hARTslane is fully committed to reducing its’ impact on the environment. We support the landmark Paris Agreement of December 2015 to limit global temperature rise to below 2C against pre-industrial levels. We are also committed to the UK Climate Change Act and the Mayor of London’s target to reduce London’s carbon dioxide emissions of 60 per cent (below 1990 levels) by 2025.
1. Key information
hARTslane CIC is a social enterprise with an experimental art project space in South East London, rooted in the local community with an international reach. This is a place where artists and local people come together to share ideas, explore contemporary issues, create and be inspired. Founded in 2012 hARTslane programmes ideas-driven group exhibitions and projects with professional and non professional creative practitioners at all levels and stages of their careers.
The hARTslane project space is operated in a building owned by the local authority where we run our curated art programs as well as organise for the gallery to be hired out as a short term studio and exhibition space. Our income derives from the hiring out the gallery space as well as from commissions and project grants.
During the years that we as hARTslane have been operating, the project space has served a cohort of more than 500 art practitioners. During this time Environmental sustainability has very much been our agenda;
in the way we work; recycle all paper, avoid using plastic, we walk everywhere or use public transport and we encourage the use of sustainable materials in the gallery & office space. – we have hosted a series of exhibitions that raise environmental awareness and are currently exploring ways to collaborate with Extinction Rebellion.
educating the next generation; we have repeatedly worked on art education with children, both in our own gallery and with local primary schools. We want to, through the arts raise awareness and look for solutions to tackle climate change.
2. Motivation for a more formalised approach to environmental sustainability
we as the hARTslane organisation have occupied the building we are in for over 8 years. Our landlord is the local south London borough, Lewisham and the building fabric itself is very dilapidated and in dire need of refurbishment work. As a not-for-profit art organisation we have an agreement with the Council that we raise the funds to pay for the essential refurbishment works to the building against which they let us use the space for free, on a so called peppercorn rent. So improving & upgrading our building’s fabric & energy source is our motivation and our ambition is to do it to such an extent that it becomes a landmark building and a model of eco-friendly architecture in south London.
3. Level of environmental ambition
To reduce hARTslane’s long term impact on the environment by ensuring that we a) use sustainable materials in refurbishing the building b) use services powered by renewable energy, c) strive towards waste prevention
4. Main impacts, specific to the nature and size of our activities
Building; as previously stated the building we occupy is very basic and dilapidated in terms of its’ building fabric. There is no heating system and the walls are not insulated, as it was originally built as a light industrial space. We therefore use the building less in the winter months when it’s cold and currently have low energy use and very low carbon emissions. The nature of how we use the building will change once refurbished, we will occupy it more evenly throughout the year and there will potentially be more energy & carbon emission impact as a result.
5. Key environmental commitments
a) renewable energy: as far as the refurbishment of the gallery building is concerned, in order to lessen the impact on the environment we are proposing to use a solar photovoltaic panel system on the south side (pitch) of the roof to convert sunlight directly into energy. This energy will generate a consistent & stable form of electricity which will help generate among other things the boiler and hot water cylinder for powering the underfloor heating that we are proposing to implement in the space.
We will also ensure the following during the refurbishment stage:
b) insulation: we will ensure the new space is well insulated using the eco-friendly hemp material
c) rainwater harvesting: with over 150m2 of roof we are looking into the notion of rainwater harvesting using a water collection system to catch the run-off from its’ (proposed) pitched roof. This water would be supplied to the toilets.
6. Other key environmental commitments
transport by public services or cycling, training staff on environmental issues & communicating our environmental agenda through talks, seminars & public exhibitions in our gallery space. We will introduce & share a green policy for all artists/ users of our gallery with clear guidelines on how to use the space including how to avoid generating waste and re-using and up-cycling material.
7. Environmental Action Plan
As per the points here above our key objectives are to have our gallery & project space refurbished and become a model of eco-friendly building, using sustainable materials and renewable energy to power it. We are hoping that this work will start in late 2021 or early 2022.
The nature of our environmental sustainability plans through a complete overhaul of the building we occupy is such that reducing environmental impact becomes integral to our being and the way we operate on a daily basis.
Once the refurbishment work to our building starts we will be able to give a more detailed schedule of objectives in an Environmental Action Plan. Such a plan will be monitored, reviewed & updated by us the hARTslane team, as we will project manage the work to our building.
