Foundations
Here's a look at documents from U.S. foundations
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Vietnam and the US at the Negotiating Table
DETROIT, Michigan, Nov. 18 -- The Foundation for Economic Education posted the following news:
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Vietnam and the US at the Negotiating Table
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A trade deal may be finalized between the two countries.
Global trade patterns are continuing to shift, and increasingly Eastward. As Gulf nations diversify and broaden their highly oil-dependent economies, ASEAN nations seem to be deepening theirs, focusing more on what they are good at while pursuing stability alongside.
In this vein, Vietnam and the United States are now closing in on what may become one of the most strategically important
... Show Full Article
DETROIT, Michigan, Nov. 18 -- The Foundation for Economic Education posted the following news:
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Vietnam and the US at the Negotiating Table
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A trade deal may be finalized between the two countries.
Global trade patterns are continuing to shift, and increasingly Eastward. As Gulf nations diversify and broaden their highly oil-dependent economies, ASEAN nations seem to be deepening theirs, focusing more on what they are good at while pursuing stability alongside.
In this vein, Vietnam and the United States are now closing in on what may become one of the most strategically importantbilateral trade agreements either has attempted in decades. The pace has accelerated sharply in recent months, and Hanoi's messaging has grown more confident. Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang has stated that a deal could be signed "soon."
Two features of the emerging agreement stand out as especially consequential. The first is the pursuit of structured reciprocity, a model far more formal (and couched in the language favored by President Trump) than previous phases of US-Vietnam engagement.
It follows five rounds of formal negotiations, working through tariff schedules, market-access conditions, enforcement procedures, customs transparency, and the macroeconomic concerns that have repeatedly strained the relationship.
For Washington, this means improved access for American agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and digital services. For Hanoi, it means the chance to lock in stable, predictable access to the world's largest consumer market, free from the constant threat of anti-dumping investigations, ad-hoc tariff revisions, or political mood swings. Both sides have signaled a willingness to treat the relationship as mature enough for codified obligations rather than political improvisation.
The second is the macro-financial consultation mechanism. The US Treasury's suspicion of Vietnam's currency management has long lingered in the background, most visibly when Washington briefly labeled Hanoi a "currency manipulator" in 2020. One analysis suggests that an institutionalized review mechanism may be the single most effective stabilizer for foreign firms contemplating major supply-chain relocations to Vietnam. For a country that has attracted vast investment precisely because it offers predictability in an unpredictable region, this kind of instrument is invaluable.
Where this becomes far more significant is when placed against the broader sweep of Vietnam's economic strategy over the past decade. The country's leadership has made no secret of its ambition to emulate the path taken by East Asia's previous generation of " tiger economies." The basic componentsexport-driven industrialization, state modernization, selective openness, and careful hedginghave been visible for years.
Trying to combine economic liberalization with socialist principles is an idea that hinges upon strategic autonomy. That model in turn relies on a handful of pillars: stable access to wealthy markets, the steady upgrading of domestic manufacturing, and the attraction of high-value foreign investment. A rules-based trade agreement with the US reinforces all three.
First, it strengthens the demand environment for Vietnam's electronics and semiconductor clusters, many of which now sit at the heart of Indo-Pacific supply-chain diversification. Second, it enhances Vietnam's competitiveness relative to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippinesstates that have pursued similar industrial upgrading but lack Vietnam's combination of political stability and export discipline. And third, it encourages multinational firms to treat Vietnam not as a convenient "China-plus-one" fallback but as a long-term pillar of their production architecture. Data collected by Vietnam Export Data shows the depth of Vietnam's export dependence on the United States. A treaty that insulates those flows from regulatory, fiscal, or political shocks gives Vietnam greater freedom to invest, plan, and transition into higher-value activities.
