Ecoblog
IHME Helsinki’s carbon footprint 2024
IHME Helsinki’s carbon footprint in 2024 was approximately 15.8 t CO2e.*
Our carbon footprint was equivalent in magnitude to the average annual emissions of about one and a half Finns**. Our emissions were slightly lower than in previous years: 18.6 t CO2e in 2022 and 19.4 t CO2e in 2023.
Our emissions reduction ceiling for 2024 was 27 t CO2e, which is almost twice our actual emissions for the year. Our aim is to carry out our commissions and events with the lowest possible emissions, while at the same time assessing the positive environmental impact of our activities – what we achieve with our emissions.
Distribution of emissions between different activities
As in many previous years, the majority of our 2024 emissions came from travel and transport (12.3 t CO2e, 78%). Internationality is at the heart of our mission, but we are reducing emissions from travel by opting for remote meetings, travel by land, and combined travel. You can read more about how we work internationally from an eco-sustainability perspective in our Executive Director’s blog.
We also monitor our emissions by dividing them into basic activities and artworks. The emissions from our basic activities accounted for 5.2 t CO2e of the total, of which travel and accommodation accounted for 2 t CO2e and energy 1.5 t CO2e. Travel and accommodation included the Executive Director’s combined trip by air and train to Europe and another trip by boat to Sweden.
Of the emissions, 6.2 t CO2e were related to IHME Helsinki Commission 2024, the Maaleipä Challenge. Total emissions (2023-2024) from the artwork were 11.8 t CO2e, the majority of which also came from travel.
Preparations for IHME Helsinki Commission 2025 consumed 4.3 t CO2e. This will be carried out by Zhanna Kadyrova from Ukraine, and will deal with water and energy infrastructure. These emissions were also mainly from travel and transport.
The main reason for the decrease in emissions from 2022 and 2023 was less air travel. The artists of the 2024 and 2025 commissions are European, so air journeys for the works were short, which also affected travel emissions. However, in future years artists might travel from further away.
What did the emissions achieve?
Art can be a force for change in the era of environmental crisis, challenging conventional ways of thinking and acting. Our annual art production and events are thus aimed at promoting the cultural change needed in the environmental crisis. IHME Helsinki commissions by international artists are made in public space, open to all, and free of charge. In this way, we constantly try to find new audiences for contemporary art.
In addition to commissioned works, we share information about sustainability in the artworld, develop ecological operating models, produce information about the role of art institutions in the sustainability transition, and organise smaller events in collaboration with other actors. The relationship between the negative and positive environmental impact of our activities is discussed in more detail separately.
IHME Helsinki Commission 2024 was the Maaleipä Challenge. In it London-based Cooking Sections sought bread recipes that combined the health of the earth with the health of the gut. As a result of the Challenge fourteen recipes were published and celebrated at the Maaleipä Feast in September 2024. At the same time, it promoted awareness of regenerative agriculture methods. By inviting home bakers and professionals to bake a loaf of bread we helped people take steps towards a more sustainable everyday life and a change in the food system.
Doing the calculation and taking responsibility
We use the calculator created by the Hiilifiksu järjestö (carbon-smart organization) project, as it is well suited for calculating emissions from our own activities. Using the same calculator over different years also makes it easier to monitor the trajectory of our emissions.
We understand that the results of the calculation depend on many variables, and that there will always be something left out of the calculation. It is therefore a good idea to take the result as an indicative estimate. For 2024, we have excluded some digital services, insurance, and visitors’ travel from our calculation. In the artworld, audience travel is often an important source of emissions, but we have excluded this from our calculation for the sake of clarity. We take audience travel into account by always planning our events along public transport routes. Feedback indicates that people mostly come to our events by public transport, walking or cycling.
In addition to reducing emissions, we take responsibility for our own carbon footprint by supporting projects to combat climate change and promote biodiversity in Finland. Last year, we supported Hiilipörssi and the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation.
In the next Ecoblog, we will take a look at the Vihreä Taide and Green Producers Club carbon footprint calculators. We will compare them with the calculator from the Hiilifiksu järjestö project that we are already familiar with.
Pinja Valja
Working on her diploma work for Specialisation programme in climate expertise. Pinja is responsible for Eco-Coodinator’s tasks in IHME Helsinki during the spring 2025.
* CO2e = carbon dioxide equivalent
** Sitra’s calculation of the carbon footprint of the average Finnish citizen in 2023, which was 9.6 t CO2e, was used as a benchmark.
The calculations have been made with the Hiilifiksu järjestö project’s calculator.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version), revised by MG.
