Your guide to sustainability in film and TV production - page 12-13

Fast forward three years and the
consortium has developed an array of
sophisticated tools and approaches to help
producers improve their green credentials.
There’s no question that this has had an
impact, but BAFTA’s industry sustainability
manager Aaron Matthews says there’s
still plenty of work to do. “I think people
fundamentally want to be green, but don’t
always realise how easy it is to make
a difference. It’s one of those subjects
where planning at the outset can have a
significant impact on a production’s overall
sustainability.”
Easy ways to be more eco-friendly
Helping producers feel comfortable with
going green is where the Albert Consortium
comes in, says Matthews: “We realise the
production business is quite ephemeral,
with people moving between jobs all
the time. That makes it more difficult to
establish a standard corporate approach.
So we’ve put together a range of tools to
help people get to grips with what ‘being
green’ entails. It doesn’t matter whether
you’re running a high-end drama production
or a fast turnaround factual entertainment
series, we have resources that can guide
you on how to be more green.”
Central to the consortium’s work is an
online carbon calculator that can add up
the total amount of greenhouse gases
emitted into the atmosphere as a direct
result of making a particular programme.
In some parts of the TV business, it is
mandatory to use this carbon calculator
(BBC in-house productions, UKTV and Sky
commissions, for example). But Matthews
also urges producers who aren’t required
to use the calculator to factor its use into
their pre-production planning: “It’s a very
useful tool to help you work out what
you’re dealing with. But there is little use in
reporting for reporting’s sake, so the tool
must be used in pre-production so that
action can be taken on its findings. You can
only manage what you can measure and the
Albert Carbon Calculator is the tool to help
you do this.”
Inspire a creative industry
Alongside the calculator, the BAFTA-
backed consortium has created a
centralised resource called the Media
Greenhouse where producers can find
scores of ideas on how to reduce their
carbon footprint, contacts, as well as case
studies that illustrate how other productions
have cut their carbon: “We’re keen to
move the debate past a simple call to arms
because that message has become a bit
tired,” says Matthews. “Now we wanted
to find sexy, aspirational ways of getting
producers engaged with the issue and
case studies are one way of doing that.
Later this year, we’ll be running our third
Greening The Screen conference and I think
the emphasis there will be very much on
providing industry case studies.”
A good example of how a production
can improve its green credentials is From
There to Here, a Kudos drama production
for BBC1 starring Philip Glenister. In
this case, things that made a difference
included: 73% of the crew were local to
the production base in Manchester; props
and costumes were sourced from local
charities and returned after filming; an
80% drop in paper use was achieved by
introducing an opt-in policy for call-sheets/
schedules/scripts; travel emissions were
cut by sharing vehicles; in London only
low emission taxis were used; an online
system was used to share rushes and edits
to reduce the need to courier DVDs; 95%
of skip waste was recycled and, finally,
non-biodegradable disposables such as
catering supplies and water bottles were
mostly eliminated.
Sustainability in the
production industry:
There’splentyofwork
left todo
BY ANDY FRY
Don’t see sustainability as a major burden. Some of the
producers have learned that going green can lead them
Towards a more efficient production process.
BAFTA’s Tips
for
Sustainability
• Incorporate salvaged materials.
• Plan ahead. Set achievable goals and
targets and review them regularly.
• Set up a comprehensive recycling
system.
• Ensure that sustainability messages are
delivered from the top of an organisation.
• Post signs reminding people to switch
off computers and lights.
• Have an ‘opt in’ policy for paper copies
of scripts, call sheets and schedules.
• Conference call instead of travelling to
meetings.
• Eliminate air travel within the UK.
• Develop and implement a waste
management plan that identifies the
minimum possible amount of waste
going to landfill.
Another good case in point in a different
genre is the BBC’s Springwatch. During
this production waste vegetable oil
and solar powered generators were
used instead of a energy-eating diesel
generators, while clean technology fuel
cells were used to power remote cameras
and camera hubs. In addition to these
environmentally-friendly measures,
suppliers including caterers had to adopt
sustainable policies and only the lowest
emission hire cars were used during the
production of the entire programme.
Stepping up the game
To underline the importance of such
steps, the consortium’s members recently
announced that productions achieving
this level of sustainability performance will
be rewarded with an ‘albert+’ certification
badge during their onscreen credits. From
Here to There and Springwatch are the
first productions to have been awarded the
Albert+ credit but there are hopes it will
develop into an industry standard.
Matthews acknowledges that there are big
areas that the industry doesn’t have an
immediate answer to,
such as production
flights and studio power
consumption. But he
believes more and more
people are choosing to
get involved. “We have
1600 people signed up
to Albert. A lot of those
are moving between
productions, which
means the message is
now spreading more
widely. And we’re also starting to see the
emergence of suppliers that offer a green
approach such as Hazgreen and Dresd.”
So what is his advice to companies trying
to get to grip with the green agenda?
“Well the first thing I’d say is not to see
sustainability as a major burden. If you
look at some of the case studies on Media
Greenhouse (eg Sky’s Trollied) you’ll see
that some producers have learned that
going green can lead them towards a more
efficient production process. I’d also say
feel free to get in touch with us. Change
can only really come from the people in
charge of productions, so if they are not
sure where to start we’re happy to help.
In 2011, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) joined forces with 11 leading production and
broadcaster groups to launch the Albert Consortium. Based on work that had been done at the BBC, the aim of
the consortium was to encourage environmental sustainability within the UK’s television production sector.
Aaron Matthews champions BAFTAs Albert+
credit and ensures the latest case studies are
reported on Media Greenhouse
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Sustainability in film and TV
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