CCB Magazine

And: Action!

Photo: © Daniel Pasche

He founded one of the early digital startups in the mid-1990s, worked in management for Universal Music, helped build MySpace in Germany, founded the Green Music Initiative, and did much more. Now, in the fall of 2020, Jacob Silvester Bilabel has initiated the Aktionsnetzwerk Nachhaltigkeit (Sustainability Action Network), a multi-disciplinary first port of call for operational ecology for culture and media. How do you build a network like that? And how does it work? We asked him about it.
 

INTERVIEW   Boris Messing

CCB Magazine: Hello Jacob. You are a cultural all-rounder and have started various ventures and initiatives. How did that come about and what makes a good networker?

Jacob Sylvester Bilabel: It all began for me when I was living in a shared flat. All of us lived in shared apartments at one time. I enjoyed that very much. And like in every shared apartment, at some point there's a situation where you're sitting together in the kitchen and one of you says, the fridge is broken. Or we need to repaint the bathroom. Or the doorbell doesn't work. But no-one feels responsible and so the whole thing is put off. And at some point I was the one who was making sure that things got done. That was the initial impulse for me. In a broader sense, I believe to be a good networker you need to wear a lot of different hats while at the same time seeing yourself as a neutral bridge builder. As you just said, I've already done quite a bit and have quite a few hats on. That gives me the opportunity to talk to actors from science, culture and politics. But I'm not a functionary or a lobbyist, I don't represent any particular clientele. The networks I operate are team-driven networks.

CCB Magazine:In the fall of 2020, you initiated the Aktionsnetzwerk Nachhaltigkeit, which is partly funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. It sees itself as a multi-disciplinary first port of call for operational ecology in the field of culture and media. Why has it only just come into being?

Jacob Sylvester Bilabel:Well, you often wonder why this and that doesn't exist yet. I recently had an interview with a woman from the energy industry. She asked me what we were doing in the Aktionsnetzwerk and what measures we were taking. She couldn't imagine how sustainable culture could work. And then I described a few measures to her, and she said, yes, but that's just normal energy consulting. And I said, yes, of course, what else. The question is why no one in the cultural sector has asked this question yet.

A good networker should wear many hats while seeing himself as a neutral bridge builder. I wear many hats, which gives me the chance to talk to actors from science, culture and politics

CCB Magazine:How do you build that sort of network? What are the individual steps?

Jacob Sylvester Bilabel:Basically, we meet with people and tell them what we do. In the Aktionsnetzwerk, there are two important features that set it apart from others - and that's where the approach comes from. First, we are an action network, which means we do things together with our partners in the network. Second, we focus exclusively on operational ecology. We leave out areas like social sustainability. There are other networks for that. So we cooperate with cultural actors who want to change things in terms of operational ecology. Professor Schellnhuber from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research once spoke of a club of the willing in this context. Our partners are very diverse, and include the German Museums Association and the German Federal Film Board, but also the Humboldt Forum and the Fete de la Musique. They are all united by the will to change things.

CCB Magazine:How big is your team? What jobs do your staff do?

Jacob Sylvester Bilabel:We have defined three major blocks in consultation with the Federal Government Commissioner. The first consists of the pilot projects with our partners. Secondly we offer courses to train people as transformation managers, and the third block is a carbon footprint calculator sponsored by the E.ON Foundation, which is currently in the test phase. At the moment, there are four of us taking care of everything. The basic skill is classic project management. Each person has a specific project responsibility, and how the project goals are achieved is left up to each individual. One of them, for example, takes care of the training program that we offer together with the Cologne Chamber of Industry and Commerce, while another is responsible for the carbon footprint calculator. And then, of course, there are the standard jobs like accounting.

The Aktionsnetzwerk Nachhaltigkeit focuses exclusively on operational ecology. The partners we work with are diverse, ranging from the German Museums Association to the Humboldt Forum or the Fete de la Musique. They are all united by the will to change things

CCB Magazine:And what does your day-to-day work look like?

Jacob Sylvester Bilabel:My typical workday is divided into three areas. One involves communication, meetings and a whole lot of emails. The second part is paperwork - documenting projects, project proposals, things like that. And the third part is thinking, planning, coming up with ideas. For that, I like to go for a walk in the Invalidenstraße cemetery. Every morning. I can be almost alone there.

