Pillar 1:
Ecological transition in the field of culture

Priority 10:
Having specialist to carry out public policy objectives on sustainable culture

As part of its climate efforts, Munich is committed to becoming climate-neutral by 2035 and is involved in the EU Mission ‘100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030’. The city has initiated numerous projects, including within cultural institutions focused on reducing the sector’s carbon footprint.

In 2024, Munich’s Department of Arts and Culture created a permanent position of “sustainability and transformation manager” to centralise and expand climate efforts. The manager is responsible for developing and implementing a sustainability strategy aligned with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The manager also acts as the main contact point for cultural institutions and independent organisations on sustainability issues, while contributing data to the city’s sustainability report to facilitate collaboration across city departments and cultural institutions.

Thanks to this new position, strategic, efficient, and impactful activities can be implemented across departments. For instance, a concrete project for the sustainable management of catering at the Museum Villa Stuck and other institutions.

The sustainability and transformation manager ensures that all cultural institutions follow a unified approach. Nevertheless, encouraging change in all stakeholders and employees is key; this can be done by maintaining dialogue, motivating with empathy, exchanging with subdivisions, and offering information events and individual consultations.

It is important to have both political and social support. Transformation and sustainability are community tasks requiring creativity and decision-making power to push things forward. In the city administration context, such positions should identify existing sustainability efforts across departments to avoid duplication and use resources efficiently. Effective communication, though time-consuming, is essential for long-term success.