Three things you need to know about sustainable pathways for cultural heritage

In the two years since the Environmental Sustainability Practice Task Force of the Climate Action Community was formed, the world has changed drastically. However, two things have remained the ‘same’, and indeed, are steadily increasing: the frequency of extreme climate phenomena and the digital transformation of every sector.

We are responding to the current reality by publishing the report ‘Regenerative Digital Transformation: Sustainable Pathways for Cultural Heritage’ and by calling for ecological responsibility in the sector generally, and in digital preservation in particular. Digital preservation is at the core of the mission of cultural heritage institutions. But as their digital activities grow, so does the environmental cost of all the ICT infrastructure used. While cultural heritage institutions aim to safeguard humanity’s legacy, their digital practices contribute significantly to environmental degradation. This paradox calls for a shift—from efficiency to ecological responsibility, sufficiency, and regeneration.

The ‘Regenerative Digital Transformation: Sustainable Pathways for Cultural Heritage” Report introduces the concept of ‘regenerative digital transformation’, which goes beyond minimising damage by actively seeking ways to restore, renew and reconnect ecosystems and communities through digital cultural heritage, while supporting future generations. Most importantly, it offers practical recommendations based on the analysis of survey data and desktop research. Continue reading to discover three key learnings that emerged from this report.

Why was it important to produce this report?

The Environmental Sustainability Practice Task Force of the Europeana Climate Action Community launched the ‘Sustainability Practice Survey’ with the aim to systematically assess the environmental sustainability of digital preservation practices used by cultural heritage institutions and to support in mitigating the sector’s environmental impact. The results of this survey provided insights from digital professionals and IT teams within cultural heritage institutions on their current practices across the full cycle of digital preservation (selection, preservation, accessibility) and how they integrate (or not) environmental sustainability in digital cultural heritage.

The survey highlighted both a growing awareness of environmental responsibility and a significant gap in practical strategies and institutional frameworks. The subsequent report aims to bridge this gap, offering a baseline and a reference point to inform our future decision-making and climate-conscious strategies. This is in line with the Climate Action Manifesto of the Climate Action Community, which calls for integrating eco-thinking and operational sustainability throughout the digital cultural heritage sector.

Who contributed to the survey?

Many cultural heritage institutions generously responded, contributing to this collective knowledge exercise. The survey gathered 108 responses from 24 EU countries and 6 others globally. Responses came from libraries (33%), research institutions (23%), museums (11%) and archives (6%).

The quantitative data was complemented with qualitative and in-depth case studies from the National Library of Finland, the Internationale museum network and the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

Three things we learned – and why they matter to you

1. Most cultural heritage institutions —circa 80%— recognise their environmental responsibility. Yet, only 42% have adopted formal environmental strategies, and just 14% actively measure the carbon footprint of their digital services. This gap between awareness and action highlights the need for capacity building, clear frameworks and guidelines, and more accessible tools to help CHIs turn their commitment to actions and measurable impact.
2. Many cultural heritage institutions approach digital preservation without a unified strategy. There is a diversity of content selection criteria that results in inconsistent preservation frameworks. Project-based requirements (17%) are the most common driver of digitisation, leading often to fragmented collections shaped by short-term goals. Organisational policies influence 14% of selection decisions, while 13% respond to ad hoc access requests, primarily for research reuse. Only 6% of institutions involve the public in participatory decision-making, and 5% report having no clear selection method at all. Lacking a clear long-term digitisation strategy has a direct negative effect on the sustainability of the lifecycle of digital assets —starting with the appraisal phase, when highly-valued material might not get prioritised and assigned more preservation resources, to the duplication of others or favoring ‘indefinite’ storage by default due to the lack of deaccessioning policies.
3. There is a great potential to developing community-powered archives and adopting a participatory approach by involving the end-users of digital services; around 80% of respondents agree that end-users can help co-create value and improve digital processes and practices to be more environmentally responsible. Case studies highlight the value communities may provide as creative solution partners to cultural heritage institutions. From digital asset lifecycle management to decentralised storage and preservation with distributed infrastructure, community participation can drive change and have multiple positive outcomes.

The moment for action is now!

Along with communities, cultural heritage institutions can play a vital role in climate action by transforming digital heritage practices into regenerative ones. We need to move beyond efficiency to sufficiency, maximising preservation value with minimal ICT use. Read the Full Report to access insights and tools to support cultural heritage professionals and heritage professionals begin —or deepen— that journey.

You can start with small changes in your daily operations —like repairing hardware, using open-source software, rethinking ‘digital as usual’ mindsets —share your successes, and watch how our collective efforts blossom into transformative digital practices. We also encourage you to join the Europeana Climate Action Community to share your experience and learn with us.

As the report acknowledges:

‘Together, we're not just preserving the past, we're creating fertile soil for a more vibrant, regenerative future for generations to come and thrive.’