Environment

A person holds a small crab in their hands and passes it over to the hands of another person

Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums’ commitment is to provide a world-class service that is sustainable and which aims to minimise the environmental impacts of our operations. We are committed to continually improving our green policies and will work to reduce our consumption of gas, electricity, water and other materials.

Our Strategic Board is responsible for the approval and adoption of the Environmental Policy and statement and the monitoring and review of the work relating to the policy. Our Environmental Sustainability Action Plan 2015-2018 clearly articulates TWAM's commitment to improving sustainability and in particular to reduce energy consumption.

The Director is fully committed to supporting the green campaign and champions green issues including setting a corporate objective in the organisation’s operational plan. The Head of Finance, Governance and Resources chairs the TWAM Energy Reduction Group and allocation of capital resources is ring-fenced for ‘invest to save’ initiatives.

The Senior Management Team takes the lead on environmental performance, awareness and engagement activities for TWAM. Managers throughout the organisation are committed to improving the physical infrastructure and environmental management of their individual venues, and minimising the environmental impact of services they provide.

Staff are encouraged to participate in green polices and are kept up to date with green initiatives and activities through:

  • Staff newsletter
  • Quick tip emails about energy saving and recycling
  • Minutes of the Energy Reduction Group

TWAM venues have achieved the following Julie’s Bicycle certification acknowledging environmentally responsible business practices, and commitment to ongoing improvement:

Arbeia Roman Fort - Creative Green 3 star
Discovery Museum - Creative Green 4 star
Great North Museum: Hancock - Creative Green 4 star
Laing Art Gallery - Creative Green 3 star
Segedunum Roman Fort - Creative Green 4 star
Shipley Art Gallery - Creative Green 4
South Shields Museum - Creative Green 3 star
Stephenson Railway Museum - Creative Green 3 star

The Creative Green Standard is the environmental certification scheme managed by Julie’s Bicycle which provides an audit report of environmental performance covering energy, waste, water and travel.

The four core Creative Green criteria are:

  • Commitment
  • Understanding
  • Improvement
  • Communication