A step-by-step guide through the commissioning, production and delivery process to actively reduce carbon emissions, achieve albert certification and inspire audiences.
Remember, a ruthless focus on energy and travel is the fastest way to cut carbon emissions on a production. Read our top tips for reducing carbon emissions on production.
Read the complete end to end guide for each stage of production along with quick links below.
Editorial
Ask yourself if there are opportunities to engage with environmental topics onscreen, such as sustainability, nature and biodiversity. It could be the main editorial focus of your idea – but there are lots of other ways to engage audiences with sustainability in the editorial, for example:
- Maybe it could be a theme within your storyline?
- An incidental element of the narrative or structure (like a task)?
- Maybe through the casting of contributors with an interest, the topic might come up? Or would your characters’ attitudes to the environment inform how they behave? Is there an opportunity to debate or discuss the topic of the environment or sustainable behaviour?
- Can you feature sustainable behaviours implicitly and authentically in your content (eg solar panels, electric cars, plant based food)?
- The answer to all these questions could be no – but don’t forget to evaluate them. And NB – not everybody needs to feel the same way or be an eco-warrior. The vast majority of people care about the environment, but not everybody is ‘signed up’ to the same actions. It can be a point of narrative tension.
Think hard about whether your idea is inadvertently promoting high-carbon behaviours and actions onscreen, or ones that disrupt or destroy the natural world.
Invite your development team to attend the and think about how to educate yourself and them further on the topic. Check out the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Academy’s Climate Creatives site for a wealth of inspiration.
Check out further advice and tips for how to authentically embed sustainable themes in content onscreen.
Production
The choices you make in the development process can substantially influence a production’s environmental impact, so it’s worth considering sustainability from the get go.
Think about the environment holistically – as well as considering your production’s carbon footprint, what impact is your idea going to have on natural landscapes, systems, and wildlife? How could you avoid or mitigate against any negative impacts?
Think particularly carefully about choices related to travel, energy and materials, for example:
- Where is my programme set? How far do I have to travel? Are there nearby facilities and suppliers that consider the environment? What scope is there for local crews?
- Can I access renewable energy? Or use alternatives to diesel generators?
- Do I have to build a set? How can I transport that set? How will I dismantle and reuse the set materials?
Albert tools and services can help producers with these considerations.
To start with, set up an albert account. To check if your production company already has an albert account or set one up . An account is required to complete your carbon footprint and your albert certification.
Start using the albert carbon calculator on the to better understand the potential carbon emissions of your project, and how decisions you make from the beginning will impact your carbon footprint. Using it from the outset will put you in a good place as your idea progresses, as delivering a final carbon footprint form (the output of the calculator) is mandatory for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ commissioned productions. See the and the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ guidance for more information.
Start creating your albert carbon action plan on the . This is a series of questions and recommendations that will help align your production with environmental best practices. The carbon action plan is part of the albert certification process, which is mandatory for all commissions and recommissions made after 1 January 2022. See the and the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ guidance for more information.
- If you are speaking with heads of department at this stage, discuss with them how you’d like them to factor environmental sustainability into their decision-making process. See the specific .
- Invite your development team to attend the free .
Editorial
A formal conversation between the producer and the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ commissioning representative about how a production will engage with sustainability/the environment onscreen is a required part of the commissioning process, and must be documented in the project’s commissioning specification.
Ask your commissioner for input and any further ideas.
Check out further advice and tips for how to authentically embed sustainable themes in content onscreen.
Production
Explain to your Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ commissioning representative what actions you plan to take to reduce your production’s environmental impact to a minimum. This should include a consideration of your wider environmental impact (for example on filming locations), as well as your carbon emissions.
Request any feedback from your Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ commissioning representative on the presented actions or further suggestions.
Share the production’s draft carbon footprint with your Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ commissioning representative. It is useful to have this at the commissioning greenlight or start-up meeting.
Include a line in your production budget for sustainability spend, which as a recommended minimum would be the production’s estimated carbon footprint x £10.50 p/tonne of CO2e. Find further advice on the budgeting for sustainable productions page along with top tips for reducing carbon emissions on productions.
Editorial
Go back to the questions you asked during the development process. Now the idea has evolved further are there any new opportunities where it is appropriate to engage with sustainability/the environment?
Encourage your production team to education themselves further by attending the free and check out the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Academy’s Climate Creatives site for a wealth of inspiration.
Discuss with all heads of department your ideas to introduce sustainability content and/or behaviour onscreen. For example, art and locations departments can help you showcase sustainable options.
Talk to onscreen talent about environmental sustainability in editorial. In unscripted productions can they authentically incorporate it in their conversations, for example with contributors?
