Sustainability and Social Council

Since 2017, MACBA has pursued a sustainability strategy with the aim of promoting good practices at an environmental, social, labour, economic and good governance level. Within the framework of the 2030 Agenda, the Museum will introduce a newly-structured Social Council, a body for ensuring the participation of the general public in the Museum, as an instrument of governance for establishing links between the Museum and its environment and with society at large.

Some of the steps that have been taken within this framework and in accordance with the Museum strategies are:

01

Defining our own responsible procurement policy, keeping an open overview of suppliers.
02

The implementation of an environmental management system, with a working group featuring representatives from all areas of the Museum.
03

The Accessibility Plan, with the support of sponsorship and the involvement of the entire Museum, a possible blueprint for how new ways of working are integrated into our usual processes.
04

The Visitor Experience Improvement Plan, developed by the Public Board.
05

Improvements to the work environment and internal communications, with an emphasis on work-family reconciliation measures, the Training and Development Plan and the Harassment Prevention Plan.
06

Strengthening of relations and actions with our communities (especially with the artistic community, the educational sector and the Raval neighbourhood).

The Social Council aspires to be a body for dialogue between the Museum and society at large, permeating all the Museum’s activities. A body that allows the Museum to open bi- or multi-directional dialogues with the general public and with the interest groups that participate on a daily basis in our activities, from the most operational to the most structural issues. The aim is to establish channels of communication between the different agents that form the Museum, taking on board social concerns and challenges in order to respond to them and integrate them into the Museum’s activities. The Council consists of five working groups: Public and Responsible Procurement; Social Solidarity and Proximity Economy; Accessibility and Communities; MACBA Planet; Artists and Artistic Contents.

Public and responsible procurement

This working group examines and re-evaluates the Museum’s relationship with suppliers, ensuring transparency and dialogue. It oversees the public and responsible procurement policy by establishing internal guidelines with social, environmental and proximity clauses, and indicators to be incorporated into tenders and contracts. Some of the actions carried out by the group include drawing up a dialogue plan with our suppliers and updating our public and responsible procurement policy.

See Public and responsible procurement

Social, solidarity and proximity economy

Social, solidarity and proximity economy

The aim of this working group is to rethink the Museum’s relationship with its concessions, such as the bar and the shop, incorporating social, environmental and sustainable criteria while generating better links with the neighbourhood and the city. It is also working on a sustainable events guide and participating in different social and solidarity economy actions and activities.

Accessibility and communities

From the outset, MACBA has worked to make the Museum accessible to everyone. Over the years, it has achieved this through the architecture team and projects such as I had things asleep and Secondary Affects. This working group provides a space for articulation between different departments that work with communities and accessibility. The group’s aim is to establish a dialogue with different communities in parallel with the Community Communication Plan drawn up by the QUEPO Cooperative after a working process addressing different areas of the Museum. We are currently preparing an accessibility plan that will comply with the regulations issued by the Generalitat de Catalunya for 2026.

See Accessibility and communities

MACBA PLANET

This working group comprises approximately 10 voluntary participants from different departments, forming the Museum’s ‘green team’, who will be participating in different areas of discussion and reflection, addressing the various challenges posed to public institutions by the current climate emergency, as well as examining the sustainability of institutional practices and processes, both artistic and cultural. Actions currently being developed include: expanding the collecting of data on our carbon footprint, comprising assessment of the methodology, validation of the results, establishing an emissions reduction plan (Action Plan), initiatives of awareness and communication and analysis, and monitoring the improvement of the building’s infrastructure according to climate criteria.

See MACBA Planet

Artists and artistic content

Artists and artistic content

«A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society, that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing.» In Prague, on 24 August 2022, the Extraordinary General Assembly of ICOM approved this proposal for the new definition of museum.

CODE OF ETHICS

Our code of ethics includes the ethical principles that guide MACBA’s activities and the Museum’s relationship with the different communities. The document compiles our commitments in terms of good governance and socially responsible behaviour, as well as communication and monitoring procedures.

Consult the code of ethics (in Catalan)

contact

Andrea de Miguel

for further information

sostenibilitat@macba.cat