One of the most effective ways to achieve your environmental goals is to make sure the entire production team and crew are aware of what you are trying to achieve and how they can be part of this. Sending out a green memo to the entire crew is a compulsory part of getting the albert certification for this reason. If everyone on the production is working together with the same objectives they become much easier to achieve, and often this creates a sense of camaraderie within the team.
Askja Films and Rebella Filmworks collaborated to find creative ways to ensure the crew was educated and invested in how they could reduce the carbon footprint of the production was by sending out a quiz to everyone on the production. The quiz included questions encouraging the crew to think about their choices and be more aware of their environmental impact. A few examples:
• How many days did you car pool with other crew members?
• What meals did you like or not like on Meatless Mondays?
• Who do you think is the greenest crew member and why?
• Did you do any other “green” things on the shoot that you would like to mention?
The quiz was 16 questions long and encouraged the crew to think about their actions not only on set but also in their personal life. The crew was also given a survey to complete when the production was finished to give their feedback on the sustainable production initiative with very positive results.
Askja Films not only made excellent efforts to educate the crew off screen but also made sure to include a green message on screen by regularly showing recycling and transport by cycling on screen.
Being based in Iceland coincidentally meant The Deposit’s carbon footprint was reduced massively due to Iceland being run 85% on renewable energy. Although this meant that it was a given that The Deposit would be filmed on renewable energy due to it being filmed locally, this could also bring up the idea for British production companies to look at how countries provide their energy when choosing abroad locations.