CCB Magazine:There are now several carbon footprint calculators. What’s different about yours?

Jacob Sylvester Bilabel:Basically, they all follow the same principle. It's not an overly complicated thing. The operational ecology of a theater is not fundamentally different from the operational ecology of a paint shop. The big chunks, energy, buildings, logistics, etc., are the same. There are many calculators, but they are often from compensation providers outside the industry who also have a business interest. But there are also good calculators, for example the one from the Federal Environmental Agency, but that’s only useful for parts of the cultural sector. But our calculator, which we borrowed from the Art's Council and Julie's Bicycle in England and adapted for Germany, has been developed specifically for the cultural sector. With 5000 data sets already evaluated, it is an easy-to-use tool for calculating the carbon footprint of cultural institutions. Our calculator offers you not only absolute values but also relative values, for example broken down to the number of square meters of stage, to the number of performances or to the number of visitors, so-called key performance indicators with which you can better plan your measures. Our calculator enables you to compare different theaters in relation to each other. No other calculator can do that yet.

CCB Magazine:Will your carbon footprint calculator have a central database where you can compare values?

Jacob Sylvester Bilabel:No. This is not meant to be a product for consumers or journalists where you point the finger at a cultural institution and say, look how bad their carbon footprint is. The data can only be viewed by the respective users. The primary aim is to see where you stand as a cultural institution and to have a picture of your own carbon footprint. The benchmark data will only be available as part of a user agreement.

CCB Magazine:Let me put it simply: the big issues of the energy transition have to be solved through technological innovation. Energy generation and storage, building efficiency and mobility – those are matters for business and research. What can culture contribute to this? And what are the limits of a network like yours?

New narratives are needed to raise awareness of the problem of climate change and create a positive mood of wanting to tackle it

Jacob Sylvester Bilabel:85 percent of the emissions from culture are the same as from all other professions in terms of the things you mentioned. But it's not true that culture can’t affect it. One of the big energy guzzlers is cooling and ventilation, for example. With an efficient system, that can be greatly improved. Now you say, yes, but culture doesn’t make the technology needed to do that. But now if you know that a lot of energy is consumed by cooling and ventilation in a museum, then you’ve identified a specific lever to work with. And we also need new narratives to overcome our fear of having to give things up. By new narratives, I mean the social experiments that are needed to raise awareness of the problem of climate change and create a positive mood of wanting to tackle it.

CCB Magazine:Let's have an honest assessment, please: How big has the response been among cultural and creative professionals so far? How far do they accept your network?

Jacob Sylvester Bilabel:The response has been very good. It's quite simple: Those who are interested get in touch with us. We already have 30 partners from a wide variety of fields, from opera to museums, from festivals to film promotion, and from libraries to chambers of commerce.

CCB Magazine:What is the biggest obstacle to a greener creative economy? Is it a lack of will or a lack of money? Or is it ultimately the technology, which is still too inadequate?

Jacob Sylvester Bilabel:The creative industries are a very heterogeneous sector with many subsectors. There are individual innovators there who have decided to take on this challenge proactively. Because despite the urgency of the climate crisis and clear national targets for cutting carbon emissions, there are practically no regulations and framework conditions for the individual companies that want and promote these innovations. So these processes are (still) voluntary. On the other hand, there are funded cultural institutions that can’t move a single millimeter on their own and change very little. The technology is there, the will not always. There are also certain structural problems. I'll give you an example: a lot of people want to change things, but the building they hold events in belongs to the city, the municipality, the state - and so they can't simply change what they want. Overall, though, I see the creative sector as being very innovation-driven.

CCB Magazine:What else do you plan to do with the Aktionsnetzwerk Nachhaltigkeit?

Jacob Sylvester Bilabel:The goal is to build even more stable bridges between culture on the one hand and science and research on the other. Hydrogen technology, more efficient cooling systems, a smarter energy supply - these innovations need to be more visible and should be used. This requires stronger networking.

CCB Magazine:Jacob, I hear you are a passionate surfer. What was the biggest wave you've taken on so far?

Jacob Sylvester Bilabel:Oh, that was in Morocco, Taghazout. It must have been five meters high! Unfortunately, I'm only a mediocre surfer. But who cares.

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