The regional implications extend beyond Vietnam's borders. Washington's Indo-Pacific strategy has steadily shifted toward a "latticework" of bilateral and minilateral partnerships: AUKUS with Australia and the UK, deepening semiconductor coordination with Japan, revived defense cooperation with the Philippines, and sector-specific integration with South Korea and India.
What has been missing is a credible economic instrumentsomething Washington has struggled to provide since the collapse of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. A durable trade pact with Vietnam is precisely the sort of arrangement that can anchor US engagement in the region on economic terms.
It also reinforces Vietnam's approach to great-power politics. Hanoi's long-standing doctrine has been a balancing act between East and Westengaging both Washington and Beijing while committing firmly to neitheryet this has gradually shifted toward a more confident form of strategic diversification. A trade agreement with the United States does not, in itself, imply a security alignment; but it does deepen Vietnam's integration into the US-centered economic sphere, giving Hanoi more leverage when negotiating with Beijing and more autonomy in shaping its future.
The deal is still pending signatures, but the direction of travel is unmistakable. Five negotiation rounds, converging political messages, a jointly published framework, and the coordinated mobilization of domestic economic actors all point toward an agreement that is now more likely than not.
If concluded, it would not merely stabilize US-Vietnam trade. It would anchor Vietnam's trajectory toward tiger-economy status, reinforce Pacific supply-chain realignments, and consolidate one of the region's most quietly transformative partnerships.
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Original text here: https://fee.org/articles/vietnam-and-the-us-at-the-negotiating-table/
Those Dark Clouds Are the Debt
DETROIT, Michigan, Nov. 18 -- The Foundation for Economic Education posted the following commentary on Nov. 16, 2025:
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Those Dark Clouds Are the Debt
Mississippi turns a corner, but can the federal government?
By Douglas Carswell
The future for our state looks bright. In just the past five years, Mississippi has seen more economic growth than in the entire 15 years before that combined.
We're on track to phase out the state income tax entirely, allowing families to keep more of what they earn. Mississippi has attracted a surge of new investment, and for the first time in years, our
... Show Full Article
DETROIT, Michigan, Nov. 18 -- The Foundation for Economic Education posted the following commentary on Nov. 16, 2025:
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Those Dark Clouds Are the Debt
Mississippi turns a corner, but can the federal government?
By Douglas Carswell
The future for our state looks bright. In just the past five years, Mississippi has seen more economic growth than in the entire 15 years before that combined.
We're on track to phase out the state income tax entirely, allowing families to keep more of what they earn. Mississippi has attracted a surge of new investment, and for the first time in years, ourworkforce participation rate is finally heading in the right direction.
Zoom out, and the picture gets even better. Contrary to the endless gloom from the pundits, the American economy has consistently outperformed expectations for decades. Since the late 1990s, the US has delivered strong, steady growth that few forecasters saw coming.
But there is one dark cloud on all our horizons that we cannot forever ignore: US national debt.
As of today, US national debt stands at $38 trillion (with a capital T).
To grasp how enormous a single trillion really is, try this:
* One million seconds ago was just last week (as of writing), right before Halloween.
* One billion seconds ago was early 1994, when Clinton was president and the Internet was dial-up.
* One trillion seconds ago was roughly 30,000 BC, deep in the Stone Age, when humans were still chasing mammoths.
Now here's the gut-punch: that $38 trillion mountain of debt has roughly doubled in just the past 10 years.
Costly foreign wars, mega bailouts, COVID giveaways, and all those federal entitlement programs LBJ said would "end poverty" eventually add up. Incidentally, living standards for America's poorest citizens are much higher than when those programs launched in the 1960s. Today most people have access to indoor plumbing, air conditioning, and smartphones, but the number of people dependent on government assistance is larger than ever.
Rather than pay for all that using tax receipts, the US government has borrowed, issuing IOUs. Today we spend more money servicing all those IOUs than we do on defense.
As my fellow Brit, the historian Niall Ferguson, likes to point out, any great power that spends more on debt servicing than on defense risks ceasing to be a great power. That was true of the Romans and the British, the Habsburgs and the Dutch.
