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Climate Action Plan

Change the way we research and exchange knowledge

Red, blue and white swirl together, with mapping lines showing underneath
Red, blue and white swirl together, with mapping lines showing underneath
Work by Monsoon Assemblages at Planetary Assemblages exhibition, Lethaby Gallery, Central Saint Martins 2022 | Photograph: Eilwen Jones

Using our creative practice and research to serve the Earth.

As artists and designers, our work is about making sense of the world and our relationships in it and to it. We make physical products and systems that mediate those relationships, creating ripples of impact at wider scales.

We relate to wider social, economic, cultural and planetary systems. We’re making sure that we serve our biosphere and the lives within it through our research and knowledge exchange. We'll use the evidence produced through research and knowledge exchange to devise and campaign for policy change.

Our human system is fundamental to our ability to teach, operate in our buildings and use our voice to encourage action in the world. To connect change within and beyond our community, we must use our knowledge and research with care. We must transform ourselves and advocate for policy and practice change.

A moth on a black surface with slime mould next to it
The Physarum Experiments: testing culinary preference | Heather Barnett, 2009

What we’ll do

  • Apply our research expertise to our own systems and operations.
  • Make the case for the contribution of creativity and culture in climate and environmental justice.
  • Increase the scale and impact of our climate-related research.
  • Imagine, inform and influence change in policy, industry and the higher education sector.

What we've done so far

  • Convened the Climate and Environment Action Group.
  • Identified areas of focus for our Climate Action Plan.
  • Developed and applied a governance structure for working groups and membership.
In aiming for justice, we are beginning a project of cultural recovery. One that joins decolonisation and decarbonisation within, and beyond, the art, design and higher education sectors. Where we can imagine another story of being human in a more than human world.

— Professor Dilys Williams, Director Centre for Sustainable Fashion
A circular globe-style with London at the centre. Behind it are a series of black and white photos of various locations. 'A walk of 553.96.KM from home to home' is written in the top-left corner.
Claudia Lehmann, 2021 BA Fine Art, Camberwell College of Arts, UAL