BBC antiques series Bargain Hunt are proud of their Sustainable Production Certification, a sustainability stamp which shows that they’ve made their programmes with the environment in mind. For the last year, the production team have been trying hard to work greener, both in their BBC Cardiff offices and as they travel around the country filming at antiques fairs and auctions.
Here are some of their successful sustainability initiatives:
- They’ve cut their paper usage by taking electronic signatures from contributors for legal documents at the antique valuation days. In the past, they had to ask for physical paperwork to be signed. Bargain Hunt were the first BBC production to trial an electronic signature app for smart devices, designed in-house by BBC Technology.
- By emailing cast, contributors and crew electronic call sheets and offering printed copies by request only, they’ve cut the amount of paper used in the office, too. All call sheets are printed double sided and A5 as standard.
- Bargain Hunt have reduced the travel for all their presenters attending voice over recordings by using post houses local to their homes rather than getting them to travel to the BBC’s premises in Cardiff. This has cut the production’s carbon emissions and saved them a considerable amount in travel costs – especially for the two presenters who live in Glasgow!
- Having measured Bargain Hunt’s carbon footprint since 2011, they know that Series 48 has the lowest carbon emissions ever – roughly a quarter of a tonne of carbon emitted per programme hour.
- The production team also behave thriftily by re-using banners, carpets and set dressing from series to series. This recycling saves money but also saves on waste disposal, keeping valuable materials out of landfill.
- All presenters, production team and crew have re-fillable water bottles and mugs on location, cutting their plastic waste.
- The Bargain Hunt production team also ask their suppliers for their own sustainability policies and actions, spreading the sustainability message wherever they work.
We gather that the eagle-eyed Bargain Hunt contestants have been asking about the Albert Sustainable Production logo on the show’s end credits. So, this initiative is proving to be a great way to raise awareness of environmental issues and green actions amongst our BBC audiences, too.