What must America do to avoid a similar fate?
When President Trump was first elected, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy launched the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with an ambitious target: to reduce annual federal spending by $2 trillion.
Because mandatory entitlement programsSocial Security, Medicare, and Medicaidremained largely untouched, DOGE hasn't come close to achieving that yet. The federal deficit has barely budged.
Where, one might ask, are all those Tea Party types that railed against federal overspending 10 years ago as the debt to GDP ratio went from 90% in 2010 to 125% today?
If the US cannot rein in the growth of the debt, the only other way to avoid going the way of the Romans is to try to make the GDP part of the equation rise faster. In other words, to try to grow our way out of debt.
In order to stabilize debt-to-GDP at the current 125% of GDP, America will need to achieve real GDP growth of about 4-5% for the next 10 to 20 years. With the advent of AI and robotics, as Elon Musk suggests, it could be done.
Mississippi has shown how it's possible to turn a corner. Let's see if the federal government can do the same.
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Douglas Carswell is President and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
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Original text here: https://fee.org/articles/those-dark-clouds-are-the-debt/
Southeastern Legal Foundation Demands Investigation Into Springfield, MO Public Schools for Racial Discrimination
ROSWELL, Georgia, Nov. 18 -- The Southeastern Legal Foundation issued the following news release:
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Southeastern Legal Foundation demands investigation into Springfield, MO public schools for racial discrimination
Today, Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) issued a request (https://slfliberty.org/case/request-for-investigation-springfield-mo-public-schools/) to the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division (CRD) to investigate Springfield Public Schools (SPS) for racial discrimination.
SLF President Kim Hermann said, "It is
... Show Full Article
ROSWELL, Georgia, Nov. 18 -- The Southeastern Legal Foundation issued the following news release:
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Southeastern Legal Foundation demands investigation into Springfield, MO public schools for racial discrimination
Today, Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) issued a request (https://slfliberty.org/case/request-for-investigation-springfield-mo-public-schools/) to the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division (CRD) to investigate Springfield Public Schools (SPS) for racial discrimination.
SLF President Kim Hermann said, "It ishighly disappointing that we are continuing to see school districts in this country that are actively trying to imbue racial division within its staff, with the goal of then having it trickle down to its students. Not only is this wrong, but it is outwardly anti-American, going against the hard work done in the past to achieve a colorblind society where everyone is seen as equal. The sort of teaching that SPS continues to push breeds nothing but a regressive attitude towards race that is best left in the past. Further investigation into the actions of what is the largest school district in the entire state of Missouri is essential because if left unchecked, racial division will be allowed to flourish within the schools of Missouri."
SLF previously represented two SPS educators who reported that they were forced to take part in "equity training" which encouraged racial discrimination and embraced dangerous racial stereotypes like teachings of Critical Race Theory. While the cases brought a level of public awareness to SPS's conduct, their actions have persisted as they rebranded equity as "access and opportunity." In the training, which came on the heels of BLM riots and other social unrest of the summer of 2020, SPS told staff that white supremacy was part of America's founding, that denying one's white privilege is a form of white supremacy, and that staff must be active anti-racists as part of their job duties. It even said that MAGA is a form of white supremacy and compared the Trump Administration to the KKK.
SLF argues in their complaint that, "The stereotyping so readily embraced by SPS can only 'cause continued hurt and injury,' that is contrary to the 'core purpose' of the Equal Protection Clause." The federal government has the authority to directly enforce the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment against state actors...Frederick Douglass envisioned the day when 'the color line will [one day] cease to have any civil, political, or moral significance.' SPS will continue to treat color as a significant part of its educational mission. And Dr. King invoked America's 'sacred obligation' to honor the promise to judge Americans 'not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.' ...SPS is free to disagree with Frederick Douglass and Dr. King about colorblindness, but it is not free to accept federal funding and discriminate based on race."
