GoGreen: Green Strategies to Conserve the Past and Preserve the Future of Cultural Heritage
Heritage conservation preserves the tangible remains of society, but it often relies on toxic, unsustainable chemicals and materials. It also requires the air conditioning of collections, which can be very energy-consuming. On Prof. Katrien Keune’s initiative, head of Science at the Rijksmuseum and Professor at the University of Amsterdam’s Van ‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, a consortium was formed to bring the conservation practice into the era of sustainability and embrace the principles of the European Green Deal.
The GoGreen consortium is a truly pan-European effort which combines interdisciplinary expertise from the Netherlands, Italy, France, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. GoGreen was awarded €3.74 million from the European Union’s Horizon programme including WIDERA funding for the inclusion of a Polish partner. Additional funding from the United Kingdom and Switzerland brings the total budget to €4.90 million.
Prof. dr. Katrien Keune (University of Amsterdam): “GoGreen is more than just a research project. GoGreen places conservation at the heart of the movement towards a sustainable sector, mobilising conservators to take responsibility for the long-term impacts of their practice.”
Impact
The project will provide conservators with solutions to do their work with lower energy consumption, less toxic materials, and fewer plastics. By showing how ‘green’ is defined within conversation practices, GoGreen is raising awareness among conservation professionals as to what is their current impact on the environment. This will not only reduce greenwashing, but will begin to break barriers to encourage tangible changes. To facilitate this, GoGreen is defining parameters, revising sector-wide standards, and developing decision-making models to utilise 'green thinking' in conservation.
GoGreen is also developing and introducing 'green' innovative materials and methods. These materials and methods are inspired by historical recipes and methods, biological processes and are rooted in green chemistry practices. Materials will be bio-based, nature-inspired, and applicable for remedial conservation including cleaning solutions for paintings and metals, green solvents, bio-inspired reagents, and green delivery systems. On top of all of this, a prototype of a digital web-app will help conservators evaluate the environmental impact of their treatments and materials. Lastly, GoGreen involves the development of educational modules and courses for the training of the next generation.
More info: https://gogreenconservation.eu/
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