Sustainability Unit
Sustainability is a broad theme that is an inherent part of our work, yet it requires a change in our mindset and daily practises. While a transition to a new dynamic is complex, it has to be addressed now. With the creation of the Sustainability Unit, KIK-IRPA puts emphasis on a sustainable transition through interdisciplinary collaboration within its own walls and for our Belgian Cultural Institutions.
Our Mission
The Royal Institute of Cultural Heritage mission is to help preserve our Belgian heritage for the future. Sustainability is an inherent part of that mission. The institute aims at integrating sustainable practises internally while leading research on knowledge gaps in the cultural heritage field more broadly.
The Sustainability Unit focuses on interdisciplinary collaboration with allied fields to develop a cultural institutions’ sustainable mindset. It is dedicated to creating tools and providing support and guidance to facilitate the integration of sustainability in daily practise. It currently addresses themes such as energy reduction, climate change and emergency response.
The projects of the Sustainability Unit are rooted in interdisciplinary collaboration.
By working closely with regional and international partners, we
approach practical challenges from multiple perspectives. This allows us
to embed sustainable solutions from the very first steps and across a
wide range of initiatives. The goal is to integrate sustainability in
all steps of the cultural heritage management process and make it an
attitude rather than a task.
Our Projects
Our current work focuses on four main themes: energy transition, emergency response, social relevance, and preventive conservation.
- Emergency-related projects: How to prevent, prepare for, respond to, recover from, and evaluate a disaster or crisis affecting heritage, and identify the right partners at each stage. If you want to know more, have a look at our CHrisis project that documents the response from the heritage field after the floods in 2021, impacting over 250 heritage sites.
- Energy-saving projects: Integrating energy efficiency measures into heritage institutions while improving both short- and long-term collection care. If you want to know more, have a look at our project Climate2Preserv. This research projects was designed to create a method for cultural heritage institution to tackle energy savings projects, taking into account buildings, systems, collections and energy.
- Social relevance: Strengthening the role of heritage in society, ensuring it remains meaningful and accessible to communities. If you want to know more, have a look at our Bethlehem of Verviers project. This project explores the role intangible heritage and folklore can play as a catalyst for rebuilding resilient and diverse communities.
- Preventive conservation: Prevention is better than cure. We assess risks to objects and collections and provide tailored advice to avoid damage. If you want to know more, discover the Enclosed Gardens project. This research project explores the conservation of multi-media objects using the mystical enclosed gardens as case.
At the Royal Institute of Cultural Heritage, we define a sustainable cultural institution as a high-quality institution that avoids overkill and waste, strives for optimisation and constant improvement with respect for existing practises and the communities that they represent, suitable for its activities and heritage requirements, while working in accordance with its own priorities.
Our Services
The Sustainability Unit offers three integrated service lines for cultural heritage institutions:
- Sustainability & Emergency Services help institutions balance conservation requirements with environmental responsibility through energy assessments, disaster preparedness planning, and community engagement strategies.
- Preventive Conservation Services deliver comprehensive collection care through risk assessments, environmental monitoring, and material-specific preservation strategies using internationally recognised methodologies.
- Additionally, we work in tandem with our Monuments Lab. They provide technical expertise for heritage building envelope assessments, energy efficiency, and much more.
All services integrate sustainability accross the board and range from quickscan evaluations to detailed multi-criteria analyses, serving federal institutions, regional museums, religious sites, and private heritage organisations across Belgium.
Our Partners
Our projects could not exist without intensive collaboration with our valuable external partners and funding bodies. Therefore we would like to extend our gratitude to:
Our national partners:
Brussels Museums
Blue Shield Belgium
Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven)
FARO. Vlaams Steunpunt voor Cultureel Erfgoed
Musées et Société en Wallonie (MSW)
University of Liège (ULiège)
ICOM Belgium Flanders
ICOM Belgium Wallonia-Brussels
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium and the Antoine Wiertz Museum
The Royal Belgian Film Archive (CINEMATEK)
The Belgian Comic Art Museum
The FeliXart and Eco Museum
Our international partners:
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)
The Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI)
The Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO)
The Getty Conservation Institute (GCI)
Academia Belgica
Our funding bodies:
The Brussels-Capital Region (urban.brussels)
The Flemish Government (Department Culture, Youth and Media)
The Federation Wallonia-Brussels
The Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO)
Do you have any questions or want more information? Please contact us!