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Original text here: https://slfliberty.org/southeastern-legal-foundation-demands-investigation-into-springfield-mo-public-schools-for-racial-discrimination/
SEC's Refusal to Rule on No-Action Requests Creates Legal Limbo, Shirks Responsibility, and Harms Shareholders
OAKLAND, California, Nov. 18 -- As You Sow Foundation posted the following news release:
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SEC's Refusal to Rule on No-Action Requests Creates Legal Limbo, Shirks Responsibility, and Harms Shareholders
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MEDIA CONTACT: Ryon Harms, ryon@asyousow.org, (310) 730-9407
EL CERRITO, CANovember 18, 2025 Today's announcement from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it will no longer substantively review corporate no-action requests under Rule 14a-8 represents a dangerous abandonment of the agency's longstanding role as a neutral arbiter in the shareholder proposal process.
"Now
... Show Full Article
OAKLAND, California, Nov. 18 -- As You Sow Foundation posted the following news release:
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SEC's Refusal to Rule on No-Action Requests Creates Legal Limbo, Shirks Responsibility, and Harms Shareholders
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MEDIA CONTACT: Ryon Harms, ryon@asyousow.org, (310) 730-9407
EL CERRITO, CANovember 18, 2025 Today's announcement from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it will no longer substantively review corporate no-action requests under Rule 14a-8 represents a dangerous abandonment of the agency's longstanding role as a neutral arbiter in the shareholder proposal process.
"Nowthat the government shut down is over, the SEC staff can and should resume their normal duties, just as they did after the last government shut down," said Danielle Fugere, President & Chief Counsel at As You Sow, a shareholder representative. "Instead, despite being fairly early in the shareholder season, the Commission is walking away from its responsibilities and leaving investors and companies in legal limbo."
Since 1947, Rule 14a-8 has provided a well-established, stable, and predictable framework that enables shareholders to raise material issues for consideration at annual meetings. The SEC's no-action process plays a critical role in ensuring not only that proposals meet legal standards, but that companies do not arbitrarily block shareholder input and oversight. This clarity is foundational to maintaining investor confidence in the companies in which they have invested.
The SEC cited last year's government shutdown and resource constraints as justification. However, the agency has been in this position before and has successfully processed no-action requests even during an extended shutdown and at higher levels of shareholder proposal filings. Notably, fewer resolutions were submitted last year and early indicators provide no basis to anticipate any increase in filings this year.
"The suggestion that the Commission is unable to manage this year's workload raises legitimate concerns about the SEC's willingness to support this time-tested process," added Fugere. "A 43-day shutdown cannot be used as justification for shutting down an entire no-action season that spans until September 30 of next year. By stepping back from the no-action process, the SEC is effectively forcing these matters into court, an expensive and lengthy outcome that is detrimental to both shareholders and companies."
Far from protecting market participants, the SEC's announced action harms market players, including shareholders, who lose the SEC's interpretive clarity; companies who now face heightened legal risk; and financial markets that depended on the predictable governance process.
By refusing to perform its longstanding duties, the SEC leaves both parties to navigate the proposal process without guidance, accountability, or consistency.
"Responsible companies should continue including legitimate shareholder proposals in their proxies as an opportunity for engagement and transparency on material issues of shareholder concern," said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow. "Excluding proposals does nothing but create confusion and expose companies to legal and reputational risk."
Investors deserve a functional regulator, not an absent one. If the SEC no longer intends to engage in the process it created, then it is, in effect, changing its own shareholder proposal rule without going through proper rulemaking. The Commission should restore its full role in the Rule 14a-8 process, immediately, to prevent further confusion, legal exposure, and erosion of shareholder protections.
As You Sow is the nation's leading shareholder representative, with a 30+ year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility. Its focus areas include climate change, ocean plastics, toxins in the food system, the Rights of Nature, racial justice, and workplace diversity. Click here to view As You Sow 's shareholder resolution tracker.
