Ethical supplies, food composting,
recycling and reuse of sets and
props are being adopted. Even the
dreaded plastic water bottle (half drunk)
is being seen less on set
Meet thepioneersof
thesustainable film&
TV production industry
Melanie Dicks
A
t the heart of this movement
is the term ‘Sustainable
Development’, typically defined
as; ‘To meet the needs of the present
without compromising the needs of
future generations to meet their own
needs’.
But Sustainable Development is not
about fixing our industry challenges
and current working practices
overnight. It’s about a sustained
improvement over time in business
development that looks at sustainability
in terms of the social, environmental
and economic areas of all business
practices and processes. So this
covers supply chain governance
through to educating the next
generation of filmmakers and the
commissioning process for content.
So if it’s about everyone (and every
industry) supporting the agenda, what
is being done in ours?
The BFI, in partnership with the screen
agencies in Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland, is pursuing the goal
of moving the whole film sector to a
low carbon industry in order to meet
the UK’s legislated targets. It is taking
steps to support the rapidly changing
landscape that we face as filmmakers
in terms of a more sustainable
approach to physical production
practices, compliance and governance.
As part of this the BFI has a
sustainability strategy that includes
utilising the British Standard BS 8909,
a ‘Specification for a Sustainable
Management System for Film’. The
BFI are using it in their own business
and supporting sustainability as a
requirement on the films it funds.
Follow the 3Ps
In terms of broadcasters, BSkyB
have always been practitioners of
sustainability and along with the BBC
are starting to look at their production
practices; ethical supplies, food
composting, recycling and reuse of
sets and props. And even the dreaded
plastic water bottle (half drunk) is being
seen less on set.
We are seeing low carbon technology
like solar generators being adopted
with cost savings on fuel spends and
where we talk about the bottom line
in terms of
production
budgets we
refer to the triple
bottom line in
sustainability as
an accounting
framework
with three
dimensions: social, environmental
and financial. The triple bottom line is
commonly called the three Ps: people,
planet and profits and are referred to as
the ‘three pillars of sustainability’.
The UK creative industry leads the
world in the quality of content we
deliver, in every area; from commission,
production, post and distribution. And
now we are gradually seeing the way
that content is made being increasingly
sustainable and world leading. Real
strides have been made in the past five
years - but there is still a way to go.
Melanie Dicks
Co-Founder, Greenshoot
Supporting the UK filming industries
All UK businesses have the challenge of moving towards a low carbon, sustainable economy - which
includes the creative industries, where the green agenda has become increasingly important in recent
years, writes Melanie Dicks, co-founder of eco-champions Greenshoot.
Sustainability in film and TV
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