Environmental protection - Climate ticket and green: Folkwang Museum wants to become greener
Insect-friendly greenery surrounds the building, Photovoltaic on the roof and a One-Euro Climate Protection Ticket for visitors: Essens Folkwang Museum aims to reduce its CO2 emissions or at least offset them through climate promotion elsewhere. From Monday, visitors can buy the One-Euro Climate Protection Ticket online and from Tuesday also at the museum box office. The house announced this.
"The museum is the municipal property with the highest energy requirement," said Museum Director Peter Gorschlüter. The house has been working with other museums for years to reduce its carbon footprint. About a year ago, Folkwang joined a nationwide "Sustainability Action Network," which includes institutions such as the Goethe-Institut and the German Opera in Berlin, the Konzerthaus Dortmund, and the German Theatre League.
Heating systems run on green electricity
The Museum Folkwang has systematically examined all processes for their energy consumption and developed a 100-point plan for savings, reported Gorschlüter. A crucial point is the climate control of the exhibition: it must be 21 degrees with 50 percent humidity, with minimal deviations. The house has converted its heating systems to green electricity and in 2022 built Photovoltaic systems on the large flat roofs with a total area of 1400 square meters.
The museum owns no service vehicles, and only trains are used for travel within Germany and not planes. Vehicles for art transports are rented. Around the house, shrubs have been planted to attract insects, and for exhibitions, the carpentry uses reusable walls instead of drywall and modular bases that can be adjusted.
Additional tickets for visitors' travel compensation
All this reduces energy consumption, but a very large CO2 contribution is the travel of visitors - there were over 440,000 in 2022. Many come by car. A study showed in 2023 that the average commute distance was 148 kilometers per visitor. That's a lot of burned fuel. The One-Euro Climate Protection Ticket comes into play here. With the voluntary offer as an addition to the admission ticket, the Essen Bonnekamp Foundation in the north of the city will be supported by the museum in the future, which manages a three-hectare nature garden there.
Art in the nature garden
This should at least offset greenhouse gas emissions, said Gorschlüter. In the nature garden of the foundation, fruit and vegetables are also sold. In addition to nature, there will be art there in the future: The museum plans to hold art workshops in the garden as part of the cooperation.
- The One-Euro Climate Protection Ticket is now available for purchase online and at the museum box office in North Rhine-Westphalia's Essens Folkwang Museum.
- The Museum Folkwang, known for its extensive photovoltaics installation on the roof, has shifted its heating systems to run on green electricity.
- The German Opera in Berlin, the Konzerthaus Dortmund, and the German Theatre League are among the institutions collaborating with the Museum Folkwang for environmental protection.
- The museum's climate control system requires maintaining a specific temperature and humidity level, which contributes to energy consumption.
- The museum has converted its heating systems to green electricity and installed Photovoltaic systems on its large flat roofs with a total area of 1400 square meters.
- To reduce the CO2 emissions from visitor travel, the museum offers additional One-Euro Climate Protection Tickets, which will fund environmental projects through the Essen Bonnekamp Foundation.
- The Museum Folkwang plans to hold art workshops in cooperation with the Bonnekamp Foundation's nature garden, introducing an artistic element to the environmental protection initiative.
