Green Culture in the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart
Our responsibility for culture and climate
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time, and it does not stop at museums. Sustainability is particularly important for us as Staatsgalerie: our mission to collect and preserve works of art and make them accessible to everyone requires a lot of energy and resources. With four buildings and a total area of 23,646 m², of which around 15,000 m² is air-conditioned 365 days a year and around 12,000 m² is lit 310 days a year, we bear a great responsibility. We take this responsibility seriously: for more than ten years, “green culture” has been a top priority in the Staatsgalerie – we consistently focus on environmental and climate protection measures. Since then, we have been able to continuously reduce our own energy consumption and are constantly working to become even better.
We are in close and regular contact with other cultural and environmental protection institutions. For example, we have been a partner museum in the “Sustainability in Culture and Media” action network since 2023 and, together with the Green Culture office, invited participants to a network meeting in the Staatsgalerie in 2025. We also participate in programs such as Climate Protection in Cultural Institutions and BWZero, and were significantly involved in the development of the Green Culture guidelines for the state of Baden-Württemberg as well as the guidelines for climate protection in museums of the German Museum Association, which supports cultural institutions in practical climate protection matters. As a state-operated institution and museum, we see our task not only in preserving art and culture, but also in actively contributing to overcoming social challenges such as climate change. Through sustainable action, awareness-raising, and education, we want to set an example and show how art and climate can go hand in hand.
Certified for quality, environment, and energy
For us, sustainability is not just an empty promise, but a measurable and practised standard. We had our quality management system certified according to ISO 9001 back in 2014. This represents a clear commitment to transparent processes, fixed quality targets, and the aim of meeting both the expectations of our visitors and our corporate values, including climate and environmental protection. As part of this process, we documented the energy performance and key environmental factors of our facility in detail for the first time. Since then, we have been continuously reducing our energy consumption and use of environmental resources through technical innovations and optimized processes.
Two further important milestones followed in 2016: the certification of our environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001 and our energy management system in accordance with ISO 50001. This means we are committed to consistently identifying environmental aspects, complying with applicable laws and regulations, defining clear environmental goals, and actively involving and raising awareness among our employees. A key principle here is the continuous improvement of our environmental performance, from water reduction to the promotion of biodiversity. In energy management, our focus is particularly on exhibition and storage areas. Here, we regulate temperature and humidity precisely using innovative technology. By developing a comprehensive energy strategy, implementing efficient measures, and consistently analyzing our energy consumption, we are able to continuously optimize our energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions without compromising the protection of our collections.
We have achieved significant savings in recent years: emissions from goods transport were almost halved from 52.9 tCO₂e in 2023 to 24.3 tCO₂e in 2024. Emissions from business trips also fell from 22.3 tCO₂e to 17.7 tCO₂e over the same period. In the area of mobility, our vehicle fleet was completely converted to electric cars and e-bikes, which means an almost complete reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to the previous combustion engine vehicles. From 2023 to 2024 alone, we achieved an 11% reduction of our greenhouse gas emissions.
What we actually do
In addition to the steps already mentioned, such as precise regulation of temperature and humidity, we have implemented a number of specific measures. These include the gradual conversion of our lighting to energy-efficient LED technology and the use of timers and motion detectors to ensure that electricity is only used when it is really needed. We only use green electricity and reduce our heating energy consumption by moderately lowering the temperatures in work rooms and switching off the heating completely in circulation areas and wet rooms. Beyond the museum's operations, we also look for sustainable solutions and create incentives to participate: visitors who arrive by public transport receive reduced admission. Artworks that we lend are transported solely by energy-certified transport companies. Our employees consciously avoid domestic flights, and in our external communications, we are increasingly shifting our focus from print products to resource-saving digital strategies.
Future projects for climate and species protection
With every step we take toward renovation, we move closer to our goal of integrating environmental protection even more strongly into our architecture. We are currently developing concepts for extensive façade and roof greening in combination with modern solar technology. Green façades not only act as natural thermal insulation, they also lower the ambient temperature, bind fine dust, improve air quality, and create valuable habitats for insects and birds. Green glass surfaces are particularly important for our species protection concept, as they significantly reduce the risk of bird collisions, one of the greatest dangers for birds in urban areas. In addition, we plan to unseal the courtyard and transform it into a green oasis with lawns, diverse plants, and shadow-giving trees. These measures promote biodiversity, improve the natural water balance, reduce heat islands, and at the same time increase the quality of stay for our visitors.
