Sustainability initiatives are linked to cost-savings, reduced carbon footprints, improved community relationships, and future resilience, along with the opportunity to optimize the preservation of collections. Doing so can be critical for small and mid-sized institutions with substantially limited resources to survive and thrive going forward​. However, the time and financial resources to develop such a plan have meant that these efforts have previously been limited to larger institutions. By adapting and applying what has been learned about sustainable preservation at larger institutions, the field can also more substantially address the need to meet sustainability goals.

The learning objectives for this course include:

-become familiar with the tools and resources available to implement sustainable practices specifically in the cultural heritage field
-understand sustainability terms and practices, and how they can apply to collecting institutions
-begin assessing current institutional practices through a sustainability lens and realize how to develop this practice into an actionable plan

The statements and opinions expressed by panelists, hosts, attendees, or other participants of this event are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of, nor are endorsed by, the American Alliance of Museums.