The Climate Toolkit provides free quarterly webinars to keep the conversation going on various Toolkit goals and how to reach them. The webinar series aims to gather organizational leadership and staff members to present and discuss important steps we can all take to address climate change through our programs and policies. Past webinars and workshops can be viewed below.

Webinar 15: Electrification Strategies

Wed, March 26, 2025

In order to truly minimize our carbon footprints, cultural institutions must electrify operations to the greatest extent possible – this includes making the switch from fossil-fuel-based landscaping equipment, fleet vehicles, and building HVAC systems to their clean electric alternatives.  

To this end, the Toolkit’s Electrification Working Group has been meeting quarterly since 2023, with over 30 member institutions engaged in trading resources and best technologies towards achieving this goal. Now in its third year of operation, this Community of Practice would like to share knowledge and lessons learned with the wider Climate Toolkit network. 

Watch on YouTube

Tools of Transformation 4: Three Core Capabilities

Wed, January 29, 2025

In the work we’re called to do, perspective plays a large role in shaping our effectiveness. There is a tendency to focus on “problem solving” — identifying the least difficult means to an end and pursing that course to make a challenge or frustration go away, thereby maintaining the status quo. Regenerative thinking compels us to train ourselves to use challenges as an opportunity for strengthening the larger whole in which we work.

Session 4 of “Tools of Transformation” introduces the Three Core Capabilities — Internal Locus of Control, External Considering, and Source of Agency — as practicable skills which can help us to overcome conventional problem-solving tendencies, collected in a framework that you can use to evolve your thinking on any project.  

Watch on YouTube

Webinar 14: How Museums are Engaging Audiences on Climate Change

December 4, 2024

Cultural institutions hold unique positions of influence among their communities, serving as trusted hubs of education and knowledge dissemination for the people they serve. As such, museums have a critical opportunity to inform and motivate the public to action in the fight against climate change.

Climate Toolkit Webinar 14: “How Museums Are Engaging Audiences on Climate Change” explores two leading climate change public exhibitions within the museum field. Natural History Museum of Utah details their landmark exhibition “A Climate of Hope” designed to inspire community to work towards a thriving future in a world with a changing climate; followed by an exploration of The Wild Center’s “Climate Solutions”, an interactive, in-depth exhibit about the people, technology, and social movements tackling climate change locally and beyond.

Presenters:

• Lisa Thompson, Exhibit Developer, Natural History Museum of Utah – A Climate of Hope

• Jen Kretser, Director of Climate Initiatives, The Wild Center – Climate Solutions

Check out this exciting presentation of strategies for incorporating climate science and local storytelling within exhibit spaces. We’re excited to share new ways to motivate and activate your visiting public and surrounding community in the collective journey to address climate change.

Watch on YouTube

Tools of Transformation 3: Five Stakeholders

August 28, 2024

In the conventional corporate mindset, success is often defined by the capacity to accumulate and leverage financial return. This is commonly referred to as the “bottom line”. Regenerative thinking proposes that a deeper consideration of the stakeholders at every level of business decision making — and crucially, the consideration of their capacity and potential — will overcome the tendency to compartmentalize priorities and miss connections between stakeholders.

Session 3 of “Tools of Transformation” continues to explore a living systems way of thinking that looks at the interactive dynamic nature of relationships in a way that allows all of your stakeholders — from donors and visitors to employees and the natural world itself — to co-evolve and reach their greatest potential.

Watch on YouTube

Webinar 13: Youth Climate Engagement

June 12, 2024

Young people are major stakeholders in the future of our planet, yet they rarely have a seat at the table. They seek meaningful change, have brilliant ideas, and bring communities together in ways that no other generation has been able to before. As cultural institutions, we have a unique opportunity to help support young people in their work and learn from them in the process.

Climate Toolkit Webinar 13: Youth Climate Engagement features four case studies of established youth climate action groups at the Natural History Museum of Utah, Museum of Discovery and Science, The Wild Center and Phipps Conservatory. This co-presentation highlights examples of collaborative projects, youth climate summits and resources for getting a youth climate action group started at your own institution. 

Watch on YouTube

Slide Decks:

Tools of Transformation 2: Place-Sourced Potential

May 29, 2024

In regenerative thinking, we consider ourselves and the actions we take through the lens of our embedded roles within larger systems. These systems can be defined by the places we live, learn and work. As we reflect on our climate action work this year, can we challenge ourselves to consider the potential of where this work is taking place?