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Original text here: https://www.asyousow.org/press-releases/2025/11/18/secs-refusal-to-rule-on-no-action-requests-creates-legal-limbo-shirks-responsibility-and-harms-shareholdersnbsp
Reason Foundation Issues Commentary: Florida Must Stay the Course to Pay for Promised Pension Benefits
LOS ANGELES, California, Nov. 18 (TNSrep) -- The Reason Foundation issued the following news on Nov. 17, 2025:
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Florida must stay the course to pay for promised pension benefits
Florida's retirement system for public workers is estimated to be 17 years away from eliminating expensive pension debt.
By Zachary Christensen, Managing Director and Steve Vu, Quantitative Analyst
Florida's retirement system for public workers, which covers most of the state's teachers, police, firefighters, and other government employees, is estimated to be 17 years away from eliminating expensive pension debt.
... Show Full Article
LOS ANGELES, California, Nov. 18 (TNSrep) -- The Reason Foundation issued the following news on Nov. 17, 2025:
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Florida must stay the course to pay for promised pension benefits
Florida's retirement system for public workers is estimated to be 17 years away from eliminating expensive pension debt.
By Zachary Christensen, Managing Director and Steve Vu, Quantitative Analyst
Florida's retirement system for public workers, which covers most of the state's teachers, police, firefighters, and other government employees, is estimated to be 17 years away from eliminating expensive pension debt.However, this result will depend significantly on market outcomes. A recession during that period could undo years of progress and drive up costs for government budgets and taxpayers. Lawmakers in the Sunshine State need to stay the course and resist the temptation to add to pension promises while they remain several years away from being able to fund existing promises fully.
A new analysis (https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/state/2025/09/15/study-shows-states-pension-plan-on-track-despite-past-troubles/86099480007/) by Aon Investments USA Inc. (a market consulting company), commissioned by the Florida State Board of Administrators (SBA), predicts that the Florida Retirement System, FRS, is on track to eliminate all unfunded pension liabilities by 2042. Lawmakers reformed the system in 2011 by introducing a defined contribution (DC) option called the Investment Plan, and subsequently made it the default retirement plan for most new hires in 2018. These reforms have helped FRS make progress in closing what was a nearly $40 billion funding shortfall after the Great Recession.
The latest reporting from FRS now gives the system an 83.7% funded ratio (up from 70% in 2009), indicating that the state has made progress but still needs to stay the course to return to its pre-recession, full funding status. According to Reason Foundation's recently released Annual Pension Solvency and Performance Report (https://reason.org/data-visualization/state-pension-debt/), one bad year in the market (0% returns in 2026) would essentially undo that progress, bringing the system's unfunded liabilities back to an estimated $40 billion overnight.
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Florida has a long way to go before catching up with its public pension promises
Source: Reason's Annual Pension Solvency and Performance Report, using FRS annual valuation reports (https://a8d50b36.delivery.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/image-90.png).
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If market outcomes over the next two decades resemble those of the last 20 years, FRS won't achieve full funding anytime soon. The pension system's 24-year average return since 2001 is 6.4%, falling short of the plan's 6.7% assumption. According to Reason Foundation's actuarial modeling of FRS, this seemingly small 0.3% shortfall would push the date for reaching full funding out by another three years.
Another major recession would also significantly derail the system. Reason Foundation's modeling indicates that an investment loss in 2026 similar to that of 2009 (a 20% loss) would result in a funding ratio of 62%, and it would take 15 years just to climb back to today's funding levels. The full funding date would extend well beyond 2055 in that scenario.
Lower market returns would also drive up the annual costs of FRS, which taxpayers and lawmakers should be wary of. In 2024, employers contributing to the FRS pension paid an amount equal to around 12.7% of payroll (totaling $5.6 billion statewide annually). If everything goes as planned, with returns matching the system's assumptions, this cost will remain relatively stable and drop significantly once the system is free from pension debt. Under the scenario of a major recession, annual costs will need to rise to as high as 22.9% of payroll to maintain full pension benefit payments.
