London – In 2024, Christie’s, the world’s leading art and luxury business, achieved a 11% YoY reduction in carbon emissions, according to their 5th Environmental Impact Report , published today. Measured against the carbon footprint recorded in 2019, the firm’s ‘baseline’ year, emissions have reduced by 69%. In 2021, Christie’s was the first international auction house to commit to sustainability objectives and remains the only house committed to going beyond the regulatory minimums in pursuit of a lighter environmental footprint.
Last year saw the company’s ambitions to reduce emissions by 90% by 2050, validated by the SBTi*. Bonnie Brennan, Christie’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Five years ago we made a decision to create a more sustainable future for Christie’s. With a reduction of 69% since 2019, we have shown it is possible and in doing so have driven change in the art market.
Art is a source of personal joy and enrichment and that should not come at the expense of the environment.” The 11% reduction was achieved by: Extending renewable energy across 100% of our buildings Working with our clients and suppliers to encourage greater use of sea and road freight Collaborating with shipping partners to make efficiencies in distribution and promote more sustainable packaging materials Reducing air and car travel and increasing travel by train Improving the tools used to measure emissions data Please Note: 2023 emissions for Procurement, Buildings, and Shipping have been restated ** 2024 Emissions Summary Buildings 4,076 tCO2e (16% of total emissions); energy used in buildings, waste, water, paper, and employee commuting In 2024, building emissions increased by 3% from 2023 but decreased by 58% from the base year 2019.
Initiatives included: Reached 100% renewable energy and plan to maintain this going forwards Moved to the energy-efficient Henderson building in Hong Kong (September 2024), reducing energy consumption by over 40% vs. 2023 Ongoing installation of energy-efficient equipment Installing automated lighting in UK with plans to roll this and other energy reduction improvements across all global sites Improved waste recycling for key sites, diverting 90%+ of waste from landfill Held our first employee commute survey IT 2,944 tCO2e (12% of total emissions); IT procurement, data centres, post and telecommunications, e-waste, and on-blockchain activities In 2024, IT emissions decreased by 5% from 2023 and by 73% from 2019, driven by carbon emission reductions at our leading suppliers and data centres.
We continue our ongoing approach of moving applications to the cloud wherever possible. Shipping 6,861 tCO2e (28% of total emissions); inbound and outbound freight, exhibition tours, other internal logistics and storage, and packaging In 2024, shipping emissions decreased by 10% from 2023 and by 59% from 2019. Air freight has been reduced by 19% and sea freight has increased by 79%.
In addition: Christie’s Ventures has recently invested in ROKBOX’s award-winning reusable crates and global rental network, ROKBOX LOOP which lowers the cost of fine art shipping, whilst eradicating packaging waste and reducing carbon emissions by 90% per trip We designed and launched new packaging for watches and jewellery We made progress within our in-house Sustainable Shipping Standard, now in its 2nd year Business Travel 5,631 tCO2e (23% of total emissions) Last year travel emissions decreased by 33% and were down by 59% from 2019.
Flying distances have been reduced by 33% while train travel distances have increased by 25%. These significant behavioural changes have been influenced by: Our travel booking system provides low-carbon options Business class tickets are reserved for long-haul and predominantly for overnight flights Use of cars is down by 22% and use of public transport up by 21% Procurement 4,837 tCO2e (20% of total emissions); purchased goods and services and capital goods.
This was a new category introduced this year to align our reporting with new requirements from SBTi. Publishing 366 tCO2e (1% of total emissions); production and distribution of printed material ABOUT CHRISTIE’S COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY In March 2021, Christie’s launched a sustainability strategy driven by 3 goals: zero-impact, nature stewardship and collective action. Christie’s has: committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and by 90% by 2050 pledged to communicate – and continue to share progress and learnings affirmed its mission to collaborate, not only within the business but with external partners to support climate-focused initiatives that effect positive change Notes to Editors: *Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is the UN-backed regulator that sets and regularly refines the industry benchmarks for the measurement of carbon emissions. **Adjustments made to methodologies affect the data against which we measure our emissions and provides rebalanced wins and losses each year.
In 2026, Christie’s will undertake a full restatement of our baseline data in accordance with SBTi’s updated methodologies.
Image courtesy of Christie's
(Press Release)