  • What contributions can we make to the larger systems we are embedded within?
  • What value can our uniqueness bring to the world in the arena of climate action?
  • How can we make this happen?

These are some of the questions explored in Session 2 of “Tools of Transformation: An Introduction to Regenerative Thinking.” This new meeting series introduces a living systems way of thinking that looks at the interactive dynamic nature of relationships through a lens which allows all of your stakeholders — from donors and visitors to employees and the natural world itself — to co-evolve and reach their greatest potential.

Climate change is a global responsibility, but the place-sourced potential to address it begins with a deep exploration of one’s own locality — from the unique effects climate change is having on its ecosystem to a vision for what catalyzing change regionally can do to the rest of the world.

Webinar 12: Buildings, Energy and Decarbonization

March 13, 2024

The Climate Toolkit has revised its Buildings and Energy focus area with updated climate commitments centered around regenerative design, renewable energy and decarbonization. The new commitments were developed in collaboration with Architecture 2030, an organization whose mission is to rapidly transform the built environment from the major emitter of greenhouse gases to a central solution to the climate crisis.

This one-hour webinar discusses the intersection of buildings, energy and decarbonization and provides resources and examples to help you in your journey toward these vital goals. Vincent Martinez, President and COO of Architecture 2030, presents their updated framework for the entire built environment to meet the Paris Agreement and achieve a complete phase-out of fossil fuel CO2 emissions by 2040; and Richard Piacentini, President and CEO of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, discusses how to redefine building project ROI to make your new construction and renovation projects meet your ambitions for efficiency and emissions reduction. 

Key Webinar Resources:

Climate Toolkit Workshop: The Inflation Reduction Act for Cultural Institutions

February 14, 2024

RMI, Environment & Culture Partners and America is All In are excited to present a Climate Toolkit Workshop focused on the Inflation Reduction Act.

What is the IRA, and how can it help cultural institutions?
The Inflation Reduction Act introduces groundbreaking opportunities for U.S. based cultural nonprofits seeking funding avenues for clean energy projects and climate-positive design initiatives. Our workshop is designed to provide you with valuable insights into navigating this legislation, unlocking financial support and implementing sustainable practices that align with your organization’s mission.

Key Workshop Resources:

Tools of Transformation 1: Three Lines of Work

January 31, 2024

We’ve all had a chance to interact quite a bit over the past year on the subject of climate action. We’ve talked about best practices and goals, shared our struggles and applauded our shared successes.

In the new year, we look forward to continuing the conversation while introducing something exciting and new.

To understand and demonstrate what “good” really looks like requires a change of perspective. What are better ways to measure success rather than traditional economic ones? How can we secure long-term success, so that our institutions serve a world that reflects our values and preserves a future of learning and growing for generations to come? 

These are some of the questions we hope to help you explore in “Tools of Transformation: An Introduction to Regenerative Thinking.” This new meeting series will introduce a living systems way of thinking that looks at the interactive dynamic nature of relationships in a way that allows all of your stakeholders — from donors and visitors to employees and the natural world itself — to co-evolve and reach their greatest potential.

At each new session in this series — the first of which will be held on Wed., Jan. 31 from noon – 1:30 p.m. EST — attendees will be introduced to frameworks designed to disrupt convention, change the way you develop initiatives and make decisions, and help you elevate the work of your fellow staff to its highest levels of potential.

Webinar 11: Nature-Based Solutions

November 8, 2023

Watch our latest webinar on “Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Change“.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) leverage the power of nature and healthy ecosystems to increase carbon storage while decreasing emissions. The latest IPCC report demonstrates that nature-based solutions are among the top five most effective strategies for reducing carbon emissions by 2030 and could provide 30% of the mitigation necessary to stabilize our global climate crisis. In this one-hour webinar, our speakers from Duke Farms, California Academy of Sciences, and The Wild Center present three institutional case studies on a wide array of nature-based solutions being explored by in rural, agricultural, and urban environments to sequester carbon, restore healthy soils, and create biophilic cities.

Webinar 10: How to Establish a Green Team

July 26, 2023

Watch our webinar on “How to Establish a Green Team.” In this one-hour webinar, our speakers from Smithsonian Gardens, Cincinnati Art Museum, and The Florida Aquarium present three institutional case studies on forming green teams in the context of a botanic garden, an art museum and an aquarium. Our guests discuss the impact creating green teams can have in aligning organizational practices and philosophies around climate action; as well as how green teams can extend beyond our institutions to advocate for community change.

Webinar 9: Sustainable Landcare and Ecological Outreach

April 26, 2023

Watch the ninth installment of our free, quarterly Climate Toolkit Webinar Series: “Sustainable Landcare and Ecological Outreach.” In this one-hour webinar, Andrea DeLong-Amaya of Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Dr. Sonja Skelly of Cornell Botanic Gardens, and Gabe Tilove and Juliette Olshock of Phipps Conservatory discuss the importance of bringing ecological richness, plant and animal biodiversity, climate resilience and regional identity into the communities beyond our properties through unique outreach programming.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Webinar 8: Vegan and Vegetarian Foods

Dec.14, 2022

Below, watch the eighth installment of our free, quarterly Climate Toolkit Webinar Series, in which Claudia Pineda Tibbs of Monterey Bay Aquarium and Camille St-Jacques-Renaud of Montréal Space for Life discuss the topic of “Vegan and Vegetarian Foods.” In this one-hour webinar our speakers discuss the climate case for maximizing vegan and vegetarian foods and recount their institutions’ experiences communicating a more planet-friendly food lifestyle.

Monterey Bay Aquarium, Seafood Watch

The EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, and Health

Food System Economics Commission

Webinar 7: Divesting from Fossil Fuels and Responsible Investing

July 20, 2022

Watch the seventh Climate Toolkit Webinar, featuring Patrick Hamilton from the Science Museum of Minnesota and Richard Piacentini from Phipps Conservatory. In the one-hour webinar, our speakers discuss their journey of transitioning from fossil fuels to mission-centric investment strategies, challenges within the investment sector and more. 

Phipps Conservatory Resources:

Science Museum of Minnesota’s Resources:

Other Resources:

Webinar 6: Integrated Pest Management, Indoors and Out

March 30, 2022

Our sixth Climate Toolkit Webinar features Drew Asbury from Hillwood Museum and Gardens, Braley Burke from Phipps Conservatory and Holly Walker from Smithsonian Gardens, who discusses climate-conscious practices for pest management, scouting and communication with employees and volunteers, and biological pest control.

Webinar 5: Single-Use Plastics: Reduction Measures, Advocacy and Public Outreach

Dec. 8, 2021

The fifth webinar delves into how institutions are reducing their single-use plastics within their food service, horticulture and animal care practices and how they are conveying those efforts to their staff and guests.  Claudia Pineda Tibbs, sustainability and operations Manager of Monterey Bay Aquarium, Richard Piacentini, president and CEO of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, and Michelle Allworth, facilities project manager at Phipps, all provided insight into this important topic.

Webinar 4: Climate Change and Water: Reduction, Collection, Research and Outreach.

Sept. 8, 2021

Our fourth webinar explores examples of rainwater collection and reducing institutional water consumption, how new research on how climate change is impacting our waterways, and how to educate the public to follow your lead. The Webinar includes presentations from Dr. Adam J. Heathcote, senior scientist at St. Croix Watershed Research Station and the Science Museum of Minnesota, Joseph Rothleutner, director of horticulture and facilities at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, and Adam Haas, interpretive program manager at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden.

Webinar 3: Climate Communication – How to Talk to Your Stakeholders About Climate Change

June 9, 2021

The third webinar discusses Climate Communication: How to Talk to Your Stakeholders About Climate Change with presentations from Jeremy Joslin, director of education at the Morton Arboretum, Sarah States, director of research and science education at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, and Maria Wheeler-Dubas, science education outreach manager at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.

The webinar discusses the best practices for communication about climate change to internal and external stakeholders alike, from using storytelling to help your visitors understand the specific regional impacts of climate change to making climate action and education a part of your strategic plan.

Webinar 2: Calculating Emissions

March 10, 2021

On Wed., March 10, the second installment of the Climate Toolkit Webinar Series reviewed the EPA’s Simplified Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator, which allows institutions to establish an essential baseline for implementation of energy reduction strategies. The event featured presentations from Mt. Cuba Center of Delaware and Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens of Pennsylvania, both of whom completed their own baseline audits. 

Webinar 1: Energy Solutions

Dec. 9, 2020

On Wed., Dec. 9, our first Climate Toolkit Webinar covered topics including energy reduction, on-site generation and transitioning to renewable energy, and featured presentations from Mt. Cuba Center of Delaware, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens of Pennsylvania, and Norfolk Botanic Garden of Virginia.