Qatar Museums is proud to announce that the National Museum of Qatar (NMOQ) has achieved Carbon Neutrality Certification for the reporting period of April 2022 to March 2023. This milestone reflects the museum's proactive approach to sustainable operations, setting an example for cultural institutions worldwide.
Central to NMoQ's success in achieving carbon neutrality is its collaboration with the Gulf Organisation for Research & Development (GORD). Leveraging GORD’s expertise in sustainability and climate change, NMoQ identified key areas for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and developed a comprehensive carbon neutrality plan.
Sheikh Abdulaziz al Thani, Director of National Museum of Qatar, commented on the achievement, saying "The National Museum of Qatar's commitment to reducing its carbon footprint has resulted in this remarkable accomplishment. This certification is testimony to the museum's perseverance towards operating in an environmentally conscious manner."
Dr. Yousef Alhorr, Founding Chairman of GORD, said, “By embracing sustainability, museums become guardians of both time and our planet, safeguarding artistic treasures and cultural heritage, all while minimizing their environmental footprint. NMoQ's attainment of carbon neutrality not only sets a powerful example for the global art sector, but also serves as an inspiration for organizations across various sectors within Qatar, urging them to prioritize environmental responsibility. Ultimately, NMoQ's success reaffirms Qatar Museums' role in pursuing Qatar National Vision 2030, paving the way for a low-carbon future.”
To attain carbon neutrality, Qatar Museums' National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) initiated strategic measures. These include transitioning to renewable energy sources, implementing energy-efficient technologies, supporting waste reduction and recycling, promoting sustainable transportation, engaging employees in eco-friendly practices, optimising water usage, and conducting a comprehensive carbon footprint assessment. These comprehensive efforts showcase the museum's unwavering dedication to environmental stewardship and sustainability, solidifying its role as a global leader in responsible cultural institution management.
Receiving the globally recognized carbon neutral certification, places NMoQ among the few projects in Qatar that have successfully reached carbon neutrality in their operations and services. Qatar Museums has developed a 10-year carbon neutrality plan to further its commitment to a low-carbon future. This plan involves extending similar initiatives to other museums, fostering a broader low-carbon transformation within Qatar’s economy. The certification awarded to NMoQ is anticipated to inspire more projects in Qatar to seek carbon neutral certification as part of their ESG strategies.
In addition to carbon neutrality certification, NMoQ has been recognized with several prestigious sustainability certifications. These awards, including international acknowledgments for sustainable building design, operations, and environmental excellence, underscore NMoQ's leadership in sustainability and its ongoing dedication to sustainable business practices.
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National Museum of Qatar
The National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) seeks to preserve and celebrate Qatar’s heritage and natural history, engage with its present, and inspire the country’s ambitions for the future. The museum, which opened in March 2019, gives voice to the country’s heritage and culture through commissioned films and artworks, storytelling, artefacts, and music, combining wide-ranging scholarship with oral histories of the people of Qatar. NMoQ is organised as a thematic and chronological sequence of galleries, which take the visitor on a 1.5-km journey through immersive, multisensory experiences that provide multiple perspectives. The iconic building, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, is based on the form of the desert rose and is composed of large interlocking disks of different diameters and curvatures that surround the restored historic Palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani (1871-1957), son of the founder of modern Qatar. Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Thani has served as director of the National Museum of Qatar since 2023.
About GORD
The Gulf Organisation for Research & Development (GORD) is an RDI entity recognized among leading organizations in the global sustainability milieu. Headquartered in Qatar Science and Technology Park, GORD drives the transformation of societies, industries, and the built environment by influencing corporate ethos, fostering innovation, and developing capacity to enable low-carbon sustainable growth for present and future generations. The organization’s key operations include R&D, standards setting, green buildings certification, accreditation services, voluntary carbon markets, performance testing, knowledge dissemination, 3D prototyping and advisory services on sustainability and climate change for governments, non-government, public and private sector organizations in line with Qatar National Vision 2030 and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
About Qatar Museums
Qatar Museums (QM), the nation's preeminent institution for art and culture, provides authentic and inspiring cultural experiences through a growing network of museums, heritage sites, festivals, public art installations, and programmes. QM preserves, restores, and expands the nation's cultural offerings and historical sites, sharing art and culture from Qatar, the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA) region with the world and enriching the lives of citizens, residents, and visitors.
Under the patronage of His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and led by its Chairperson, Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, QM has made Qatar a vibrant centre for the arts, culture, and education in the Middle East and beyond. QM is integral to the goal of developing an innovative, diverse, and progressive nation, bringing people together to ignite new thinking, spark critical cultural conversations, educate and encourage environmental stewardship and sustainable practices, and amplify the voices of Qatar's people. Since its founding in 2005, QM has overseen the Museum of Islamic Art and MIA Park, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, the National Museum of Qatar, QM Gallery Al Riwaq, QM Gallery Katara and the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum. Future museums include Dadu, Children's Museum of Qatar, Qatar Auto Museum, Art Mill Museum and the Lusail Museum.
Through its newly created Creative Hub, QM also initiates and supports projects—such as the Fire Station Artist in Residence, the Tasweer Qatar Photo Festival, the creative hub for innovation, fashion and design M7, and Liwan Design Studios and Labs —that nurture artistic talent and create opportunities to build a strong and sustainable cultural infrastructure.
Animating everything that Qatar Museums does is an authentic connection to Qatar and its heritage, a steadfast commitment to inclusivity and accessibility, and a belief in creating value through invention.
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Press Contacts
Mohammed Khames Al Abdallah
+974 4402 8544
mfaraj@qm.org.qa
Julia Caira
+974 7021 5800
jcaira@qm.org.qa