CO₂ culture standards

The CO₂ culture standard was developed by a group of experts and discussed at the conference of culture ministers on 11.10.2023. The aim is to create a uniform basis for CO₂ accounting for cultural institutions.

From the GHG Protocol to the ClimateBalanceCulture Standard

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) is an international standard for greenhouse gas accounting. The KlimaBilanzKultur standard for cultural institutions was derived from this, which divides emissions into three categories:

  • KBK: e.g. transportation of goods, employee commuting, business trips
  • KBK+: e.g. visitor travel
  • Beyond Carbon: e.g. paper consumption

Important: The emissions included in KBK+, in particular visitor travel, often account for up to 85% of the total carbon footprint of cultural institutions.

The go~mus CO₂ tracker

Multi-purpose approach
Collection of data for visitors, guides, speakers, employees and transportation
Use of geodata for precise and automated distance calculation
Export option for external CO₂ tools (e.g. DMB Excel tool “CO2 culture calculator”). DMB Excel tool “CO2-Kulturrechner”)

Advantages of the go~mus interface
Minimal personnel effort for data collection and evaluation
Seamless integration into existing booking and payment systems
Automatic data output in the required format

Data collection and calculation
Simple entry of departure and arrival information
Automatic calculation of CO₂ emissions per means of transport
High data quality thanks to standardized data collection
Intuitive user interface for selecting means of transport and distances

Functions of the go~mus CO₂ tracker

1. Automated CO₂ calculation
Allocation of emissions per means of transport according to the standards of the Federal Environment Agency
Automatic calculation of distances through geo-tracking
Reduction of sources of error and time expenditure through automation

2. Extensive export and reporting functions
Data export as CSV or Excel for external CO₂ analysis tools
Emissions statistics can be called up directly in go~mus
Automatic year-end reports for CO₂ accounting

3. Flexible recording options
Integration into cash register, backend, tablets or e-mail surveys
Recording of several routes per booking
Consideration of demographic data

With the go~mus CO₂ tracker, we make sustainability not only measurable, but also manageable – directly in the processes of cultural institutions. Whether visitors, employees or art transportation, our tool brings transparency to the CO₂ balance sheet and enables targeted measures to reduce emissions. Algorithmic geo-tracking and the automatic calculation of CO₂ emissions in particular significantly reduce manual effort – and therefore also personnel costs. This not only makes the cultural sector more sustainable, but also an active part of the climate transition. Because climate protection starts with understanding – and go~mus provides the data it needs for this.