SALT. CLAY. ROCK.: Sustainability Measures

Funded by the “Fonds Zero” program of the German Federal Cultural Foundation (Kulturstiftung des Bundes) to test sustainable forms of production, SALT. CLAY. ROCK. was an experiment in the climate-neutral realization of an extensive, translocal artistic and curatorial research project. One requirement for the funding were measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during the production of the exhibition. As a result, the nGbK has also developed as an institution in terms of sustainability and introduced the following measures as part of the project:

Climate officer: As part of the funding, the nGbK was able to employ a climate officer. The project was accompanied by regular further training.

Carbon footprint: Together with the company Arqum, a carbon footprint was drawn up for the nGbK for 2021. This enabled the structure of the nGbK’s carbon footprint to be recorded in detail. This analysis helped nGbK to precisely define the system boundaries and plan targeted environmental measures.

Vehicle fleet: nGbK has not rented a parking space and has purchased an electric cargo bike for courier trips between the various locations in Berlin.

Energy: The heating function of the air conditioning system was deactivated for the winter exhibition. The exhibition space is only minimally heated by the central ventilation system. We therefore ask you to leave your coats on and enjoy a cup of hot tea.

Mobility of the participants: The association has decided that air travel should be avoided for journeys of less than eight hours. Individual cases will be examined by the Board.

In the SALT. CLAY. ROCK. exhibition project, the curatorial team decided to rent an e-car. During the production phase, the 16 participants in the project traveled a total of 27,997 kilometers by train or bus.

Mobility of the public: The nGbK is centrally located at Alexanderplatz S-Bahn and U-Bahn station and wants to make it easier for its visitors to use public transportation to the new location.

Internal communication: Short “nudges” – 15-minute impulses on specific sustainability topics, such as the digital footprint of emails – are regularly provided in the weekly team meetings at the head office.

Planning: For the program in 2025, an estimate of the carbon footprint was made during the application phase and the possibility of climate-neutral production was discussed at the Annual General Meeting.

In 2024, a telephone consultation was set up to answer questions about climate-neutral production. The consultation hour takes place every Tuesday from 9 to 11 am.

Materials: During the conversion of the new nGbK spaces in 2022/23, care was taken to preserve resources. Only minimal interventions were made. For example, the existing floor coverings were retained as far as possible. All gallery walls in the exhibition space are made of straw panels on a wooden frame. As the straw stores CO₂, these panels even have a negative CO₂ footprint. Only natural materials such as clay plaster, clay paints and natural pigments were used for the painting work. These materials will also be used for future exhibitions.

The design of the exhibition SALT. CLAY. ROCK. is designed for reusability: The materials for furniture and displays are untreated so that we can give all materials a second life cycle.

Cooperation: The nGbk relies on a variety of local collaborations to share resources such as rooms, technology and materials.

Compensation: All unavoidable emissions of the SALT. CLAY. ROCK. project are offset by the purchase of CO₂ certificates so that the project’s production achieves net zero emissions.