The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) has recommitted to a three-year renewable energy agreement, which will purchase renewable energy credits to match 100% of the annual electricity consumption for PEM’s 23-building campus in Salem. This agreement reinforces the principles and commitments set forth by PEM’s Climate + Environment Initiative.
In recent years, PEM has prioritized energy conservation to reduce its carbon footprint. In 2022, PEM was awarded the inaugural Mass Save Climate Leader® Award for energy efficiency. The museum’s first three-year agreement was set to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 7,000 metric tons. Through the dedication of PEM’s staff and contractors, the museum has been able to install efficient LED lighting and optimize its HVAC systems and controls, as well as find sustainable ways to reduce and repurpose exhibition design materials. In addition, PEM partners with the City of Salem and local organizations for the annual Preservation in a Changing Climate Conference. This year’s event will take place at PEM on Sept. 17.
“As the nation’s oldest continually operating museum and an organization that is dedicated to the intersection of art, culture and science, we are proud to renew our commitment to the care of our planet,” said Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, PEM’s Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo executive director and CEO. “Now more than ever, we feel a deep responsibility to stand among the nation’s cultural leaders taking meaningful action on climate.”
Later this week, PEM will open an exhibition that shines a light on a key biome for the climate: the boreal forest, which stretches across nearly the entire Northern Hemisphere, just below the Arctic Circle, and is home to 3.7 million people, 85 species of animals, 32,000 species of insects and 2 billion migratory birds. Knowing Nature: Stories of the Boreal Forest is on view at PEM from July 26, 2025, through September 27, 2026, and is offered in English and Spanish. In recent years, PEM has presented a series of climate-focused exhibitions, including Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend, Our Time on Earth, Climate Action: Inspiring Change, and Down to the Bone: Edward Koren and Stephen Gorman.
“This exhibition provides a learning journey that starts with curiosity, builds empathy, and leads to action,” said Jane Winchell, the Sarah Fraser Robbins Director of PEM’s Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center. “We are all connected to the boreal forest and our health and well-being are tied to its future. The vastness, beauty and solitude of this landscape touches something deep within us. It provides a place of hope in a changing world.”
