The cultural sector in Norway is actively working towards becoming more climate and environment friendly. However, this transformation is occurring within the framework of ‘business as usual’. While there is a greening of the sector, most operations and management continue more or less as before.
In Norway, the government has embraced Agenda 2030 by outlining a National Action Plan published as a White Paper, St. Meld. nr. 40 Mål med mening – Norges handlingsplan for å nå bærekraftsmålene innen 2030 (Goals with Purpose. Norway’s Action Plan for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030) (2020–2021). Both the White Paper and the accompanying guidance document “Nasjonale forventninger til regional og kommunal planlegging” (National Expectations for Regional and Municipal Planning) (Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, 2019) emphasize that the 17 SDGs should be the primary policy focus in Norway until 2030. The SDGs should form the basis for all societal and spatial planning. In these policy documents, counties and municipalities are defined as key actors in realizing sustainable societal development and the SDGs in Norway. In other words, much has been entrusted to local and regional authorities. Generally speaking, we can say that both local, regional and national authorities have used soft means to nudge the actors to opt for more sustainable operations. Typically, cultural institutions are encouraged to choose electronic power, more climate friendly transport, more climate friendly building materials, through public funding. Another strategy seems to have been sharing knowledge and experience through seminars and conferences.
The impact on cultural policy is both implicit and explicit. The demand for sustainable transformation has made cultural policy more instrumental, simultaneously providing the sector with a new basis for legitimacy. We observe that all parts of the sector are adopting this legitimacy basis. “Culture for culture’s sake” is replaced by “culture for the sake of sustainability”.
The shift towards more climate-friendly practices stems primarily from initiatives within the practice field and has not been politically driven. The development has been bottom up in most areas. Established cultural actors are hiring new employees with expertise in this area, and entirely new actors are entering the sector specializing in the green transition. Civil society has been an important driver for change, whereas the public has been more reluctant to take an active role. This seems however to be changing as the Ministry for Culture and Equality are currently making a strategy for culture and sustainability.
An example of a programme aimed at facilitating cultural sustainability by public authorities can be found at https://www.kulturdirektoratet.no/web/guest/kreativ-naering/vis/-/a-kulturelt-drivhus
Regional and local programmes are probably more intersectoral.
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