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A recession would necessitate much larger government contributions
Source: Reason actuarial modeling of FRS. Recessions use return scenarios reflective of Dodd-Frank testing regulations (https://a8d50b36.delivery.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/image-91.png).
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When it comes to public pensions, policymakers can hope for the best, but they need to prepare for the worst. At a minimum, they should structure pension systems to withstand the same market pressures and funding challenges that created today's costly pension debt.
Florida lawmakers should consider these risks as they weigh proposals to expand benefits. During the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers saw (and rejected) a proposal to unroll the state's crucial 2011 reform by again granting cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to all FRS members.
Reason Foundation's analysis of the proposal warned that even under a best-case scenario, the move would add $36 billion in new costs over the next 30 years. A scenario in which the system sees multiple recessions over the next 30 years would have driven the estimated costs of the proposed COLA to $47 billion.
For a pension fund that is still many years away from having the assets to fulfill existing retirement promises, the last thing it needs is to double down on more costs and liabilities.
Current proposals to cut taxes in the Sunshine State should also factor into any consideration of granting additional pension benefits to public workers. A new group of bills introduced in the state's House of Representatives signals that lawmakers intend to offer several property tax-cutting measures to voters on the 2026 ballot. It is safe to say that the idea of increasing pension costs on Florida's local governments while simultaneously facing the prospect of reduced tax revenue is ill-advised.
Through prudent reforms, Florida has made some laudable progress in improving the funding of its public pension system. However, the state is still several years away from achieving the end goal of all these efforts, and any level of market turbulence would push the finish line out by decades. Policymakers need to be aware of Florida's long-term pension funding strategy and avoid any proposals to add to the costs and risks imposed on taxpayers through new pension benefits.
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Zachary Christensen is a managing director of Reason Foundation's Pension Integrity Project.
Steve Vu is a quantitative analyst at Reason Foundation.
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Original text here: https://reason.org/commentary/florida-must-stay-the-course-to-pay-for-promised-pension-benefits/
Health Foundation Responds to the Public Accounts Committee Report on Reducing NHS Waiting Times
LONDON, England, Nov. 18 -- The Health Foundation posted the following news release:
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Health Foundation responds to the Public Accounts Committee report on reducing NHS waiting times
Responding to the Public Accounts Committee report on reducing NHS waiting times for elective care, Dr Hugh Alderwick, Director of Research and Policy at the Health Foundation said:
'While the elective waiting list is in slightly better shape than when Labour took office, analysis of recent trends shows that achieving the government's pledge to restore the 18-week standard by the end of this parliament will
... Show Full Article
LONDON, England, Nov. 18 -- The Health Foundation posted the following news release:
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Health Foundation responds to the Public Accounts Committee report on reducing NHS waiting times
Responding to the Public Accounts Committee report on reducing NHS waiting times for elective care, Dr Hugh Alderwick, Director of Research and Policy at the Health Foundation said:
'While the elective waiting list is in slightly better shape than when Labour took office, analysis of recent trends shows that achieving the government's pledge to restore the 18-week standard by the end of this parliament willbe challenging. Progress on reducing waiting lists will depend on sustained focus and resources, and may mean slower progress on other political promises, like boosting prevention or investing in primary care. These trade-offs matter, not least because the public's top priority for improving the NHS is better access to GP appointments, not the elective waiting list.
'The committee is right to question the government's approach to major policy change in the NHS. The government has embarked on yet another round of top-down restructuring of the health service, at a time when the NHS is under massive pressure and political ambitions for improvement are sky-high. This is risky, at best, given experience from a long line of previous reorganisations suggests they cause widespread disruption, take years to deliver, and rarely deliver the benefits policymakers expect. The big worry is that NHS leaders are distracted from the task of improving services.
