The background
The National Maritime Museum’s goal is to be an eco-positive organization by 2030. To make this as concrete as possible, Copper8 guided their core team in developing a sustainability plan with applicable measures.
Context
The National Maritime Museum (Het Scheepvaartmuseum, HSM) is strongly connected to the community through its social function and mission. It’s therefore not surprising that the organization is in the middle of a transition to sustainable business operations, and that it has shared its goal to be an eco-positive museum by 2030. HSM wants to work towards a framework within which it can make a real impact, with the engagement of the entire organization.
The question
HSM asked us to: “support us in concretizing our sustainability objective: an eco-positive Maritime Museum by 2030. Then help us translate this into actual implementation in our organization, so employees can independently apply sustainability principles in their work.”
Current situation and future
If you want to make the biggest impact possible, you need to know what the most relevant sustainable impact areas are. This requires a baseline measurement: a numerical substantiation of the negative impact. HSM also wanted to determine the museum’s positive impact, for example, the impact it has by inspiring visitors and students about sustainability, or by discussing shared sustainable transition issues such as the sea level rise with partners. Working from the baseline measurement and the framework for positive impact, we developed a sustainability plan with concrete measures.
The process
First we delved into the organization’s DNA by talking to many people from different departments and analyzing the existing data on the current environmental impact. Working with the core team, we then formulated concrete measures that either reduce the negative impact or increase the positive impact. We believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience with the core team so that they have the capabilities to implement the measures without us.
The results
We completed the strategic sustainability plan at the end of 2023. It clearly sets the sustainable course for the coming years, including the path to reach the destination. In addition to this concrete result, we are confident that the core team can get started on the sustainability plan in the coming years without us.
