Environmental Responsibility Statement

The world is facing a series of linked environmental crises. In October 2022, the UN warned that the world’s governments are not yet on track to keep global heating below 1.5 degrees, and the window for action is rapidly closing. We are already seeing the impacts of existing warming with devastating droughts, storms and floods across the world. Related crises include collapsing biodiversity, dangerous levels of air pollution, and plastic contamination in our rivers and oceans. Without urgent action from across society, these problems will rapidly escalate. 

The art world has an important role to play. Arts organisations – particularly in the Global North – have a disproportionately large impact on the environment, mainly due to a great deal of international travel, arts shipping, and high use of energy and materials. We need to act urgently to reduce these impacts in line with what the science is telling us. As arts organisations, we also have an opportunity to use our public platform and cultural influence to set a positive example, encouraging and supporting others to take action and helping shift the public debate. 

At Quad Fine Art, our values and mission are to help wider audiences discover the lesser-known modern painters, who have fallen through the cracks of art historical narratives. To fulfil this mission, we need to take urgent environmental action, because art and culture across the world are directly threatened by the climate crisis, and we must preserve it in order to continue learning from it. As an organisation, we know that our main direct environmental impacts include travel between locations and transportation of artwork to fairs.

 We have committed to tackling these impacts by:

  • Joining the Gallery Climate Coalition, and pledging to at least halve our carbon emissions by 2030, from a 2022 baseline.

  • Regularly calculating the carbon footprint of our operations, to track progress towards this target.

  • Setting specific targets for the major parts of our footprint, including: 

    • Ensuring the majority of our international shipping is carried out by sea, rail or road rather than air by 2028. 

    • Ensuring all of our packing materials are reusable or curbside recyclable by 2026, as a step towards zero-waste operations by 2030. 

    • Using only low or zero-emissions vehicles for local deliveries by 2025.

  • The actions we are taking to meet these targets include: 

    • Speaking to our shippers about alternatives to air freight. Planning our exhibitions and events with care to minimise the need for air freight and prioritising domestic fairs.

    • Reviewing our staff travel policies and practices, and planning our attendance at international events to reduce the need for air travel. 

    • Speaking to our suppliers and service providers about their carbon footprint, and looking for opportunities to encourage them to take action, or to switch to alternative suppliers who will.

    • As a small organisation, we do not have the resources to upkeep a Green Team, however, Alexandra Smirnova is our Green Ambassador.