The Bottle Yard’s TBY2 facility in Bristol is among the first recipients of the new Studio Sustainability Standard by BAFTA albert, the UK’s industry organisation for environmental sustainability in TV in film.

TBY2 has also been nominated for Best Sustainability Initiative in the 2023 Global Production Awards. 
 

The studio opened last autumn, powered by a 1MWp rooftop solar array, believed to be the largest community-owned rooftop array in the UK and the biggest rooftop PV system in the UK studios sector. 
 

TBY2 was the second-highest scoring studio of the 12 participants in the first cohort for the new Studio Sustainability Standard. It is one of five studios that received a ‘Very Good’ rating, the highest grade achieved in the group. 
 

Launched in 2022, the global, voluntary scheme was designed by BAFTA albert alongside global engineering and consulting firm Arup, to help studios measure and reduce the environmental impact of their facilities. All participating studios commit to making year-on-year improvements to their sustainability going forward.

 
The Bottle Yard’s TBY2 facility is also nominated for a 2023 Global Production Award in the Sustainability Initiative category. Winners will be announced on 22 May at an awards ceremony taking place at the Cannes Film Festival. 

 
Laura Aviles, senior film manager (Bristol City Council), said: “We’re extremely proud that The Bottle Yard’s TBY2 facility has received its Studio Sustainability Standard rating. Coming second in class is also very rewarding considering the high calibre of participants. 
 

“By placing sustainability at the heart of our expansion and working with Bristol Energy Cooperative and Bristol Council’s Energy Services team, we were able to achieve our ambitious vision of a state-of-the-art, solar-powered studio. The exciting thing about the community ownership model is that it is entirely replicable and brings direct benefits to the local area as well as our production clients. 
 

“We hope TBY2 will inspire other projects and will be happy to share knowledge with others in the UK film industry and beyond. We look forward to continuing to improve studio sustainability across our sites going forward.”   

 
Carys Taylor, Director of BAFTA albert, added: “The expertise and quality of UK studios make them among the most in-demand in the world. Now, as participants in the albert Studio Sustainability Standard, they’re on a path to being the most sustainable in the world too. 
 

“The release of the new Studio Sustainability Standard ratings badges will allow studios to show off the progress they’ve already made and benchmark the progress yet to come. And productions will know where to go to get support for their own sustainability missions.” 
 

Councillor Kye Dudd, Bristol City Council cabinet member for Climate, Ecology, Waste and Energy, said: “Receiving this standard is a great accolade for the new TBY2 facility. The rating is a major endorsement of the journey we are on to deliver Bristol’s 2030 carbon neutral ambition and the approach we are taking to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies in partnership with the community.”
 

Located less than half a mile from the main Bottle Yard site, the £12m TBY2 facility offers three soundproofed stages measuring 20,000 sq ft, 16,500 sq ft and 7,000 sq ft, accompanied by 40,000 sq ft of ancillary space. Other sustainable features include a building management system that controls built-in heating, cooling and ventilation in all stages whilst optimising energy conservation. 

 
The Bottle Yard Studios is owned and managed by Bristol City Council and backed by West of England Combined Authority investment. The opening of TBY2 last Autumn increased the total number of stages across The Bottle Yard’s two sites to 11 (154,000 sq ft). 

 
Currently in production at TBY2 are: Disney+ Jilly Cooper drama Rivals, produced by Happy Prince TV (part of ITV Studios) and series three of Amazon FreeVee spy thriller Alex Rider, produced by Eleventh Hour Films. 

Images via Tara Milne, The Bottle Yard and TBY2.