What does Artisio have to do with sustainability?

Environmental sustainability is now a shared responsibility among individuals and organizations. With the threat of climate change being more serious than ever, companies are now expected to be more involved in protecting natural resources and to apply environmentally sustainable business practices.

A company can only gain a competitive edge if it can assure that every single aspect of its business operations does not negatively impact the planet.

Customers are now conscious about patronizing products and services from brands who are transparent in their efforts to reduce waste and consume less energy. Investors likewise make investment choices based on an organization’s plan of action on sustainability.

The Auction Industry and Art Market’s Role in Environmental Sustainability

The auction industry and the art market are not exempt and can also have a heavy impact on the environment. For instance shipping and logistics, which includes transportation of consignments and delivery of auction items, contribute to carbon emissions. There’s also business travel, building maintenance, packaging of purchased pieces, and other business operations that produce greenhouse gases and leave a carbon footprint.

The good news is that the auction and art industry recognize its role in building a sustainable future by fostering the circular economy. It has a rather strong incentive for taking this environmental responsibility seriously. Art and other auction pieces, after all, are a form of investment, and people purchase them because of investment decisions that are based on their trust in the auction company. Such decisions are hardly driven by need. So, a company’s sense of accountability and responsibility in addressing issues relevant to the times, like climate change and global warming, will really influence these decisions.

What auction houses are doing for environmental sustainability so far

Now, after over a year of holding auctions through online or digital platforms due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the rules of social distancing, more and more auction houses and art galleries are realizing how doable sustainability is. Of course, the sale and purchase of antique and vintage items is a form of recycling and, compared to purchasing new pieces, leaves less carbon footprint. But with online events, auction houses and galleries have significantly reduced the production of printed materials like catalogues, thus saving paper and energy.

Christie’s, for example, had committed in 2019 to reduce their print production by half by the end of 2020 from printing more than 700,000 materials every year.

They saw the initiative as not just possible but essential. However, Christie’s surpassed their goal, what with the pandemic and the enforced social distancing rules and the auction house switching to an online bidding format. It successfully reduced the production of printed materials by 75 percent

It is accountability, collaboration, and coordinated effort among players in the industry that will help push this cause forward and generate a lasting impact for the planet. One company’s actions will not be as significant as an entire industry’s collective effort.

Artisio’s Contribution to Environmental Sustainability

Artisio is committed to doing its part in protecting the environment.

For instance Artisio is powering online auction house platforms for both mobile and desktop and delivers powerful front-to-back functionality for these platforms. We offer an auction management system that takes care of everything for auction houses and galleries – from inventory management, to a comprehensive and versatile customer relationship management (CRM), to seamless online auction integration, to payment solutions.

Through this cloud-based AMS, which our clients in the industry can access from anywhere and at any time, we can help them create a mobile working environment for their employees. Being able to work from home or anywhere outside the office allows employees to save on energy costs and to reduce their travel-related carbon footprint.

The ability to move from a physical space to an online space will also help auction houses and art galleries create a paperless environment. The Artisio Auction Console removes the need for users to print auctioneers book and catalogues. Instead, a digital auctioneer’s book will contain information about all the lots under the sale, the commission bids, and the telephone bids. Auctioneers will be able to input the item Hammer Price and winning Paddle Number during the online live auction process. Everything is accessible with just a click. In due time, printing auctioneer’s books for every event would look like a wasteful luxury.

Artisio also works with third-party providers, which allows users to easily make digital signatures and cut down paper printing for records and documentation.

We can also generate auction PDF catalogues on the fly, then allow users to send it to clients.

We at Artisio know that our efforts and responses toward a healthier environment do not end there. We are committed to doing more and we will continue to look for more ways to help auction companies reach their sustainability goals through our digital solutions and cloud-based offerings. Let us take one step at a time.