The film and TV industry is one of the most energy intensive in the world. According to the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), around 13 tonnes of CO₂ are emitted in the production of a single hour of TV content. This corresponds to just under two trips around the world by car.
The number of programmes and the amount of content produced increases year after year, partly due to streaming services and the breaking up of linear programme structures. As the number of productions grows, so too does the media industry’s energy consumption and carbon footprint. Sustainability in the film industry is therefore becoming an increasingly important issue.
Sustainable filmmaking: green filming
Sustainable filmmaking, also known as green filming, is the concept of producing films in the most resource-efficient way possible. Reducing and offsetting carbon emissions is the key focus here, and so the main factors contributing to CO₂ emissions have to be identified and optimised. The checklists, features and carbon calculator found under Tools can help with this.
Carbon Calculator
Calculate the carbon footprint of your film or TV production and reduce emissions.
Tools
Here you find helpful checklists, guides and links for a resource-friendly film production.
Training & Consulting
Here you find training programmes and consulting services.
The bigger picture
If you want to make your film project more environmentally sustainable, you need to consider not only the filming, but every step in the entire production. Upstream and downstream processes can also leave a significant carbon footprint. Although the principal photography phase has the most established measures, there is great potential for more environmentally friendly production overall, especially in preproduction.
Preproduction
Idea, concept, shooting schedule
Production
Principal photography
Post-production
Editing, graphics, music, animation, colour grading, visual effects
Distribution
Marketing, public release
(Environmental) sustainability can already be influenced to a great extent in the preproduction phase. Green storytelling starts with the script. The idea behind this is that the stories and behaviours portrayed in a film can inspire viewers to adopt more sustainable habits of their own. Green storytelling thus gets to work before production actually starts, addressing environmentally sustainable behaviours through storylines and characters.
