As a long-standing member of the BIZOT Group, the V&A is updating their courier policy in line with the refreshed BIZOTGreen Protocol with the aim to reduce the need for couriers through a process of risk assessment and implementation of mitigation measures.
The V&A maintains a general presumption against sending couriers unless the condition of the objects or the circumstances around the loan demand a close supervision. As many other institutions, during the pandemic the V&A adopted the use of virtual couriers, which continues today. Post pandemic, and in the context of the climate emergency, we are exploring a wider range of sustainable alternatives, including local (bookend) couriers and sharing courier responsibilities with other institutions.
In this presentation, the V&A will share our updated couriering policy and decision-making tree. These changes have not been accepted by all departments unquestioningly, and we will outline the steps that were taken to bring colleagues from all pertinent departments on board with the new policy. Using case studies of recent loans, we will explain the role of each internal body in the making of a final decision (i.e. curatorial, conservation, technical services, the loans section, and finally the Loans Committee) and will reflect on the opportunities and challenges each method presents.

The exploration of Sustainability in conjunction with Cultural Heritage is a crucial discourse, revealing intricate connections with Economy, Environment and Society. The critique acknoledges the imperative shift in approaching Heritage and sustainability, highlighting the interplay of new variables. The author emphasizes the transformative impact on the museum model and the broader implication for the museum profession and in particular Registrars.
This approach transforms our ways of apprehending Heritage and Sustainability and acting in these two fields: on the one hand, Heritage introduces new variables and priorities, requiring us to take into account the notion of sustainable conservation; on the other, the founding principles of Sustainability broaden (and upset) the field of Heritage, questioning the museum model and committing it to a profound transformation – adaptation and resilient efforts advocated by the IPCC sixth Assessment Report and relayed by the International Museum community.
Concrete and selected examples from France and case studies will illustrate how these theoretical considerations manifest and transform the practices of heritage actors in Museums and Exhibitions.

The effects of climate change will be serious for the preservation of our cultural heritage. The question arises as to how and in which areas practical countermeasures can be taken.

Art logistics will also be put to the test. The CO 2 reports of various institutions underline this importance, as art logistics sometimes account for 30%-50% of one's own footprint.

From a sustainability point of view, four relevant areas can be identified in art logistics:
Transport
Storage
Packaging
Additional services

All four areas must be considered and evaluated in a differentiated manner.

Our presentation will demonstrate which options, challenges and limitations institutions have to tackle the footprint of their projects. Requirements come from different stakeholder within or outside the institutions, and sometimes legal requirements or regulated framework conditions are difficult to reconcile with the wishes of the other party. In addition, there is a tension between optimal, object-specific logistics solutions from a conservation point of view and economic requirements.

In other sectors of the economy, innovation is an important driver for faster progress towards the achievement of goals. How can innovation contribute to the sustainability of art logistics? Is a sustainable packaging solution the key to reducing transport? Or is it a new box the same way?

We want to present an overview of the sustainability efforts in art logistics and show a new path within the industry and provide food for thought using practical example.

For a few years, museum’s registrars understood the nessecity to evolve and work with more sustainable practice.

But how do we start when less polluting materials, are not yet available on the market?

How can we reconcile the constraints related to preventive conservation and packaging standards while taking into account the life cycle of materials? How do we find time for research without increasing the number of agents or the time available?

Registrar’s of the Egyptian department in the Louvre began to work with one question: What existing material do we have now to reduce our packaging consumption ?

Our project, which is a work in progress, is to produced a reusable packing solution for zero-waste transport of small and medium-sized 3D objects. It will be especially designed for external storage or exhibition transport by truck.

This will take the form of a guide with an all-inclusive solution, from the construction plan, to its management schedule, including crate’s storage and the storage of packaging material for small and less small institutions.
Sustainability is also about being inclusive with people, we believe that the Louvre can provided many skills, as a social network that just need to be organized, like good ingredients in a good recipe.

The ultimate goal is to help registrar’s community, and to be ready to replace polluting materials with more natural ones when they will be ready and on the market.

Let’s go together?!

In recent years, there's been a growing focus on managing museum environments to safeguard objects while reducingenergy use and carbon emissions. Significant energy savings can be achieved by adjusting system automation, enhancinginsulation, and optimizing ventilation rates. However, building interventions aren't always feasible, and relaxingtemperature and humidity parameters can also reduce energy consumption significantly.

Research since the 1990s has established acceptable climatic conditions for objects and revealed that collections canwithstand greater humidity variations than previously thought. These findings were reflected in the Bizot Green Protocol(2015) and the joint IIC and ICOM-CC declaration (2014).

Despite these guidelines, the thigh and energy-consuming parameters are still the norm today, especially when it comes totemporary exhibitions, loan conditions, and negotiations. Our presentation aims to summarize research and monitoringcampaigns since then, highlighting specific results, tools, and methods supporting sustainable climate control strategies inmuseums. Additionally, we'll explore the obstacles hindering a quicker adoption of broader parameters and how registrarsand collection care managers play an important role in overcoming these obstacles.

In 2021, the National Gallery, London, the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, joined together to discuss the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, recognizing that the museum sector's responses had provided them with a generational opportunity to reflect upon standard practices related to couriering artwork. At this time, robust discussions were taking place between registrars, managers, conservators, curators, museum directors, art shippers and insurance brokers concerning best practices, sustainability, and the way to decide if a physical courier might be needed, or whether a pandemic-tested alternative could be employed. These three museums found themselves in alignment in their commitment to reduce the number of couriers; also in the way they were evaluating the need for a courier. They prepared an institutional, shared statement and developed a Loan Out Assessment form–a series of questions to help make decisions about individual loans and objects. Three years on, this rubric is still a useful, empowering tool. It reflects a measured, hybrid approach helping to weigh-up arguments for no courier, or a remote courier (virtual/bookend) or a shared courier, but it recognizes that sometimes an in-person courier is necessary. The registrars from these museums will talk about the rubric, and reflect on how the situation has shifted for them in the past three years. They hope that this will lead to lively round-table discussions between registrars at the conference, and a sharing of information about how their institutions evaluate courier-needs for outgoing loans.