'Rather than reforms to the structure of the health service, like merging or scrapping organisations, greater attention is needed on what happens within it, including by developing the skills and capabilities for the NHS to identify, implement, evaluate and spread improvements to care in different contexts. Cuts to local NHS bodies risk making this harder.'
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Notes to editors
1. One year on: is the government on track to meet its waiting times pledge?
2. Mind the gap: public perceptions of the NHS and social care
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Original text here: https://www.health.org.uk/press-office/press-releases/health-foundation-responds-to-the-public-accounts-committee-report-on-reducing-nhs-waiting-times
Getty's PST ART Releases Largest-Ever Dataset on Climate Impact of Exhibition-Making
LOS ANGELES, California, Nov. 18 (TNSrep) -- The J. Paul Getty Trust issued the following news release:
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Getty's PST ART Releases Largest-Ever Dataset on Climate Impact of Exhibition-Making
Arts organizations across Southern California measured exhibition emissions and waste for the nation's largest art event
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Getty announced today a new report (https://www.getty.edu/publications/pst-art-climate-impact-report-2025/) on its inaugural PST ART Climate Impact Program, with baseline measurements about carbon emissions, material waste, and more from 40 exhibitions tied to the latest edition
... Show Full Article
LOS ANGELES, California, Nov. 18 (TNSrep) -- The J. Paul Getty Trust issued the following news release:
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Getty's PST ART Releases Largest-Ever Dataset on Climate Impact of Exhibition-Making
Arts organizations across Southern California measured exhibition emissions and waste for the nation's largest art event
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Getty announced today a new report (https://www.getty.edu/publications/pst-art-climate-impact-report-2025/) on its inaugural PST ART Climate Impact Program, with baseline measurements about carbon emissions, material waste, and more from 40 exhibitions tied to the latest editionof the nation's largest art event, PST ART.
The project creates the most expansive dataset on the carbon impact of exhibition-making and will inform the next edition of PST ART in 2030. It also jump-started greener exhibition practices among participating institutions, with many completing their first-ever climate impact report and taking concrete steps to reduce their carbon footprint.
Art museums have the highest average energy consumption of all cultural institutions in the United States, and the activities and materials connected to planning and mounting exhibitions are prime targets for reducing emissions and waste. While museums recognize data tracking is essential in order to take action, there has been little standardization for measuring the climate impact of exhibition practices. The regionwide collaboration created by PST ART offered a strong network to unify data reporting.
"Organizations of all sizes were eager to participate--from larger museums to university art galleries--and PST ART gave us all the chance to learn together and tackle these issues as a community," said Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty Foundation. "You can't reduce your carbon footprint if you don't measure it, so data collection was a crucial first step. We were heartened to see how many partners across the region took this opportunity to try alternative methods and materials and commit to new eco-friendly exhibition practices right away."
Many of the nearly 70 exhibitions in PST ART's latest edition, PST ART: Art & Science Collide, were focused on themes of climate change and environmental justice. Getty responded to this common interest by rallying the community and developing the Climate Impact Program with the climate strategy firm LHL Consulting and its founder Laura Lupton along with artist Debra Scacco.
Participation in the program was voluntary, yet all PST ART partners joined at least one educational webinar led by LHL Consulting about climate impact reduction tactics and nearly every institution met with the LHL team one-on-one to receive support. LHL also provided climate action tools and a standardized reporting framework to the entire PST ART cohort, with more than two-thirds of the group completing reports.
"One thing that is abundantly clear is that art institutions want to take climate action. Some previously lacked the resources to begin, while others simply did not have the bandwidth to take on this work," said Laura Lupton at LHL Consulting. "There is no one-size-fits-all approach, so we worked with Getty to ensure a welcoming community and reinforce with our PST ART partners that just by making an effort--big or small--they are making an impact."
