Calculations of carbon footprint 2019–2021

Frame’s carbon footprint for 2019, 2020 and 2021 was calculated using the Hiilifiksu järjestö (Carbon-smart organisation) project’s free, open, Excel-based calculator, which focuses on energy, mobility, procurement, waste and services. The services category includes emissions from food service, cleaning, and the use of telephone and internet connections.

A separate calculator was created for each area of Frame’s work – grant and programme activities, the Venice Biennale, communications and administration – and Frame employees collected the necessary data for the calculations. The detailed baseline data was compiled in separate files, and the combined data (e.g. the train-kilometers required for programme activities) were transferred to the calculator. The calculations followed the principle of “sufficient accuracy”, aiming to identify the largest sources of emissions without excessive time spent on detail.

Data was entered into the calculator using various units: energy consumption in kilowatt hours, travel in passenger kilometers, food servings in portions, and waste in kilograms. Emissions from cleaning, telephone, and internet use were calculated based on the euros spent on these services. Reconstructing the data from previous years was sometimes challenging, and certain data was difficult to render in a usable format. For instance, with grants awarded for transportation and exhibition installations, only total amounts of money were known, making it impossible to enter precise data into the calculator.

A limitation of the calculator, which applies to all carbon footprint calculations, is that while the goal is to determine the total carbon footprint of an activity, only a limited set of data can be entered, meaning the final result will always be lower than the actual climate impact.

In 2019, Frame’s total emissions were approximately 600 tonnes of CO2e. In 2021, Frame’s carbon footprint was around 370 tonnes of CO2e, a reduction of 270 tonnes compared to 2019. Almost 90 percent of the emissions originated from grant projects. From 2022 onwards, Frame decided to stop calculating its carbon footprint.

In 2021, Frame’s total emissions were distributed between across its operations as follows:

Grant activities: 325 000 kg CO2e (88 %)

Other activities (total): 42 000 kg CO2e:

• Venice Biennale: 16 000 kg CO2e (38 %)
• Programme activity: 9 000 kg CO2e (22 %)
• Staff travel: 10 000 kg CO2e (24 %)
• Administration: 6 500 kg CO2e (16 %)
• Communications: 24 kg CO2e (0 %)

When looking at emissions by source, most of Frame’s climate impact came from travel (particularly air travel), accommodation, transportation, and events.