EU National Institutes for Culture - EUNIC

Sustainability

EUNIC Sustainability Toolkit: A Practical Guide for Cultural Relations Institutes

What role can EUNIC play in enabling the global creative climate movement to thrive? How can the network take collective action and further mainstream climate action in the community of cultural relations practitioners? In order to answer some of these questions and help the network's members to position themselves and take individual and collective climate action, EUNIC is publishing a variety of tools.

This toolkit was authored by Maria Elena De Matteo and Eva Balaban and commissioned by EUNIC through an open call. It is designed to serve as a practical guide for cultural relations institutes and beyond, helping them engage more deeply with sustainability initiatives.

The commission emerged from EUNIC's longer term engagement on topics of sustainability and climate action, and was ideated during the Climate Culture(s) Creative Lab organised in Berlin in June 2023. The creation process of this Sustainability Toolkit was accompanied by a Steering Committee consisting of several EUNIC members, namely British Council, the Danish Cultural Institute, the Finnish Cultural and Academic Institutes, and the Irish Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, Media and Climate Action Unit.

EUNIC's Sustainability Toolkit: A Practical Guide for Cultural Relations Institutes is intended for a wide audience — from those just beginning their sustainability journey to institutions with more advanced sustainability programmes. You don’t need prior expertise to implement the measures outlined; the goal was to create an accessible and practical handbook suitable for all levels of experience.

It includes the following resources:

  • Find answers in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Climate Action and Sustainability: This section provides foundational knowledge on climate action and sustainability, answering common questions and setting the stage for further exploration.
  • Explore (How to) Get Engaged! - Making Sustainability More Engaging and Inclusive: This document offers practical examples and inspiration for integrating sustainability into your organisation in a way that is both effective and engaging.
  • Leverage the Communications Toolkit - A Dynamic Guide for Cutural Relations Practitioners to Crafting Compelling Narratives in Environmental Communication: Adapt your communication strategies to effectively convey your sustainability efforts and maximise their impact. With guiding questions to help develop your organisation’s mission and vision, the guidelines offer advice on respectful and inclusive communication about climate issues. They also address intersectionality, explaining how social and economic factors intersect with climate issues to ensure a comprehensive approach.
  • Understand your impact with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Cultural Relations Institutes in the Context of Sustainability: No matter where you are in your sustainability journey, this section will help you measure and evaluate your performance, guiding continuous improvement.
  • Navigate key terms with the Glossary - Climate Action and Sustainability Terms: Familiarise yourself with essential sustainability and climate action terminology to deepen your understanding and ensure consistency in your communications.

Whether you are taking your first steps into sustainability or are looking to enhance your existing initiatives, this toolkit provides the resources and guidance needed to make meaningful progress. We encourage you to use these materials and share them widely. When doing so, remember to cite the original title of this publication, the authors as well as EUNIC.

WE MOVE WAVES
We Move Waves is a communications and campaign consultancy that supports environmental, social impact, and cultural organisations, as well as artists, in amplifying their voices. We’re known for our strong commitment to social impact, multilingual expertise, and global reach. With particular strength in climate change communications, we utilise a creative storytelling approach to engage audiences effectively. Additionally, we offer artistic collaboration opportunities and specialise in implementing sustainable practices while executing innovative communications and PR campaigns.

Maria Elena De Matteo
I'm Maria Elena, a communications strategist, campaigner, and environmentalist with over a decade of experience working across public, private, and non-profit sectors. I specialise in international media relations and managing global campaigns spanning APAC, Europe, and the Americas.

With a background in international relations and Asian studies, I spent ten years living in Asia and have collaborated with organisations like Greenpeace, the Asia-Europe Foundation, and others. My work has focused on areas such as sustainable cities, culture, climate change, and leading high-impact interventions in response to natural disasters like wildfires and typhoons.

In 2021, I founded We Move Waves, a consultancy dedicated to developing communication, campaign, and sustainability strategies for global organisations and creatives. I've also worked closely with artists and cultural organisations to blend the arts with social and environmental impact. Additionally, I am a certified environmental assessor for festivals and live events through A Greener Future.

In 2023, I was selected for the Festival Sustainability Lab, an EU co-funded initiative exploring how arts and culture can contribute to regenerating communities and ecosystems.

Eva Balaban
I have a background in event, project and sustainability management, honed through my work in diverse international environments. During my master’s degree in Creative Events Management, I developed a deep interest in audience pro-environmental behaviour change and transformative experience design. My passion for sustainability led me to focus my master’s thesis on "Using transformative design for long-lasting pro-environmental attitudinal change in reluctant music festival audiences", which was awarded distinction by Falmouth University and won the AEME award(Association of Event Management Education) for best post-graduate thesis.

I’m a certified assessor for A Greener Future, where I’ve gained valuable experience in promoting sustainability within the events sector. I’m also experienced in ISO 20121 certification, ensuring that events are managed sustainably. Additionally, I’m certified by Attitude is Everything in Disability Equality for the Live Event Industry, reflecting my commitment to making events inclusive and accessible to all.

Currently, I’m working as a sustainability manager at the Berlin Music Commission, coordinating its sustainability working group and leading the project Sustainability Knowledge Hub, encompassing sustainability research among the German music industry and offering sustainability training. In addition, I’m supporting the Most Wanted: Music conference with its ISO 20121 certification process and its sustainability programme.

I’m dedicated to helping cultural institutions and events become more sustainable, combining my knowledge in transformative design with a passion for creating positive environmental and social impacts.

Where have topics of sustainability and climate action been discussed across the network? How is action being taken to effect change within EUNIC and beyond? Find out by following the latest news below.

    • Fair Collaboration
    • Climate
    • Member States

    EUNIC General Assembly in Copenhagen

    On 29 and 30 June, the EUNIC General Assembly was hosted by the Danish Cultural Institute in Denmark. The network welcomed the new presidency of Camilla Mordhorst from the Danish Cultural Institute and two new EUNIC Clusters in Indonesia and Côte d'Ivoire. Joined by a group of participants from the EUNIC Climate Culture(s) Creative Lab, the network engaged in a discussion on the role of cultural institutes for collective climate action.
    • European Spaces of Culture
    • Workshop
    • Fair Collaboration
    • SDG

    Monitoring & Evaluating the Societal Impact of Cultural Relations

    What parameters currently inform the way EUNIC members use monitoring and evaluation for their programmes and projects? Are current practices undertaken in a fair way, and what does fair M&E look like? How can the UN's wider SDG framework and the UN 2030 Indicators for Culture complement and inform existing M&E practices of EUNIC members? How are the UN’s SDGs currently included in the processes, and how could both approaches benefit from each other?
Co-funded by the European Union Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.