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Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the challenges of sustainability with Juan Ignacio Vidarte
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Sustainability and social responsibility are tendencies across society that the museum sector has adopted in the last few years, in terms of both management and operations, with the objective of increasing reputation and credibility and enhancing alignment with current social concerns. Sustainability and social responsibility maintain their relevance as trends for the upcoming years thanks to the institutional commitment they imply, and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) criteria are becoming key when identifying possible interactions, reputational hazards, and future alliances.
Part of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Mission statement and foundational objectives is a management model that combines public and private collaboration that has made it an international museum benchmark thanks to the self-financing levels achieved. One of the main strengths of this model is the generation of revenues derived from visitors, the art program, the contributions from collaborating corporations, and the sponsorship of projects, which altogether contribute to the Museum’s ability to continue performing operations with minimal reliance on public funding.
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has a strong commitment towards the protection of the environment, which implies operating under the principles of sustainable development. In this sense, the measures taken by the Museum are directed towards minimizing the environmental impact of its operations and preserving the eco-system, favoring the conservation of nature and promoting an eco-efficiency-oriented activity, i.e., making the most of resources with the minimal impact possible. Thus, back in 2014, the Museum certified its environmental management system based on the standard ISO 14.001, which includes pollution prevention, control and reduction of resource consumption, and the implementation of waste management procedures.
Furthermore, for the Museum the concept of sustainability not only encompasses the environmental perspective but spans numerous other aspects. Some of them are closely connected with areas, such as accessibility and exclusion; gender equality; work-family balance; and transparency and ethics, all of which have originated a number of actions included in the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Strategic Plans and Annual Results.
Speakers
Juan Ignacio Vidarte
Deputy Director and Chief Officer for Global Systems
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Juan Ignacio Vidarte joined the New York staff of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation as deputy director and chief officer for global strategies in November 2008. He is also the director general of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and divides his time between Bilbao and New York.
Vidarte’s involvement with the Guggenheim Foundation began in 1992 when he served as managing director of the Consortium for the Guggenheim Bilbao Project, overseeing the construction of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. He was appointed director general of the museum in 1996. Under Vidarte’s leadership, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Gold Medal in Fine Arts in 1999, the European Museum Forum Museum of the Year Award in 2000, the Tourist Appeal Award in 2005, and the EFQM Silver Q Award for Management Quality.
As deputy director and chief officer for global strategies, Vidarte is a member of the foundation’s senior management team reporting to Richard Armstrong, and is responsible for initiating and implementing new ventures outside existing foundation activities. He is currently working to ensure the successful development of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Born in Bilbao, Vidarte graduated with a degree in economics and business studies from the University of Deusto in Bilbao in 1978, and took postgraduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.