for Sustainable Development

Past and Current Examples of SDG Implementation

1．No Poverty
  • Making museum resources accessible to more visitors by keeping admission fees low and providing free admission to permanent collection exhibitions for youths, senior citizens, and visitors with disabilities
3．Good Health and Well-Being
  • Supporting the physical and mental health and well-being of employees by providing comprehensive health care and reasonable accommodations
4．Quality Education
  • Conducting educational outreach activities including the Kyohaku Navigator program
  • Educating a wider range of museum visitors through the use of multilingual gallery texts, publications, and digital resources
5．Gender Equality
  • Promoting gender equality in the workplace by increasing the number of women on the permanent staff and the number of women in senior management
7．Affordable and Clean Energy
  • Installing solar panels that supply the electric power grid through a feed-in tariff system
  • Implementing energy conservation measures in the workplace, such as turning off the lights during lunch breaks
8．Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • Supporting the needs of employees with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations
10．Reduced Inequality
  • Hosting outreach activities on reducing inequalities in museums, such as the 2020 International Museum Day Symposium on the theme "Museums as Places to Achieve Equality: Diversity and Inclusion"
11．Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • Enhancing disaster risk management for cultural properties, including World Heritage Sites, as a member of the Cultural Heritage Disaster Risk Mitigation (CH-DRM) Network
16．Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • Implementing institutional systems for risk management and compliance
17．Partnerships for the Goals
  • Pursuing institutional partnerships as a member of Kyohakuren (Kyoto Museum Alliance) and Kanpakuren (Consortium of Kansai Museums)
  • Undertaking international collaborations developed out of the ICOM Kyoto General Conference

Examples of Potential Future SDG Implementation

2．Zero Hunger

Contributing to the Reduction of Global Hunger

  • Implementing TABLE FOR TWO (TFT) program
3．Good Health and Well-Being

Promoting the Health and Well-Being of Visitors and Staff

  • Increasing the number of outdoor benches and raising awareness of the natural resources in the museum gardens
12．Responsible Consumption and Production

Introducing Sustainable Museum Shop Merchandise

  • Developing new museum shop merchandise incorporating traditional materials and techniques
  • Developing museum shop merchandise made from sustainable materials with SDG themes

Reducing Single-Use Plastics within the Museum

  • Abolishing the use of plastic bags
  • Abolishing the use of plastic straws
  • Limiting sales of beverages in plastic PET bottles (reconsidering vending machine contents)
  • Participating in Ministry of the Environment's "Plastics Smart" campaign
13．Climate Action

Joining Local Organizations Combatting Climate Change

  • Membership in Kyoto Gomigen (Kyoto City Waste Reduction Promotion Council)
  • Membership in the Kyoto Local Agenda 21 Forum for community-based climate change prevention in Kyoto
About the KNM