Production
The production team and production company have a significant influence on the sustainability impact of the entire production if sustainability priorities are understood well, and key choices are made. The production company should engage with the production as a whole and with the sustainability actions related to the production. In its vision, the Screen New Deal describes the role of production managers as taking ownership of delivering net zero carbon and zero waste productions. They set up a collaboration platform to manage and coordinate across all departments, ‘for planning, co-creating, communicating and capturing information’. Meanwhile ‘heads of production allocate budgets and schedule sufficient time in the programme to enable all departments to plan for net zero carbon and zero waste from the beginning.’ (Screen New Deal Report, p13)
‘Sustainability should be integrated into your production from day one. These key questions prompt producers to consider the choices they’re making in development and pre-production so they can still deliver brilliant programmes but with a lighter footprint.’ (Producer Questions, Channel 4)
Select a theme
- Communications
- Materials and waste
- Biodiversity
- Climate risks
- Food
- Climate content
- Travel
- Energy/power
Easy wins
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Strong wins
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Game changers
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Resources
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The food system, which includes agriculture, processing, packaging, transport and waste, is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and it is also highly sensitive to climate disruptions such as extreme weather events. Within the film industry, improving catering sustainability goes beyond food waste and relies on small but well-informed decisions that can have a significant impact over time. For instance, we find that:
- Removing beef from the menu is more relevant than adding a plant-based option as beef has an exceptionally high environmental footprint (including carbon emissions, land use, water use and biodiversity loss), compared to plant-based alternatives. Removing beef can also be more effective than a plant-based option that may be ignored.
- Reusable crockery often offers a more effective and sustainable solution as disposable foodware, even when labeled recyclable or compostable, often ends up in landfills due to coatings and contamination that make them unrecyclable.
- Organic waste, when not separated, is usually incinerated or landfilled, contributing unnecessarily to greenhouse gas emissions. Separating collection or composting turns bio-waste into a valuable resource which can help enrich soils and can generate biogas.