Throughout the phases of any production, there are several key points at which prioritising sustainability can have a big impact on reducing emissions. Invariably, the earlier in the production lifecycle sustainability is prioritised the greater the results can be.
A huge number of decisions are taken during development that shape both the content of a production and how it will be made. Considering sustainability here can deliver outsized impacts with minimal cost implications.
Commissioning decisions drive the film and TV industries. To deliver significant emissions reductions, sustainability must be prioritised during this process.
As the budget evolves, there is a chance to stop unsustainable assumptions becoming reality, and to actively budget for working more sustainably.
As things get underway, clear sustainability policies and processes must be established. Cast and crew need to know exactly what is expected of them and must be actively and creatively engaged to help drive positive action.
During the pressure of production, effort must be made to keep sustainability front-and-centre, monitor progress and make important interventions. The latter stages are important for reporting and waste management.
Time should be taken in post-production to ensure collected emissions data is accurate and submitted, and that key sustainability successes and challenges are learned from.
Often writers and directors don’t consider the effect of narrative choices on sustainability because they don’t know how, or haven’t been asked to. Providing guidance and advice here can help them make small, organic choices that make a big difference and don’t feel forced.
Climate change is the major narrative of our times. As green technologies and themes become more ubiquitous, the excuses not to have them onscreen begin to fade. By using a system of “Planet Passes” on scripts, we can ensure that positive, inspiring climate editorial reaches the screen. It won’t be possible for all productions, but the questions should always be asked.
Information and guidance are key to making sustainable decisions in early production planning. Content commissioners should mandate certain environmental impact information be supplied and provide tools to help producers develop, plan and budget more sustainably. By doing this, they can ensure that producers know they must prioritise sustainability and can do so effectively.
Content commissioners should always look to carry out sustainability assessments of projects before greenlighting them. Short assessments including analysis of production plans, benchmarking against previous productions and the proposal of suitable sustainability initiatives can have a big impact – providing insight and setting expectations.
If we’re serious about sustainability, it must be prioritised. Carbon emissions must be a commissioning consideration. The marketplace is competitive, and if content commissioners let it be known that they will only support projects that consider their environmental impacts and seek to reduce them it will soon become an accepted norm.
The sooner you take action, the more positive impact you can have. In addition to setting sustainability requirements for productions, commissioners must provide their commissioned projects with sustainability support and expertise from the earliest possible stage.
At budget stage, previously adopted assumptions begin to become concrete plans. Power, transport, location moves and shooting setups are decided here and can have huge impacts. Key environmental impacts and assumptions must be kept at the heart of the budgeting and scheduling process.
Many content commissioners have preferred budget templates, but these are often heavily adapted by productions or not used at all. To allow the environmental impacts of budget decisions to be effectively evaluated, commissioners must ask their productions to use budget coding that allows them to more easily track key carbon factors. In time, draft carbon budgets will be derived from these templates.
In the short term, it is undeniable that making more sustainable choices in production can cost more (ignoring the true carbon cost of unsustainable behaviours). If we as a sector are serious about hitting our crucial environmental goals then those funding content must be prepared to invest to help productions make greener choices, trial new technologies or invest in crew, training or expertise.
As a production begins to hire its HoDs and leadership, it is crucial that there is clear, concise communication of sustainability policies and requirements. Everyone involved with a production must know that sustainability initiatives aren’t just an optional extra. This message must come from the top. Through a combination of clear policies, effective senior communication and targeted and relevant education, productions can go a long way to ensuring they meet their sustainability goals.
If productions can’t access suppliers who work more sustainably then any good sustainability intentions are soon lost. Productions must source their suppliers with sustainability in mind, and commissioners should support this as much as possible with dedicated tools and resource.
Production sustainability isn’t rocket science. There are areas such as power, transport and waste that we know are always likely to be important areas of focus. Very often the most effective thing in addressing these is simply allowing time for proper planning. The cost of doing this is negligible, while working in a rushed and siloed fashion makes more sustainable working extremely hard and almost invariably results in greater cost in the long run. With relatively simple and coordinated planning, key emissions drivers can often be significantly mitigated.
Improving the quality of emissions data collected by productions will be a key enabler of a more sustainable future for our sector. The most effective way of collecting high quality carbon data is to use time and resource early in establishing strong data collection processes, communicating requirements to individual departments and establishing a clear interface between the sustainability and accounts teams.
Effective communication of sustainability priorities to cast and crew throughout production is crucial in driving change. Memos, newsletters, surveys and visible actions all play a key role in giving teams “ownership” of sustainability matters and genuinely embedding more positive behaviours onset.
However well a production has planned its sustainability measures, the realities of production mean that they can get side-lined during busy periods. Often when plans change, productions have to scramble to fill the breach, and they do not have the time nor expertise to prioritise taking sustainable actions. It is often last moment decisions, or ones of necessity, that can lead to big emissions spikes. If expert, coordinated support is provided to productions then it can make a huge difference in keeping sustainability initiatives on track and tackling these issues.
It is important that a production’s performance against its sustainability policies and goals is monitored. This can help make sure that sustainability remains a focus and allow interventions and adjustments to be made where required. Reporting of progress and challenges with sustainability initiatives can also provide valuable learning for future productions.
It is easy to underestimate the amount of planning and coordination required to ensure that materials, sets and costumes are sustainably sourced, reused and recycled. Through proper planning and application of circular economy principals, the level of waste on a production can be dramatically reduced. This reduces production emissions but also, through donations and onward sales, can often deliver real value support to third party charities and businesses.
The utility of production carbon footprint data relies on it being as accurate and complete as possible. We know it’s currently not good enough. A better standard of data will be a cornerstone of better benchmarking and carbon budgeting in the future, so it is important that enough time is allocated to aggregating footprint data and validating its accuracy.
Asking cast and crew to undertake and support sustainability initiatives in addition to doing their day jobs can sometimes mean they have to put in more work and effort. When this is the case, it’s very important to take time to communicate what productions have collectively achieved in reducing their emissions and environmental impact. If this is done well it can be motivating and help ensure people take positive behaviours onto their next production.
For a long time, sustainability has been approached on a production-by-production basis. This has resulted in a failure to effectively share knowledge and make best use of learnings. When production sustainability is approached in a more coordinated manner, it can be more efficient and result in the development of better, more robust sustainability tools and policies for the future.