Museums grapple with implications of Supreme Court ruling on sex - Museums Association Open letter from culture professionals says EHRC update is ‘impossible to apply'

Welcome to see members of the #museums and wider #culture sector respond to the Supreme Court ruling and directly oppose the unworkable interim guidance of the #EHRC…https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2025/05/museums-grapple-with-implications-of-supreme-court-ruling-on-sex/

Remember when banks were scrambling to respond to activist pressure and show they were climate leaders? In Feb 2021, Royal Bank of Canada announced they would put $500 billion into Sustainable Finance by 2025. Yesterday they abandoned that goal. Oh the good 'ol days.
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

Lord Stern robustly rebutting Tony Blair’s illogical and misleading claims on #netzero on #bbc #radio4 right now, and pushing back on the suggestion that there isn’t progress across the world on #climate.

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Tony Blair Institute have released a report which is getting a lot of coverage in UK today

It says the drive for net zero emissions is flawed and some media outlets have gone to town

However it’s a bit odd

By odd, I mean there’s a lot of bollocks in it and shouldn't be taken seriously 🧵🧵

Climate plan based on phasing out fossil fuels doomed to fail, says Tony Blair Former PM claims net zero policies losing public support and says there should be greater focus on carbon capture

On the day BP is reaffirming it’s commitment to increasing oil production, I think there’s a need to be a phase out both of fossil fuels and Tony Blair’s colossal ego…

Maybe Tony could read the IEA’s #netzero report before weighing in. 🤷‍♂️

www.theguardian.com/environment/... #netzero #warcriminal

Reckless business plans here from BP - and yet no movement from the #BritishMuseum or @sciencemuseumldn.bsky.social on partnering with the company… 🙄

#climate #fossilfuels #museums #ethics

Shell: Could Natural Gas Make Cosmetics More Sustainable? Shell has announced a range of synthetic fluids derived from its Gas-to-Liquids technology, creating cosmetic ingredients that are not from crude oil

We need a new term…

“Cos-washing” 💅🤷‍♂️🛢️
sustainabilitymag.com/articles/she...

Target dropped DEI, so Minnesota’s largest Pride festival dropped Target's sponsorship — and raised even more After rejecting Target's pledged $50,000, Twin Cities Pride executive director Andi Otto tells The Advocate how his organization raised more than double that in less than 24 hours.

Taking an ethical stance on corporate sponsorship can have clear benefits, that people respond to your moral leadership… www.advocate.com/exclusives/t...
#ethics #funding #sponsorship

Legal definition of woman is based on biological sex, UK supreme court rules Judges say Equality Act definition excludes transgender women, after gender-critical campaigners’ challenge

The Supreme Court is wrong.

Solidarity to trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming in the wake of this ruling. 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

The idea that new oil & gas fields are a key lever for economic dynamism in the UK is completely at odds with the reality of the North Sea basin's inexorably declining contribution to the UK's economic & energy security--not to mention the costs of escalating climate change. Some thoughts:
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Nick complains that the bar is being raised “even higher” ethically…

Yet, he defends his deal with BP when the vast majority of the culture sector accepts that oil money crosses a red line…

…and even backs BP as it abandons its already weak climate commitments.

He has no leg to stand on here!

Importantly, there have not been protests against unethical corporate sponsors engaging in what he terms “criminal damage”.

Also Baillie Gifford chose to withdraw its funding.

But the goal of Fossil Free Books was for BG to divest!

So how much did the firm *really* care about culture? 🤔 2/x

Think twice before attacking corporate sponsorship of the arts Activists should ask themselves what will replace the funding that is lost

A poorly argued piece here from #BritishMuseum Director Nick Cullinan which is sprinkled with inaccuracies, straw man arguments and mischaracterisations of activism.

We can - and should - have ethical standards for cultural sponsorship.
www.ft.com/content/4e4e... @cultureunstained.bsky.social 1/x

We stand in solidarity with @Greenpeace and the water protectors fighting the Dakota pipeline.

No matter what the fossil fuel industry throws at us, our global movement will continue to fight back.

