Sustainable Heritage Conservation offers advice in all aspects of collection care for art and museum collections, historic interiors, and the spaces in which they are housed. With a professional and pragmatic approach, we deliver services that meet the needs of our clients and result in collections that are well cared for and accessible for learning, research, and enjoyment.
Whether you are looking for management of your collection environment, structured conservation planning, or input in project design, we help you preserve your collections sustainably.
Our heritage preservation consultancy is driven by the three main sustainability principles: social engagement through cooperation and inclusion, financial viability through economic balance and sufficiency principles, and environmental responsibility through care for the planet and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
We encourage those we work with and for to do the same, and lead by example through our Carbon Literacy Certification.
Sustainably Managed Collections
We strongly believe in a sustainable world that delivers peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future. Museums, art galleries and historic houses play an active role in this through their collections and activities. Our collections care advice is underpinned by sustainability principles – we help you design solutions that are kind to the planet, the environment, and your collections.
We favour a holistic approach, because everything is connected. Sustainable Heritage Conservation therefore works in partnership with architects, engineers, curators, and conservators whose specialisms and experience complement ours to deliver sustainable solutions for your projects.Environmental Management
Environmental control is at the heart of good collections care, and now more than ever needs to be energy efficient, kind to the planet, and effective for your collections.
Sustainable Heritage Conservation advocates an ‘ultra-light’ approach to environmental control, with solutions that minimise a demand for energy, including whole-building approach with good design and construction, maximising thermal mass and hygroscopic ability, solar use and solar control, and the application of wide control bands allowing slow seasonal drift.
We work in partnership with Gwentec Ltd (Hanwell) and Conserv to deliver monitoring and control solutions for cultural organisations, providing both access to the equipment to measure humidity, temperature, and light in collection spaces, as well as in-depth analysis of the data.
Professional and Peer Support
Whether you head up a conservation department, are a dedicated committee member, or volunteer as a collections assistant, we offer a soundboard for your ideas and support for your concerns.
Sustainable Heritage Conservation works with staff and volunteers at all levels in collections care roles, supporting solutions for sustainable measures and strengthening your voice at the negotiating table or in project design meetings. We provide a positive environment in which to explore unconventional and innovative ideas that support the incorporation of sustainable goals from the start.Environmental and Advisory Reports
Collections care covers a range of activities aimed to protect and preserve collections. When teams are small, and budgets limited, where do you start? Once you have the main care processes in place and your environment is being monitored, what can your data tell you?
Sustainable Heritage Conservation will help you structure and prioritise your collections care tasks and activities through site visits and advisory reports, summarising the main issues of your specific situation and setting out a structured route to a well-cared for collection.
We conduct analysis of your environmental data (usually on an annual basis) against your specific parameters and formulate key sustainable recommendations to improve control, efficiency, and carbon reduction.
Hospitalfield House – ‘An important Victorian Room’
HMS Unicorn – ‘The Most Original Ship in the World’.
The ‘48-Star Flag’ – loan conditions at the Museum of Islay Life.
David Livingstone Centre revisited
Collections Care Consultancy Projects
Biography
Wilma Bouwmeester ACR
Wilma initially qualified as Art Teacher and then Textile Conservator in the 1990’s and was one of the early conservators in the UK to specialise in preventive conservation. Through roles at the Scottish Museums Council and the National Trust for Scotland she helped museums adopt good preventive conservation practices and laid the foundations for a preventive approach at NTS through development of the Collections Conservation Department. She became Accredited in 2000, was Assessor for the accreditation scheme for several years, and set up her independent heritage preservation consultancy in 2003. She completed an MSc in Sustainable Heritage at University College London in 2008, obtained a Certificate in Counselling Skills in 2020, and became Certified Carbon Literate in 2024.
Client Testimonials
Sustainable Heritage have been advising on environmental systems and practices and producing reports for the National Trust for Scotland since 2010. We have always found the process of working with Wilma and her team straightforward, the information on the reports informative, understandable with recommendations that we can easily integrate into our working practices.
Lesley Scott
National Trust for Scotland, Conservation Advisor Edinburgh & East,
Wilma assisted with the design process of the project to redevelop two or our museums. As part of her role she commented on design proposals by the project architects and engineers to enshrine modern collections care into the design of the refurbished listed buildings. A particular emphasis was on sustainability of modifications to the building and mechanical and electrical installations, and to reduce energy demand whilst at the same time ensuring collections in the buildings are appropriately cared for. Wilma was knowledgeable about environmental management of different types of collections, sustainable building management, project management and confident at communicating with various project consultants.
We would gladly work with her again during similar projects.
Christian Baars
National Museums Liverpool, Head of Collections Care
I have worked with SHC for over 15 years as a freelance Buildings and Collections Conservator.
I have found the sharing of knowledge and support across the years invaluable. I have always enjoyed working with Wilma and SHC
and find it a positive company to be associated with. Wilma's values of sustainability and promoting environmental practices across the museum world are similar to my own, and her moral belief in supporting her subcontractors underpins the company.
Gille Young
Independent Buildings and Collections Conservator