ACTION PLAN
An ICOM Committee-driven approach to sustainable development
The ICOM Working Group on Sustainability (WGS) proposes that each committee completes the following template, to set
out its ambitions, partnerships, actions, evaluation, communication and accountability as an actor in sustainabledevelopment. The headings below are principles adopted from the Glasgow Work Programme on Action for Climate
Empowerment and the framework of Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development.
In line with the 2019 ICOM Resolution on Sustainability and Agenda 2030,the aim of the template is to empower ICOM
committees to be part of a global museum movement to address the climate emergency and support sustainable
development through knowledge sharing, networks, commitment and concrete action.
Principles
1. A committee-driven approach (including all and each of executive board, national and international committees, regional
alliances, affiliated organisations, standing committees, working groups, and all other ICOM groupings)
2. Cost-effectiveness3. Flexibility
4. Respect for human rights, cultural contexts and the rights and needs of minorities and Indigenous peoples
5. Acknowledgement of existing relevant international and national agreements, commitments and aspirations, including UN
Declarations, Conventions and Recommendations, as well as past ICOM Resolutions
6. A gender, and intergenerational approach
7. A phased approach that integrates sustainable development into existing programmes, policies and strategies
8. An understanding that unsustainable development poses significant risks to museums and the communities they serve.
9. The promotion of partnerships, networks and synergies, within ICOM and with other sectors and institutions, both within
the cultural and heritage sectors, and beyond it1

10. An interdisciplinary, multi-sectoral, multistakeholder and participatory approach
11. A holistic, systematic approach
12. The principles of sustainable development: leave no-one behind, and balancing considerations of people, planet andprosperity
13. Ambition and accountability, in that actions should aim to make a concrete contribution towards sustainable development,and progress and challenges will be reported openly and transparently, within ICOM and, preferably, externally also.
Committees are reminded of the overarching aims of Agenda 2030 and the SDGs, set out in the ‘5 Ps’, that should guide their efforts
to increase their positive benefits and outcomes (e.g. by empowering those currently unserved or underserved by museums to makeuse of them, using the principle of ‘leave no-one behind’), and reduce and eliminate harmful impacts (such as dispossession ofcultural property, pollution and emissions arising from museum activities):
People: to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, and to ensure that all human beings can fulfil theirpotential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment.
Planet: to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably
managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the presentand future generations.
Prosperity: to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social, andtechnological progress occurs in harmony with nature.
Peace: to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence. There can be no sustainable
development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.
Partnership: to mobilise the means required to implement the 2030 Agenda through a revitalised Global Partnership for
Sustainable Development, based on a spirit of strengthened global solidarity, focused in particular on the needs of thepoorest and most vulnerable and with the participation of all countries, all stakeholders and all people.

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Main positive impacts onthe ‘5 Ps’, to be enhanced

Main negative impacts on
the 5 Ps, to be reducedand eliminatedPeoplePlanetProsperity
Peace
Partnership

Milestones for implementation:
Committees are encouraged to develop a sustainable development action plan using the above tables, to identify priorities, byAugust 2023, including both short term (to 2025) and long-term (to 2030) priorities and actions towards these priorities, withreference to relevant contexts, namely country contexts for national committees, alongside international perspectives, relevant topic
areas for international committees, and meeting the needs of those currently under-served by museums.
To share progress at the 2025 General Conference and 2028 General Conference against these plans, and to set new, higher
ambitions at each of 2025 and 2028, and ideally each year. In addition, to use committees’ own mechanisms – conferences,publications etc. – to drive short-term action and work with greater ambition for sustainable development.

Committees may also be guided by action plans used in external contexts, such as the UNFCCC Gender Action Plan on Action for
Climate Empowerment (to which a column on accountability is added below):
Activities
Responsibilities(short term, long term, please
specify)
STRATEGIC VISION AND LEADERSHIP
1. Raise ambition for sustainable development

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Timeline

Deliverables/output
sAccountability
mechanisms

Eg. Adopt a committee
statement on level ofambition, to be made openly
available, and to serve as
driver for all activity in thisplan.
The 2019 Resolution on
Sustainability can be used asa guide:https://icom.museum/wpcontent/uploads/2021/01/Re
solution-sustainabilityEN.pdf
2. Plan for the long term
Eg. Identify mechanisms forcontinuity of ambition, action
and accountability beyond
current committee
membership.
3. Ensure policy coherence for effectivenessEg. Review positive andnegative effects of policies,
mechanisms to address theseRESOURCING
4. Review, identify and allocate resources to support sustainable development across all activities

4Eg. Identify mechanism forresourcing sustainable
development activity

Eg. Set up a committee oradvisory group of sustainable
development from multiple
fields.
CO-ORDINATED ACTION ACROSS AND BEYOND ICOM FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

5. Connect with international opportunities to enhance sustainable development
Eg. Review and select a small
number of initiatives, such as
International Days, Years
and/or Decades
Eg. Identify relevant external
agencies, organizations andUniversities, including
outside the sector.
Eg. Identify relevant laws, UNConventions, Declarations
and Recommendations
6. Support action for sustainable development across ICOM, through more co-ordinated action
Eg. Identify and state
partnerships with relevantbodies and for which
purposes5PROVIDE MORE TOOLS AND SUPPORT TO TAKE PART IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

7. Develop skills to be effective, to empower members to understand, make effective use of sustainable development
opportunities, tools and perspectives
Eg. Identify skills gaps andrequirements in context ofongoing needs of professions
8. Help the sharing of experiences of taking action, through platforms for members and other opportunities to sharegood practices and lessons learnt
Eg. Identify communications
needs and channels
webinar, live streaming,publication, website or
microsites, social media
activities……
MONITORING, EVALUATION AND COMMUNICATION

9. Listen to the needs of relevant communities, including a wide range of stakeholders
Eg. Identify and state
relevant communities andstakeholders
10. Develop clear mechanisms for monitoring and communication action, to match sustainable development
commitments with clear accountability, clear monitoring and evaluation
Eg. Review existingmechanisms ofcommunication, identify gaps
and additional needs
6For example, National andInternational Committees canrefer to the SDGs in theirannual reports, DevelopmentPlans, Research Projects,
Academic Activities, etc.
Eg. Identify mechanisms forcommunicating beyond themembership, foraccountability, and in relation
to stakeholders identified in 9above.
Milestones for discussion:
All ICOM committees are invited to consider the following questions through consultations, surveys and debates.
Executive board: How can ICOM-EB contribute to supporting museums and professional practice in actions on sustainable
development challenges such as climate change? What can ICOM do organizationally to support sustainable development action?
ICOM-National Committees: How can ICOM-NC contribute to supporting museums and professional practice in actions onclimate change and sustainability? What can ICOM-NC do organizationally to support sustainable development action? What canRegional Alliances do to strengthen the dialogue of National Committees in their territories to promote sustainable development
action? (Supporting by the WG on National Committees)
International Committees: What can ICOM members do to engage experts in sustainable development, such as climatescientists, to take sustainable development action? What can ICOM-IC do to understand the impact of climate change in museums
and collections conservation processes and policies, and to adapt practice to the changing situation? What can ICOM-IC do toproduce a movement to take sustainable development action in and with museums? (Supporting by the IC Coordinating)7

Affiliated Organisations: What can ICOM-Affiliated Organisations contribute to joint actions with the ICOM-NC, ICOM-IC andthe ICOM-EB itself to promote sustainable development action? Which organisations should ICOM work with to plan and deliver
impactful action that unlocks the potential of museums to address social, environmental and economic challenges?

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