London - A pioneering initiative aiming to significantly reduce the carbon footprint associated with artwork transportation is launched today by Crozier in partnership with Christie’s. This new initiative will now afford arts organizations the opportunity to minimize the environmental impact of shipping by choosing sea vs. air freight – calculated to represent an 80% reduction in impact compared to standard air freight shipments. Together, the companies will inaugurate a monthly service to determine viability of creating a fleet of bespoke sea containers exclusively for the transportation of artworks between London and New York and every 2 months between London and Hong Kong. Each shipment will allow 60% of space for use by Christie’s with remaining space available for consolidated Crozier gallery client shipments.
Tom Woolston, Global Head of Operations, Christie’s, stated: “Christie’s continues to work to find more sustainable business solutions and is pleased to collaborate with Crozier on this initiative, which has significant potential to expand. Reducing carbon emissions continues to be a guiding principle in our business practices so this is an important step in our pledge to reach net zero by 2030.”
It is estimated that the average sailing time for the regular shipments would be 12 days.
“By joining forces, Crozier and Christie’s aim to offer this special sea container initiative to those seeking alternative and more sustainable methods of transportation,”said Simon Hornby, Senior Vice President, Crozier Europe. “We plan to reach expanding geographies worldwide as this initiative progresses providing the safe, ethical movement of culture on a global scale. We are thrilled to partner with Christie’s to launch this initiative as we strive towards collective action to bring systemic change to sustainability practices in our industry.”
Crozier has worked for over a decade to reduce its energy use within the industry and has prioritized recycling, sourcing sustainable materials from ecologically-minded suppliers, and working to consolidate shipping. Crozier’s specially developed, highly monitored, safe containers address identified risks that are crucial for the transportation of artworks.
“At Crozier, we are determined to pursue our commitment towards a greener future and will continue to spearhead a series of measures to play our part in addressing the global climate crisis. The environmental impact of arts logistics is a well-known industry-wide issue. It requires ongoing leadership, collaboration and engagement from the organizations that are a part of its ecosystem,” concluded Simon Hornby.
Notes to editors:
Timings:
NY - loading the container in UK to unloading the container in NY 20 days
Loading container/Delivery to Port 5 days
On the water 10 days
Delivery to Shipper/unloading container 5 days
These timeframes do not include crating, warehouse consolidation etc.
Door to door is 6 weeks LND - NY / NY - LND
HK - loading the container in UK to unloading the container in HK 40 days
Loading container/Delivery to Port 5 days
On the water 30 days
Delivery to Shipper/unloading container 5 days
These timeframes do not include crating, warehouse consolidation etc.
Door to door is 10 weeks LND - HK
About Christie’s
Founded in 1766, Christie’s is a world-leading art and luxury business. Renowned and trusted for its expert live and online auctions, as well as its bespoke private sales, Christie’s offers a full portfolio of global services to its clients, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education. Christie’s has a physical presence in 46 countries, throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with flagship international sales hubs in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. It also is the only international auction house authorized to hold sales in mainland China (Shanghai).
Christie’s auctions span more than 80 art and luxury categories, at price points ranging from $200 to over $100 million. Christie’s has sold 8 of the 10 most important single-owner collections in history, including the Paul G. Allen Collection—the most valuable collection ever offered at auction (November 2022). In recent years, Christie’s has achieved the world record price for an artwork at auction (Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, 2017), for a 20th century artwork (Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, 2022) and for a work by a living artist (Jeff Koons’ Rabbit, 2019).
Christie’s Private Sales offers a seamless service for buying and selling art, jewellery and watches outside of the auction calendar, working exclusively with Christie’s specialists at a client’s individual pace.
Recent innovations at Christie’s include the groundbreaking sale of the first NFT for a digital work of art ever offered at a major auction house (Beeple’s Everydays, March 2021), with the unprecedented acceptance of cryptocurrency as a means of payment. As an industry leader in digital innovation, Christie’s also continues to pioneer new technologies that are redefining the business of art, including use of hologram technology to tour life-size 3D objects around the world, and the creation of viewing and bidding experiences that integrate augmented reality, global livestreaming, buy-now channels, and hybrid sales formats.
Christie’s is dedicated to advancing responsible culture throughout its business and communities worldwide, including achieving sustainability by reducing our carbon emissions by 50% and pledging to be net zero by 2030, and actively using its platform in the art world to amplify under-represented voices and support positive change.
Browse, bid, discover, and join us for the best of art and luxury at: www.christies.com or by downloading Christie’s apps. The COVID-related re-opening status of our global locations is available here.