Posted on 10th February 2021

Toolkit help: Top ways to reduce your carbon footprint

Started calculating your footprint and need some pointers on how to start reducing your production's footprint? Here's a list of things to consider

Start early

In the very early stages of development and pre-production start including sustainability in your thought process. Get everyone on the production involved and make it fun.

Get trained

Book yourself onto one of albert’s free training sessions to further your knowledge on climate change and the environmental impacts of production as well as the opportunities to reduce your production’s impact.

Measure your impact

It’s much easier to reduce your carbon footprint if you know what’s contributing to it. Start with a draft footprint in pre-production on the albert calculator. This will give you a breakdown of the production’s impacts and allow you to be strategic in how to reduce them.

Set department specific goals

Look at the results of the production’s draft footprint and work with the HoDs to work out each department’s opportunities.

Lots of generator fuel? Is the lighting department using LED lights? High material footprint? Have the art department looked at using second hand materials and donating waste? Lots of accommodation? Have you thought about using self catered apartments instead of hotels?

Use our “in your role” guide for ideas of what each department can do.

Get Inspired

Check out our articles and case studies for ideas of what other productions have done to reduce their footprint.

Communicate

One person cannot make a production sustainable alone. Let everyone involved on the production (including cast) know what your environmental goals are and the way to achieve them by sending out a green memo.

Check out your suppliers and stakeholders

Consider the approach of everyone the production is working with, from locations to catering, to kit hire to freelancers. Ask for their environmental policy, ask if their offices/locations run on renewable energy, ask how they can help you reduce the production’s footprint.

If you’re looking for sustainable suppliers, check out our suppliers list .

Use your influence on screen

Television and film has the power to inspire and shape people’s responses to issues, so use your platform to show positive actions on screen. This doesn’t mean making all of your productions about climate change, you might not even mention the C word. Make sure you are not normalising unsustainable behaviour on screen, “You’re either part of the solution, or you’re going to be part of the problem”.

For more inspiration visit our Editorial website.

Toolkit walkthrough webinar recap

Want an in depth walkthrough and missed our webinars? Here's a recorded recap