Can we take a raincheck? : The Issue of Environmentally Sustainable Cultural Heritage Digitalisation

Sammanfattning

The escalating effects of climate change are becoming a discernible threat to tangible cultural heritage, and to preserve the heritage at risk digital preservation has become a common practice by institutions. However, paradoxically, the ICT (Information & Communication Technology) infrastructure and cloud services used in digitalisation is simultaneously contributing to the escalation of climate change. This thesis advocates for the significance of Environmentally Sustainable Cultural Heritage Digitalisation, abbreviated ESCHD, by investigating the triadic relationship between the fields of environmental sustainability, digitalisation and cultural heritage. This is conducted through a quantitative gap analysis of identifying key words in cultural heritage policy documents, as well as a qualitative interview study with professionals working in one or several of the ESCHD fields. The research is done from a Swedish perspective with a European influence, and the results are supported using a theoretical framework containing key concepts surrounding inaction. The gap analysis was carried out on 16 documents which identified that only a third contained instances of environmental sustainability. The remaining documents contained vague mentions, or in some cases, no mentions at all. The thematical analysis of the six interviews revealed three overarching concerns: (1) the presence of a knowledge gap, (2) the point of responsibility, and (3) goal conflict. Although there is ambition within the sector to work more sustainably, action is hampered by issues such as a lack of awareness or knowledge, access to supporting data, the reluctance to overstep the boundaries of one’s own field, and the organisational prioritisation of other goals e.g. economical or security concerns. The findings highlight the importance of further research within the ESCHD field, emphasising the urgency of collective action. This is a two-year master’s thesis in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies.