Over the past five years, Christie’s has achieved a 69% reduction in carbon emissions, surpassing our near-term Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) goals for 2030. In this fifth Environmental Impact Report, we detail our continued commitment to sustainability and our progress in 2024.
This year marks a significant step forward as our Net Zero target has been validated by the SBTi and we have expanded our target boundary to include all relevant emissions sources.1 This allows us to present a more comprehensive view of our environmental impact and direct actions as we work towards our new and more ambitious goal of reducing 90% of our emissions by 2050 compared to our base year of 2019.
Our achievements reflect the notable efforts of Christie’s employees, suppliers, and partners, with support from our clients. We are proud of what we have achieved together so far but are not complacent. Recognising that the journey forwards will be challenging, we are dedicated to further improving our performance, contributing to a more sustainable future for the art sector, and to continued sharing of our progress and learnings.
Ben Gore, Chief Operating Officer
Whilst only a small percentage of the world’s largest companies are on track to meet science-based targets, Christie’s recognises its own responsibility to maintain progress and positively contribute to the global push for net-zero.
Our enhanced SBTi-approved targets increased the’ emissions boundary and reduction ambition, demonstrating our commitment and progress towards the net-zero transition. So far, we have reduced the total carbon emissions by 69%, already surpassing our target of 50% emissions reduction by 2030 and progressing towards our objective of a 90% reduction by 2050.
This report highlights our 2024 key achievements and ongoing initiatives across six operational areas: Shipping, Travel, Buildings, IT, Publishing, and Procurement, which has been added this year with the boundary expansion.
In 2024, we achieved an emissions decrease of 11% compared to 2023, demonstrating significant year-on-year progress.
• Initiatives across all operational areas contributed to this success, including achieving 100% renewable energy coverage for our buildings, expanding the use of sea and road freight, and reducing air travel.
• Continued engagements with Shipping suppliers (distribution and packaging) and IT suppliers showcased our carbon reduction effort through supply chain collaborations. The success of these collaborations is crucial to driving sustainable practices throughout our value chain, enabling us to meet our targets.
• In addition to carbon reduction, we continuously improved data quality and reporting accuracy, reflected in restatements accordingly.
We recognise that maintaining our performance and achieving further reductions will require continued discipline and investment. By improving sustainability communications to our colleagues and suppliers, we believe that an aware and empowered value chain is the key to success.
We are also sharing our sustainability experience with clients, peers, and other art organisations through conferences, forums, and podcasts, as we continue to be at the forefront of the art sector’s sustainability journey and hope to inspire others to join us.
Christie’s sustainability strategy is continuously driven by three goals—zero-impact, nature stewardship, and collective action—which guide our approach across the business. We report the progress on these three goals following our pledge to Commit, Communicate and Collaborate.
In 2024, we submitted our new SBTi near-term and long-term targets, which received validation from the SBTi. On a boundary of all relevant emissions, we commit to reduce absolute scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions by 50% by 2030 from a 2019 base year, including:
• Reducing 90% of absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 from a 2019 base year.
• Reducing 46% of absolute scope 3 GHG emissions by 2030 from a 2019 base year.
For our long-term (Net Zero) target, we aim to reduce 90% of absolute scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions by 2050 from a 2019 base year. Our commitment to achieving Net Zero target drives our actions. Having surpassed the 50% reduction target for 2030, our key focus now is to maintain this reduction level and continue pursuing further reductions towards our 2050 net-zero goal.
Other key initiatives across our core operational areas contributing to our zero-impact commitment include:
• For shipping goods, we remained committed to our sea freight initiative, reducing emissions from air freight and enhancing the utilisation of sea freight and road freight.
• For business travel, we have strengthened the adoption of our travel policy and increased awareness amongst our colleagues.
• We achieved our target of procuring 100% renewable electricity for our buildings.
• For waste disposal within our operations, we achieved the target of diverting 90% waste from landfill at our largest sites in London, New York, Paris, and Hong Kong.
Transparent Communication of Our Environmental Impact is Essential to Building Trust With Our Stakeholders and Driving Effective Changes.
This is the fifth year of Christie’s annual environmental reporting, demonstrating our long-term commitment to providing a consistent and clear record of our sustainability journey. This report provides our yearon-year emissions reduction progress against the new boundary and new targets. In alignment with the SBTi guidelines, we excluded emissions related to hotel stays and accommodation from our targets. However, we will continue accounting for these emissions. We restated selected emissions in Shipping, Buildings, and Procurement for 2023 based on further data quality improvements. Moving forward, we plan to significantly revise our data and calculation methodology to ensure that the emissions results more accurately reflect our actions and are based on robust and up-to-date standards.
Our Growing Partnerships With Suppliers, Clients, Peers, and Art Institutions Continue to Show Positive Signals for Sustainability in the Art Sector
This year, we continued engaging with our distribution, packaging, and IT suppliers to promote sustainable practices and reduce emissions.
• 2024 marked the second year of implementing our Sustainable Shipping Standard, expanding to include not only tier-1 but also tier-2 suppliers.2
• We continued collaborating with our distribution and packaging suppliers to explore innovative sustainable packaging materials and solutions. We conducted a case study with RokBox on reducing packaging environmental impact using RokBox Loop reusable crate, which was featured by the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC). This positive result confirmed the intention for Christie’s Ventures to invest in RokBox, underscoring our support for supplier innovation.
• For IT suppliers, we have expanded our engagement outreach from top 10 suppliers to 3 additional suppliers to understand their emissions profiles and progress to calculate and disclose all 3-scope emissions.
This collaborative approach is essential for delivering more sustainable solutions through our suppliers and achieving our ambitious sustainability goals.
The chart below shows the emissions reduction progress within our new SBTi target boundary3 across six operational areas, from the 2019 base year.
Please Note: In 2024, we have restated selected 2023 emissions for Procurement, Buildings, and Shipping.
As mentioned, we revised our SBTi targets to include all relevant emissions from business activities, in accordance with SBTi guidelines. This expansion of the target boundary, now covering approximately 99.7% of total emissions, as the remaining emissions are from hotel stays and are excluded according to SBTi guidance, underscores the commitment to decarbonise across our operations and wider value chain. With targeted emissions reduction initiatives, we are making significant strides both within and beyond our operational control.
In 2024, emissions within our new SBTi target boundary totalled 24,716 tCO2e, representing an 11% decrease from 2023. This notable reduction was primarily attributable to successful initiatives in shipping, air travel, and energy consumption.
The addition of Procurement as a new operational area reflects its materiality and the expanded SBTi target boundary. The emissions for each operational area in 2024 are as follows (in tCO2e):
• Shipping – 6,861 tCO2e (28% of total emissions); inbound and outbound freight, exhibition tours, other internal logistics and storage, and packaging.
• Travel – 5,631 tCO2e (23% of total emissions); travel for business reasons (including flights, cars, rails, others).
• Procurement – 4,836 tCO2e (20% of total emissions); purchased goods and services and capital goods.
• Buildings – 4,076 tCO2e (16% of total emissions); energy used in buildings, waste, water, paper, and employee commuting.
• IT – 2,944 tCO2e (12% of total emissions); IT procurement, data centres, post and telecommunications, e-waste, and on-blockchain activities.
• Publishing – 367 tCO2e (1% of total emissions); production and distribution of printed material.
The diagram below shows the change in Christie’s emissions within our SBTi boundary by emissions scope as per the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
In 2024, scope 1 and 2 emissions have increased by 18% from 2023 but have decreased by 82% since 2019. This rise in emissions from 2023 was primarily due to routine refrigerant refilling and increased natural gas consumption at our sites in the United States. Scope 3 emissions have decreased by 12% from 2023 and by 68% from 2019.
Energy: direct emissions from the consumption of natural gas, other fuels, and refrigerants (scope 1); indirect emissions from the generation of the electricity we purchase (scope 2).
Others: scope 3 emissions from employee commuting, from the paper we purchase for our buildings, and from the disposal and treatment of waste and water waste generated in buildings.
Please Note: Employee commuting and waste emissions were re-stated for 2023 based on updated conversion factors
In 2024, building emissions increased by 3% from 2023 but decreased by 58% from the base year 2019. The increase primarily stemmed from routine refrigerant refilling during the servicing of air conditioners, something which occurs only once every 3-4 years.
• The ongoing installation of energy-efficient equipment (HVAC, AHU, automated sensors, and lighting) at selected sites contributed to a 6% reduction in electricity consumption from 2023.
• We moved to the energy-efficient Henderson building in Hong Kong from September 2024, which has reduced the energy consumption by over 40% compared to 2023.4
• In the UK, our refurbishment included the installation of Passive Infrared (PIR) sensors in approximately three-quarters of building areas to automate lighting control and reduce energy consumption.
• Majority of our offices were equipped with PIR sensors to optimise lighting and energy usage. We are also working to align our New York office with our main sale sites in London, Hong Kong, Paris, and Geneva, with full upgrades scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025.
• We hosted awareness sessions with our colleagues to promote carbon conscious behaviours, such as switching off unused electrical equipment.
• We have developed an annual calendar of proactive sustainability communications to engage staff and raise awareness during key global events.
• Having achieved 100% renewable energy (RE) through direct procurement and renewable energy certificates (RECs) in 2024, we reached our target and plan to maintain this coverage in the future.
• Heat and steam consumption decreased by 26% due to limited utilisation across sites.
• We have improved our waste recycling rates and data quality for the key sites in London, Paris, Hong Kong, and New York, surpassing our target diverting 90% of waste from landfill. Currently, we are diverting approximately 91.5% of waste from landfill.
• In the UK, we reduced 30% of waste tonnage and reached a recycling rate of 56% thanks to the key initiatives of:
• Compostable waste stream expansion: we successfully completed Phase 1 of the compostable Vegware waste stream programme, including trials in the canteen and operations office. It also included improved signage and robust data analysis of disposal and contamination. Phase 2 will focus on a full-site rollout.
• Improved waste bin signage: we reviewed and relaunched a new bin signage system to enhance waste segregation accuracy across trial areas (canteen and operations office).
• Global Recycling Day event: we organized a Global Recycling Day event to educate staff on best waste disposal practices and gather feedback on existing waste disposal systems.
• The lessons we learned from these initiatives will help us expand them to other sites.
• We launched the first employee commute survey, which captured a much more accurate view of our employee commute patterns. Going forward, we will change the calculation methodology to integrate this improved data into our reporting.
IT Procurement: the indirect emissions from our software and hardware purchases, as well as the services needed to upkeep and monitor them. Data centres: the emissions from running our two data centres.
Post and Telecommunications: the emissions from our procured postal and telecommunications goods and services.
E-Waste: the emissions from end-of-life treatments of our electrical and electronic equipment.
On-blockchain activities: including but not exclusively the emissions associated with NFT-related transactions and Christie’s 3.0.
Please Note: IT Procurement and Post and Telecommunications emissions are re-stated for 2023. The large reduction in 2022 was the result of significantly improved data estimation with our supplier-related emissions.
In 2024, IT emissions decreased by 5% from 2023 and by an impressive 73% from 2019. This decrease is primarily driven by the improved carbon emission reductions of our top IT suppliers and the enhanced energy efficiency at our data centres.
• IT Procurement: We continued engaging with our IT suppliers to improve data quality as the procurement of software, hardware, and associated services remained our largest emissions source in this category. The limited availability of accurate supplier data led to our continued reliance on estimations. In 2024, we added three more companies to our IT supplier engagement programme.
Whilst our large IT suppliers are already leaders in decarbonisation, smaller suppliers encounter more challenges and can benefit from our ongoing support. By providing further engagements and support to these suppliers, we hope to understand our suppliers’ emissions profiles better and share our relevant learnings to help improve reporting accuracy and decarbonisation performance.
• NFTs: We continued tracking our non-fungible token (NFT) activities on blockchains and they accounted for 0.04% of total emissions.
• Data centres: Data centre energy emissions increased by 18% from 2023 but decreased by 41% from 2019. In 2024, we transitioned to a more energy-efficient data centre in the US which required a period of operational overlap between the existing and new data centres, resulting in the increase in overall energy consumption. We expect this transition to help decrease electricity consumption in future years. Looking ahead, we will also further leverage cloud technologies wherever possible and optimise data storage to manage our data more efficiently and securely.
Freight: of artwork for internal logistics between Christie’s sites before the sale (i.e., from the seller to the auction room) or after the sale (i.e., shipping organised on behalf of the buyer). Tours are also included in our data.
Packaging and storage: indirect emissions from the production of packaging materials (e.g., crates) and from outsourced storage.
Please Note: Packaging emissions are re-stated for 2023 based on corrected data
In 2024, shipping emissions decreased by 10% from 2023 and by 59% from 2019. This showcases our continued efforts on reducing air freight for distribution (total weight distributed using air freight has reduced by 19% from 2023) and utilising low-carbon modes of transportation (total weight distributed using sea freight has increased by 79% from 2023), as well as supplier engagement for using recycled packaging material.
Following previous year collaborations, we continued to work with our distribution and packaging suppliers to develop and test sustainable alternatives for packaging.
• Christie’s Ventures finalised an investment in RokBox, a reusable crate business, and partnered with EarthCrate, whose recyclable crate solutions reimagine artwork crating – our highest impact area in packaging.
• We designed and launched new packaging for watches and jewellery, prioritising durability, reusability, and low carbon impact.
• Through the case study conducted with RokBox and evaluations on new packaging solutions, we expect to realise not only emissions reduction but also ecological benefits from a reduced reliance on single-use plastics and minimised use of other toxic or non-biodegradable materials, aligning with our nature stewardship strategy.
We have been working closely with packaging suppliers to reach the optimal data collection for packaging materials used for each shipment
On goods distribution, our freight emissions have reduced by 16% from last year due to a continued focus on reducing air freight on top routes and prioritising the use of low-carbon modes of transportation such as sea freight and road freight.
• For wine shipments, we continued to streamline the process and opened a new warehouse in Paris to optimise distribution.
• Despite slow uptake for the sea freight programme, we focused on exploring new routes and will prioritise applying for more consistent and large-volume shipments such as wine. We are also optimising sea freight shipments by consolidating articles/ properties of multiple clients in a single shipping container for select routes.
• We ran the Sustainable Shipping Standard, our engagement programme to collect data and enhance ESG progress with shipping suppliers, for the second year and have included our tier-2 suppliers alongside tier-1 suppliers. The survey results indicated that most tier-1 suppliers have increased their scores and showed positive progress. We are committed to providing our best support for our tier-2 suppliers to improve accordingly.
Printing: of the material we use in support of our sales (mainly auction catalogues), including indirect emissions from paper, other materials, and printing.
Distribution: sending printed material by air or other transport types.
Our policy to carefully evaluate the need for printing has helped reduce Publishing emissions down to ~1% of the total emissions, from 5% in 2019, under SBTi boundary. Emissions from publishing are driven by the number of prints and the dispatch of these prints. In 2024, publishing emissions decreased significantly by 38% from 2023 and by an impressive 92% from 2019. This substantial reduction is primarily due to reduced printing volumes and dispatch freight.
• Printing emissions decreased by 12% from 2023 as we further limited our printing activities and shifted to digital.
• Dispatch emissions decreased by 44% as we focused on reducing the total dispatch weight and minimising the use of air freight.
Air travel: staff travelling to visit clients, undertake valuations, attend auctions and events, or meet with colleagues.
Other types of travel: staff travelling in company cars or in personal cars used for business trips, as well as by train, public transport, etc.
After a peak in 2023, in 2024 travel emissions decreased by 33% and decreased overall by 59% from 2019. The main driver for emissions reduction this year was the successful adoption of our travel policy, which resulted in a decrease in business flights. We hope 2024 reflected more accurately our “new-normal” more balanced business travel activities, and that 2023 was a moment-in-time uprise from reconnecting with clients, partners, and colleagues post-pandemic.
We reduced our flight emissions by 35% from 2023, which continued to be the top contributor to Travel emissions. Emissions from business class flights have also decreased by 40% from 2023 levels. We recorded an increased use of trains instead of flights on selected routes. The distance travelled by flights has decreased by 33% while distance travelled by rail has increased by 25% from 2023.
We attributed this success to our enhanced communication programs and awareness sessions promoting the travel policy and best practice amongst our colleagues.
• With our travel booking provider Navan, we can consider lowcarbon travel options alongside travel time and cost efficiency, encouraging better travel decisions.
• Booking flights in business class is reserved only for exceptional situations such as long-haul overnight flights or for colleagues with special needs.
• We also decreased the use of cars (company cars, taxis, others) by 22% and increased the use of public transportation (rail, ferry, metros, etc.) by 21% from 2023 for business-related travel.
We look forward to further inspiring and encouraging our colleagues to sustain and improve responsible travel practices through more engaging communications and incentives.
This operational area is reported for the first time, as it falls within the new SBTi target boundary, and is considered material.
Purchased Goods & Services: The emissions from the extraction, production, and transportation of goods and services purchased by the company, not included in capital goods (CAPEX).
Capital Goods: The emissions from the extraction, production, and transportation of capital goods (CAPEX) purchased by the company.
To calculate Procurement emissions, we use public Upstream5 emissions data from our top 30 suppliers (with highest spend) to develop a set of customised spend-emissions conversion factors.
In 2024, the emissions increased by 20% from 2023 and decreased by 81% from 2019 levels. The increase in emissions was driven by the public emissions of top 30 suppliers in 2024, recording an increase in the average emissions per spend value.
As Procurement becomes a focus for emissions reduction, we acknowledge that the current calculation methodology relies on estimations and cannot reflect accurately the emissions from the wide range of goods and services we procured. We plan to update this methodology to enhance the accuracy of our emissions data and improve accountability for emissions reductions.
Christie’s recognises the importance of sharing our learnings and best practices with the broader industry to accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable future.
This year, we actively participated in various platforms to contribute to the dialogue and inspire others to join us on this journey.
• In April, we joined The Hope Forum 2024 in Venice and contributed to a panel discussion on Art and Systemic Change.
• In May, we attended the American Bar Association International Law Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. and took part in a panel discussion on Climate Change, Carbon Footprint, and Ethics in the Art World.
• In June, Christie’s Lates in London hosted a discussion on “Revolutionising Industries - Radical Strategies for a Sustainable Future.”
• In July, at Christie’s Art + Tech Summit in New York, we led panel discussions on “The Role of Art in the Sustainability Discourse” and on “Sustainability in Luxury.”
• In September, we hosted with ClientEarth the Global Commons Alliance Climate Week Event at our New York site and explored how new frontiers in law and science can drive action for a safe and just future.
• In November, Christie’s Art Market Insights Podcast, “Fair Market Value,” featured a discussion on art world operations and logistics, with a focus on sustainable packaging and sea freight.
Through these engagements as well as others, we aim to contribute to the growing conversation around sustainability in the world of art and beyond, fostering collaboration and driving collective action.
This Christie’s Environmental Impact Report has been prepared by Christie’s in association with Accenture. It includes a detailed account of Christie’s carbon footprint arising from all operations and relevant supply chains. This was compiled through the exhaustive analysis of data relating to operational activities, including procurement data. Christie’s key personnel were interviewed to interpret and categorise this data, and emissions from areas where data was not available were estimated using modelling methods developed by Accenture specifically for Christie’s, aligned with best practice in GHG emissions accounting. We provide a comprehensive breakdown of total carbon emissions arising from all activities in our boundary from 2019 to 2024.
All data collected and analysed within this report has followed the World Resources Institute (WRI) GHG Protocol principles of relevance, completeness, consistency, transparency, and accuracy.