People make pottery at a Recovery through Ceramics workshop taking place at Shipley Art Gallery. Text reads: Health and Wellbeing in Museums Fund. Opening for applications on 28 April

Date for your diary | We're delighted to announce that the new Health and Wellbeing in Museums Fund, supported by the Julia Rausing Trust, will open for applications on 28 April 📆

Head to our website to find out more about the application process and timeline 👉 ow.ly/F6ca50VlnOu

#MuseumFunding

🚨BREAKING🚨

The trial verdict is in. A jury in the Morton County courthouse found Greenpeace International and two Greenpeace entities in the United States liable for over US$ 660 million combined in Energy Transfer’s meritless SLAPP lawsuit.

#WeWillNotBeSilenced

What the arts can learn from Toyota: Cultivating a culture of creative resilience - Arts Professional Amid funding cuts, operational challenges and shifting audience behaviours, David Reece explores how the arts can take inspiration from Toyota’s culture of experimentation and bold goal setting to dri...

While the corporate culture of Toyota might be interesting, we should perhaps take learning from a high carbon corporation with a slight pinch of salt…https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/magazine/feature/what-the-arts-can-learn-from-toyota-cultivating-a-culture-of-creative-resilience

More than 150 ‘unprecedented’ climate disasters struck world in 2024, says UN Floods, heatwaves and supercharged hurricanes occurred in hottest climate human society has ever experienced

More than 150 ‘unprecedented’ climate disasters struck world in 2024, says UN #Climate

A welcome shift - and one influenced not just by the amazing campaign against #Sackler funding but also the #fossilfreeculture movement’s scrutiny of oil sponsorship of the arts…
www.ft.com/content/d2a9...

Conservative party to ditch commitment to net zero in UK by 2050 Break in cross-party consensus on issue to be announced on Tuesday

UK Tory opposition leader Badenoch to abandon climate change net zero 2050 target

This isn't a new direction but a craven failure, feeding not halting Britain's decline

Wrong in so many ways, it fails
• Morally
• Economically
• Socially
• Politically

🧵1/5
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

We’re appalled that the Educational Bookshop in Jerusalem was again subjected to intimidation by the Israeli police yesterday.

We are incredibly grateful that, in the face of this attack on free expression, our friend and colleague, Mahmoud Muna, will nonetheless join us in London today.

And we can’t have that conversation Nick wants about how we pivot away from fossil fuels when you’re *literally* endorsing the industry that is wedded to doing exactly the opposite, slashing renewables spending and ramping up oil and gas drilling.

Wake up and smell the ☕️ Nick.
11/x

“The reality is we all use fossil fuels…it’s not binary…”

And here, Nick parrots the deflection used by the fossil fuel industry, the idea that individuals are somehow as responsible as $ billion oil firms that lobby politicians and drill new fields on a massive scale.
🛢️🛢️🛢️🙄
10/x

And no, the reality is not that the roof will fall in if the BM doesn’t accept BP’s money - this sort of scaremongering is misleading and beneath the Director.

Alternatives exist and many major museums have identified them.

This is a failure of imagination and ethical standards by Nick.
9/x

“If you say you can’t accept money from this source, this source, this source…the reality is the roof will go in, it’s that simple.”

Except it’s not. No-one is saying the BM must shun all private funding but they are saying follow the rest of the sector in rejecting fossil fuel funding.
8/x

The scale of the BM and its redevelopment is not an excuse for weaker ethical standards. If anything, the BM is better placed to access alternative income streams than the dirty money of a major polluter.
7/x

“I think the scale of challenges are different at the BM than other museums in the UK…” 😬

In reality, the BM is much better supported, with a dedicated fundraising team and well-connected trustees.

Meanwhile, many local museums have had to cut jobs or even close due to funding cuts.
6/x

…an obligation that all companies and citizens are required to meet.

Nick and the British Museum are helping BP to misleadingly portray itself as a generous philanthropist, as it pours billions into more oil and gas, polluting the air and crashing the #climate.
5/x

“If we think the profits of BP can be taxed…why is it not ok to accept funding from the same source?”

Tax and sponsorship are fundamentally different.

Sponsorship is a transaction that allows BP to promote its brand and gain social and cultural legitimacy.

Tax is the cost of doing business…
4/x