Environmental Sustainability in Film & TV in 2024
“The average tentpole film generates 2,840t of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent), the equivalent of 11 trips to the Moon” Screen New Deal Report, 2020.
Most of us love visual entertainment, and nothing is better than immersing ourselves in a good film that works on all our senses. I also love Mother Nature, and I’m fully aware of what’s happening to the planet on a daily basis. For humanity to survive without taking the Mad Max road, all industries must make adjustments and accommodations and stop generating 2,840t of CO2e for an average tentpole film.
The 2020 Screen New Deal Report was published to offer guidance to the British film and TV industry. The US and EU have their own equivalents, but I’m not looking into those in this essay. However, my guess is that many of the British recommendations will be similar or identical to the American and European recommendations.
The biggest delay for most industries, including film & TV, is the corporate sluggishness in investing in sustainable solutions and the political unwillingness to force changes. There is knowledge (solutions or partial solutions), awareness, and at least an intellectual understanding of the emergency, urgency, and lived experience. However, the reluctance to spend money and pioneer change prevails and long-term thinking is often replaced by personal and corporate interests.
I’m a big believer in knowledge and arming yourself with information whenever possible, so if you are a filmmaker or an artist, the suggestions below could help you transition to a more sustainable future industry. Some of the recommendations are easier to implement than others. If you are like me, coming from an independent filmmaking sector, many of the solutions we have already been implementing to cut budgeting costs. Unfortunately, some of the suggestions proposed, unless made affordable, will be very difficult to implement on small budgets. However, creativity is the mother of invention, and independent filmmakers like me can come up with solutions even on a budget.
If we do all we can in our daily and professional lives, in addition to putting pressure on industry giants and politicians, change can happen quickly (the COVID pandemic is a perfect example of that). So, keep up the excellent work if you are already the change maker and find ways to expand what you are already doing. If you are at the beginning of your journey to kickstart your journey, check those essays.
Screen New Deal proposes five key areas that need transformation for film and TV productions to make a permanent transition to a sustainable business model:
– Production materials
This incorporates reusing already existing materials. Independent low-budget productions have been reusing materials due to budget restraints. In reality, using already existing materials has been fun for me and often enhances my creative solutions.
If the production needs to buy virgin materials for construction, sourcing those materials from responsible sources, preferably locally, is vital to reduce transport costs and emissions. If you are constructing a set, make sure the design is modular so it can be dismantled easily and reused on other productions or donated after the end of production. If you want to champion modular set design, have this conversation with your crew very early during pre-production.
– Energy and water
The energy demand for film and TV sets is always high. The current recommendation is to use renewable energy sources whenever possible and switch to low-energy lighting.
On my sets, I often use minimal or natural light; this is driven by small-budget realities.
When it comes to water, the solutions proposed, such as rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling, can only be implemented in a studio setting. Off-grid homesteaders have been effectively harvesting rainwater and recycling greywater for a long time, so that the industry could learn many lessons from them.
Building portable and on-site compostable toilets is yet another solution to save clean water from being wasted. Tiny house builders and communities are experts on compostable toilets, and from what I understand, the technology has advanced a lot in recent years as the demand has grown significantly, especially in areas with water scarcity. Don’t think about compostable toilets as a bracket only, as those have evolved beyond brackets.
Of course, water is also used for drinking, and replacing single-use bottles can be the fastest and most doable implementation. I always ask my cast and crew to have their water bottles and cups for hot drinks on my sets. During external location scouting, you could look for publicly available water fountains. If you are using indoor locations, the odds are that the tap water available in that location (I’m talking about most European countries) is suitable for drinking. However, do check that with your local water supplier. Buying water in big plastic bottles or containers is always better than purchasing a ton of small plastic bottles.
– Studio buildings and facilities
As architects discuss retrofits and repurposing buildings, studio heads and executives should have the same conversations. (I don’t know if they are, but they indeed should.) Retrofits and repurposing are a win-win situation, as waste is kept from landfills. The retrofitted building can create a flexible production space with innovative solutions that embrace sustainability at its heart. (Yes, I realise it’s expensive, but the aim is to cut waste and be inventive and creative.)
Each production needs products (props, costumes, etc.), maintenance, and modular construction elements (if a modular design is implemented). Instead of buying new products, maintenance equipment, or construction materials, external companies, preferably local companies, could provide all those services.
Smart technology is also entering the conversation to manage and monitor buildings’ behaviour. Some tiny house dwellers have been using smart technologies to reduce costs and make their houses more efficient.
– Studio sites and locations
The Screen-New-Deal report suggests that studio sites should be digitised and information available in real life (public transport time display). The studio should become more work-life-friendly and offer services such as childcare. Even when shooting on location, remote childcare facilities are possible. Looking at bus solutions for travelling nomads could be very illuminating.
Sharing transport to locations would reduce production costs and the number of cars on the roads.
Offering showers and changing rooms could incentivise people to cycle to work.
My productions usually have access to a few cars, and my cast and crew often use public transport to get places (I’m based in London, and London’s public transport is pretty good). I also try to use one location a day or locations that are within walking distance away from one another to cut down on transport needs.
– Production planning
As we know, we try to foresee and plan as much as possible during pre-production. Some visualisation tools are available for such planning. However, virtual reality soon could be a game changer.
Using collaboration platforms in real-time could cut down on costs, time, and the need for paper, as sharing information would happen in real-time. Low-budget production might not have the budget for those solutions, but using freely available tools such as Google Drive could be an answer.
Creating libraries of locations, local services (carting, painting, equipment, etc.), and sustainability funds would benefit local businesses and help productions make informed, locally driven decisions.
Many of the solutions that can and should be implemented to create a more sustainable film and TV industry already exist. Borrowing from other industries and adjusting their solutions for film and TV productions would speed up the transition, as there is no more time left to waste.
I’ll dive more deeply into each area of improvement with follow-up essays, so stay tuned.
PS. I’m #MadeByDyslexia – expect big thinking & small typos.
Bibliography
Studio Sustainability Standard
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