San José Museum of Art

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Environmental Responsibility

  • Street photography of the museum in the evening
     

    At the San José Museum of Art (SJMA) we recognize the urgency of the current climate crisis and are committed to minimizing our impact on climate change. We are taking steps at both the individual and the institutional level to continually reduce the environmental impact of our work and we recognize environmental responsibility as one of the most critically urgent issues of the present. We commit to caring for our planet as we care for our visitors, our community, and our collections and pledge to do our part to build a more sustainable future for the next generations. 

    Examples of this commitment in action include:

    Exhibitions

    Education and Programs

    • Environmental responsibility is a recurrent theme throughout SJMA’s cross-curricular STEAM education programs
    • SJMA’s extensive arts education programs prioritize the use of found objects and repurposed materials whenever possible
    • SJMA’s Art Learning Lab Journal, distributed for free to students and families, is printed on 100% recycled paper
    • Throughout the run of Beta Space: Patty Chang and David Kelley we have offered monthly “Walk with a Naturalist” gallery tours
    • Our environmental responsibility commitment is posted on a sign in the lobby with a QR code linking to further information   

    Galleries

    • All of our gallery spaces and most of our public spaces use 100% LED lightbulbs to reduce power consumption. When LED lights are not used we use minimal impact fluorescent bulbs
    • We have gone paperless for our gallery maps
    • Throughout the building we use Eco-Spec Paint – a zero VOC, more biodegradable and non-toxic formula that is better for the environment, and for the people using it. We will be implementing the same or similar formula across our entire color system as we phase out older, less environmentally friendly formulas.
    • When possible we are replacing vinyl with printed Falconboard panels. All of the text panels in Tending and Dreaming: Stories from the Collection, SJMA’s dedicated permanent collection galleries, use this 100%recyclable and biodegradable material. These panels are also printed with biodegradable ink.
    • We have relaxed temperature and humidity requirements in the galleries  per Bizot Green Protocol guidelines, now adopted by the American Association of Museum Directors
    • We have committed to reducing gallery change overs in order to limit the amount of exhibition building materials required to build new walls, pedestals and other exhibition elements.
       

    Membership

    • In 2023 SJMA switched from print to digital membership cards, thereby reducing paper waste and fossil fuel consumption 

    Operations​​​​

    • Anything we can reuse or recycle here we do, including large quantities of cardboard, packing materials, and the like. We make efforts to use recycled-content Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) for all of our in-house construction and to use Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified plywood and timber
    • We recycle all bulbs, including LED, florescent or otherwise in accordance with state mandates
    • We reuse as much wrapping material for artwork as we possibly can including plastic, cardboard, foam, and other crating materials
    • Wood products are also reused and repurposed into things like gallery furniture or other general uses
    • Paint is properly stored and any discard is dried and properly disposed of
    • Recycling bins for bottles, cans, paper, and plastic are placed throughout both the public and administrative areas of the Museum
    • Our museum flyers are printed in-house and on-demand using recycled paper, helping to eliminate wasteful overages
    • The Museum Store has supplied reusable bottles for staff to use during our gatherings, eliminating the need for paper or plastic cups
    • We recycle all e-waste, anything from computers to cables.
    • We have implemented a plastic water-bottle ban throughout the building, and all cafe utensils and cafe take-out boxes are biodegradable.

    Community 

    Oversight  

    • SJMA’s Green Team consists of staff from across the institution who meet quarterly to review the Museum’s environmental commitments, share learnings, and implement new efforts 

    2023 Active Member with @galleryclimatecoalition 

    GCC 2024 Active Member Verification mark

    We are pleased to announce the San José Museum of Art has successfully qualified as a 2023 Active Member with @galleryclimatecoalition! To achieve Active status we had to demonstrate that our organization had implemented environmental sustainability best practice in line with GCC guidance.

    Active Membership is not a certification of sustainability nor a claim that we are doing things perfectly or have all the answers—none of us are at this point. We’re all doing our best to assess, report and reduce our impact, set targets in line with science, take any actions we can, and work out other solutions as we go.

    We encourage all of our peers and colleagues to visit the Gallery Climate Coalition website to learn more about the initiative and how to get involved!