By Heather Roy

Even with the coronavirus pandemic, Brexit and events in the U.S., climate change is never far from the conversations of today - a result of the continuous flow of headlines, films, TV shows, social media and campaigns that demand attention, and rightly so. 

With the world on track to hit the 1.5 degree warming threshold as soon as 2024, the long-term impact of this is nothing short of alarming. (1.5C being the level countries agreed to cap global warming at in the 2015 Paris accord.) 

For the film and television industry, the environmental impact is substantial, and an immense amount of waste and pollution lies behind the scenes. 

BAFTA notes that a single hour of TV produced in the UK amounts to an average of 13 metric tons of CO2. This is about equivalent to the emissions produced by the average American over an entire year. 

The film industry has an equally large impact, as a 2020 report by BAFTA and albert, its environmental sustainability organisation for film and TV, draws attention to, the average ‘tentpole’ film (with a budget over £70m) creates 2,840 tonnes of CO2. A lot, in other words.

The screen industry’s environmental impact is then indisputably high, with large portions of emissions arising from transportation of cast, crew and equipment. Large sets tend to be used once and discarded, whilst lighting utilises a substantial amount of energy. BFI’s sustainability manager Frank Horn pointed out that “it’s not an industry that’s familiar with sustainable practices and it’s due to the nature of the industry. It’s almost like a disposable industry in that you throw up a set and you tear it down again.” 

It’s clear that changes are necessary – so what is the industry doing to combat its carbon footprint? 

Since 2011, BAFTA have supported the film and TV industry through albert, who are the leading authority on environmental sustainability for film and television. 

Their project has two central aims; to empower the industry to create content that supports a vision for a sustainable future, and to enable the industry to make positive contributions to the environment while actively eliminating waste and carbon emissions from production. 

BAFTA, BFI and albert joined together to create the first ever on-screen “green certificate” called albert+, awarded to productions who demonstrate high standards of sustainability. CBBC’s ‘All at Sea’ was the first show to be awarded the certificate for their eco-friendly set design. 

Aaron Matthews, industry sustainability manager at BAFTA noted that “it would be great to see productions insist on a green approach to set disposal when a production finishes.” 

In response to the calls for changing practices surrounding set waste, online forum Set Exchange was established, allowing productions to make use of pre-used sets and costumes. The website aims to promote and advance a zero-waste philosophy within the screen industries in an attempt to reduce environmental impact through the sharing of resources. 

The BAFTA albert sustainability report published in 2020 in conjunction with BFI is positive in its outlook, suggesting that net-zero emissions are possible by 2050. Their “New Screen Deal” proposes a route map to sustainable production practices, with the end goal of achieving net-zero emissions within the next 30 years. 

In the report, Matthews draws attention to the next steps for the screen industries. He says “As we emerge from lockdown we need to rethink our approach to filmmaking […] the changes suggested in this report can’t be implemented overnight […] but grasping this challenge now will lead to improved efficiencies in the way we work.”

Aside from the work of these industry organisations, private companies are also taking much needed action. One such company is Greenshoot. 

The organisation, established in 2009, has helped over 500 advertising, feature film and television productions to reduce their carbon emissions and costs by using their Green Screen environmental platform. 

With programmes including Netflix hit ‘The Crown’ using their platform, Greenshoot provides practical support that mobilises the creative industries to act on climate change. 

As a social enterprise, they state that their mission has always been to take active steps towards a future that has a carbon neutral industry. To do so, Greenshoot provides training to provide production teams with a better understanding of how to integrate sustainable practices.

These trainees, Greenshoot point out, “are the producers and directors of tomorrow, meaning the next generation will know only one way to shoot – sustainably.” 

The company also facilitates the donation of production assets from film, TV and advertising shoots that would otherwise go to waste. In an industry that requires drastic action to achieve carbon neutrality, it is encouraging to see that private companies are making changes alongside their industry organisations.

Whilst there is an indisputably long road ahead to achieve sustainable practices, the growing conversation surrounding sustainability, and the steps already taken suggest that this road is headed in the right direction.

And, as it happens, today sees the official launch of the new albert carbon calculator and certification toolkit for those working in film and TV production.

The new toolkit is available to all UK production companies, as well as production companies around the world, right here: https://wearealbert.org/2021/01/04/our-new-calculator-has-launched/