Garden Museum

At the Garden Museum we are aware of the impact museums have on the environment. Therefore, we are committed to continual improvement in reducing our organisation's carbon footprint. We seek to demonstrate that sustainability should be integral to the operation of any successful museum and are working on new ways to engage our visitors with our sustainable values. These are some of the things we care about: Energy: The Garden Museum seeks to minimise consumption of non-renewable energy sources and to continually research alternative sources and technologies to reduce consumption of energy. For example, we recently switched to using low-energy lighting. Meanwhile, sustainability is embedded in our Development Project, which includes the installation of photovoltaic panels. Find out more about the Development Project below. Waste: The Garden Museum works to minimise the waste it generates and the associated impacts by seeking opportunities to reduce, reuse, recycle and ultimately recover waste produced. Over the last three years, we have become a Zero Waste to Landfill museum meaning we recycle and compost about 80% of the Garden Café's raw food waste, sending the remaining materials to an energy from waste facility. We have also re-thought the future of our temporary displays and an important part of our exhibition waste is now reused by partner organisations. Additionally, we are a member of the Museum Freecycle Uk Network. Water: The Garden Museum seeks to minimise consumption of supplied water and is investigating options for the capture and use of rainwater - or grey water where practical - for use in our gardens. Cafe: Our vegetarian café uses organic and sustainable seasonal produce along with Fair Trade items. Have a look at the Garden Café Sustainability Board here. Shop and retail events: We organise two sustainable design fairs every year: Diggin' Design and Summer Tumblr. These events showcase a wide range of environmentally friendly products and support local makers and producers. Further, our shop stocks predominantly UK suppliers and craftspeople. Gardening: Thanks to a number of supporters, we have been able to run gardening projects and implement strategies to improve our sustainability. The Western Riverside Environmental Fund enabled the building of a green-roofed greenhouse onsite. Our Flower Cart, funded by the Happy Museum Project, promote the use of sustainable flowers. And, thanks to the support of EDF London Eye/VMG Community Chest fund we are now engaging volunteers with growing food in urban spaces.