Check out further advice and tips for how to authentically embed sustainable themes in content onscreen.
Production
Re-interrogate your decisions and their impact on your emissions and the natural world, especially those related to travel, energy and materials. Now might also be the time to consider catering.
Finalise the production’s draft carbon footprint and carbon action plan questionnaire. It’s important to do this now so that the BAFTA Albert team can check that you’re measuring the right things for your carbon footprint and respond with a request for evidence for the carbon action plan. See the and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ guidance for more info.
Assign someone senior in the production (production executive or head of production) responsibility for driving sustainability across the entire production process.
Encourage all the heads of departments to consider the most sustainable options within their teams – from camera kit and battery charging techniques to the products used by hair and makeup. See the .
Set up a shared ‘green evidence folder’ which the whole production team can access and upload evidence to throughout the production process, reducing the burden of gathering any outstanding information at the end of production.
Invite your production team to attend the .
Challenge the whole cast and crew to come up with the most sustainable alternatives in their day-to-day job. Can you incentivise innovation?
Thoroughly plan which studio and/or locations you will be using, trying to ensure you minimize your travel impact and your impact on any natural systems (for example if you are filming outdoors).
Discuss with all your suppliers how they will deliver the most sustainable options possible. This includes the production office, studio and/or locations, and post-production facilities. Opt for those with renewable energy where possible. Albert won’t penalise you if the only suppliers in your area aren’t engaged with the topic – but by asking them the right questions, and letting them know sustainability is something you care about, you can inspire change in the future.
Communicate the production’s sustainability strategy to the whole cast and crew. Show them the production’s draft footprint and the planned strategy to reduce it. A can help highlight what actions you are taking and that sustainability matters to you.
Inform suppliers and relevant crew of the data and information that they need to provide in order to complete the production's final footprint.
Talk to onscreen talent about environmental sustainability. Consider showing them and talk with them about how the carbon footprint associated with their participation in the production can be decreased.
Editorial
Ensure all agreed sustainability content is being included.
Keep thinking about new opportunities to engage with sustainability that feels authentic to your content.
Check out further advice and tips for how to authentically embed sustainable themes in content onscreen.
Production
You’ve made it to production, congratulations! Now, ensure that all the planned sustainability actions are carried out at every stage during the production.
If you have a weekly production meetings or morning briefing on set, remind everyone of your sustainability priorities and to upload evidence of the decarbonisation actions taken to the productions shared ‘green evidence folder’.
Reward and celebrate any successes.
Collect all the data needed to complete the production’s final footprint form. We recommend adding this evidence to the productions shared ‘green evidence folder’. See the or Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ guidance.
Collect the evidence requested by the albert team to complete the carbon action plan process, which they will have sent you when you submitted your action plan. We recommend adding this evidence to the productions shared ‘green evidence folder’. See the or Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ guidance.
Review the sustainability strategy halfway through the production and reflect this in the Progress Report, update and/or add any actions that need extra attention.
Regularly communicate with the cast and crew, providing updates on how the production is performing in terms of environmental sustainability.
Editorial
Continue your thinking about sustainability into your edit and final scripting process.
Can visual effects enhance your engagement with portraying sustainable behaviours or infrastructure, if appropriate to the narrative and context?
Celebrate all the sustainability content included with your editorial team.
If you discuss with your commissioner how the production has gone, highlight what you’ve achieved with sustainability.
Production
Filming is over. Now it’s time for the paperwork to document all the amazing action you’ve taken.
Input all the data for the production’s final carbon footprint form and submit it to albert.
Collect and upload all the evidence requested to complete the carbon action plan and gain certification.
Make sure each department takes responsibility for all materials used, and that waste to landfill is kept to a minimum.
Communicate and celebrate all the sustainability achievements with all cast and crew.
Request feedback from all the production’s cast, crew and suppliers. Ask what worked, what didn’t and what could be done differently next time. Every production is an opportunity to learn.
Share any sustainable production achievements that you think are innovative with the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ’s sustainability team who are keen to help you publicise your achievements.
Editorial
Celebrate the inspirational content with your audience, for example in your social media and marketing.
Explore whether onscreen talent would like to ‘use their voice’ and talk about sustainability in reference to the production on social media, or in press interviews, in an appropriate way.
Production
Communicate the production’s positive actions to the wider industry and share learnings. This could be by running masterclasses in your own company, telling albert or, if you’ve got a particularly good story, maybe we can celebrate it. We’re on a journey together.
Let your audience and press know that you’ve strived to make the most impactful content with the lightest footprint.
Use social media to inspire others to take similar steps.
Please note the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ is not responsible for the content of external websites.