According to the report, flights were among the highest emissions, followed by air freight. Data analysis revealed that switching from air to sea travel for art transport could have reduced the total PST ART emissions by 18 percent. The total emissions--with just over half of all PST ART projects reporting--was 2,167 tCO2, which equates to enough carbon dioxide to power the electricity of 452 homes in the U.S. for an entire year.
The Climate Impact Program became a catalyst for change as partners prepared for their exhibitions, even though it was not an explicit goal to reduce PST ART's carbon footprint. Some institutions chose to partner with local artists to reduce the need for travel and artwork shipping, including the University of California, San Diego and Birch Aquarium at Scripps. At Getty, curators opted for train travel instead of flying during research trips.
When it came to exhibition materials, 80% of partners implemented waste reduction strategies, with five institutions reporting zero waste to landfills and three using entirely reused and recycled materials. The Huntington opted to eliminate the use of drywall in favor of reusable plywood panels for temporary walls. The plywood walls have already been repurposed for at least five subsequent installations, saving the institution money in the long-term.
"During the run of our PST ART exhibition, 'Storm Cloud: Picturing the Origins of Our Climate Crisis,' we found that our involvement in the Climate Impact Program sparked meaningful conversations both with our visitors and among our own colleagues," said The Huntington's Melinda McCurdy, curator of British art, and Karla Nielsen, senior curator of literary collections. "The program offered resources and structure to think collectively and intentionally about the environmental impact of our temporary exhibitions, and it has pushed us to set a higher bar for our future work."
Change was also possible for smaller museums, and curators at Craft Contemporary turned climate-conscious decisions into real budget savings. The team switched from vinyl to paper wall labels for their exhibition, a sustainable solution that reduced expenditures by $10,000. They also devised new packing methods to use less tape, and chose off-the-shelf, recyclable, and reusable materials whenever possible.
"The sustainability decisions for our PST ART exhibition have inspired Craft Contemporary to commit to a goal of producing zero waste exhibitions within five years," reported the museum's director Rody Lopez. "The response from our team and peer institutions is truly energizing. We've already hosted visits to share our methods and help spread the word that climate action is possible."
Additional waste reduction efforts include Getty's reuse of past exhibition seating and opting for QR codes instead of purchasing new video display monitors. The Lancaster Museum of Art and History and Self Help Graphics & Art reused exhibition walls from a previous display that were originally scheduled for demolition, avoiding landfill waste. The Wende Museum also reused past exhibition walls and display cases, consolidated art shipments, and created a new reusable art object label design--all of which helped them lower costs compared to previous exhibitions.
Many museums even reconsidered which vendors to work with for exhibitions. "Publications can generate harmful pollutants, so we chose Conti Tipocolor to produce our catalog because of their commitments to sustainable printing practices," said Cassandra Coblentz, the independent curator behind the Oceanside Museum of Art's "Transformative Currents" exhibition about art and environmental action in the Pacific Ocean. For the Hammer Museum's exhibition catalog, they made sustainable production choices in collaboration with the graphic design studio Polymode. Another institution, Fulcrum Arts, invited the fabricator for two major installations in their "Energy Fields" exhibition co-presented with Chapman University to join Climate Impact Program educational webinars. As a result, the team at Studio Sereno switched to eco-friendly wood and sheep wool insulation, committed to complete reuse of all materials, and radically transformed their approach to fabrication for the future.
Getty is committed to continuing this work with partners for PST ART and has long been working towards greener practices, including its Managing Collection Environments initiative, which began in 2013 with the goal of advancing scientific research and field work for the sustainable management of collection environments in museums, libraries, and archives. Another initiative, Getty Global Art & Sustainability Fellows, is fostering a new generation of leaders focused on arts and sustainability through research and professional development. Getty also appointed its first sustainability director Camille Kirk in 2023 to help advance the institution's sustainability goals. Read more news about sustainability at Getty.
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Original text here: https://www.getty.edu/news/pst-art-releases-largest-ever-dataset-on-climate-impact-of-exhibition-making/
