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Budgeting for sustainable productions

Allocating budget for costs associated with sustainable production practices and technologies

We recommend producers include a line in their production budget for potential costs associated with implementing low carbon production practices and technologies. This should be equivalent to the production’s estimated carbon footprint x £10.50 p/tonne of CO2e (the budget previously ringfenced for carbon offsetting).

Completing a draft carbon footprint using the is the most accurate way to estimate a production’s footprint. If this isn’t possible, the can also be used to estimate costs previously allocated for offsetting.

Remember not all decarbonisation actions incur cost - some actions are cost neutral or create savings, others depend on the specifics of the situation. As more productions adopt low-carbon technologies we also expect the price of many sustainable technologies to reduce over time.

There are several ways a production can budget for more sustainable practices. Find out more below. We expect productions to increasingly factor many of these actions into their budgeting process as standard, but adding a specific line into their budget for sustainability is a great way to experiment with new processes and set aside contingency.

Sustainable travel

Allocate budget for potential costs associated with:

  • Train travel over domestic flights, including additional overnight stays
  • Hiring electric vehicles (EVs) or using EV taxis/couriers
  • Mobile EV chargers for productions in locations with fewer charge points
  • Supporting training for crew based near to the production, to reduce the need for large numbers of people to travel

Reducing and electrifying energy use

Allocate budget for potential costs associated with:

  • Using telematics on generators, a method of monitoring energy use by using GPS technology and on-board diagnostics to better understand and then manage and optimise power usage
  • Portable batteries for lighting set ups
  • Battery or hybrid generators when used as an alternative to diesel generators
  • Certified Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel, an alternative to diesel + any additional infrastructure required for it, for example fuel bowsers for storage

Reducing food emissions and waste

Allocate budget for potential costs associated with:

  • Managing the pre-ordering of food with production catering instead of buffets
  • Locally sourced sustainable produce, which prioritises alternatives to red meat
  • Provision of reusable crockery and cutlery as well as reusable water bottles and water dispensers 
  • Use of a food waste disposal and/or food repurposing company

Supporting production management

Allocate budget for potential costs associated with:

  • Additional time for production coordinator or similar to collect and input good quality albert data
  • Carbon consultant to advise and support the production’s decarbonisation

Company level decarbonisation

Allocate budget for potential costs associated with:

  • Carbon consultancy to support creating a company footprint and decarbonisation strategy
  • A company role dedicated to sustainability and decarbonisation
  • Investment in low carbon production training for staff
  • Sharing resources across different productions and teams, such as rechargeable batteries, power monitoring kit, or HVO deals
  • Investment in low carbon technology and practices for office spaces, as listed below

Office spaces

Allocate spend depending on budget, such as:

Low-mid spend

  • Installing draught proofing and insulation
  • Implementing a system to record and monitor energy consumption or a dedicated site energy audit to identify energy conservation measures
  • Switching to a renewable energy tariff
  • Lighting: switching to LED bulbs, installing daylight lighting controls and/or presence detectors 

Mid-high spend

  • Remove fossil fuels such as oil and gas by switching to electric alternatives, for example heat pumps for heating and cooling and electric alternatives for cooking
  • Installing on-site renewables such as solar panels
  • Installing double glazing

Additional ideas for smaller productions

Allocate budget for potential costs associated with:

  • Rechargeable batteries
  • Low energy light bulbs
  • Training sessions for staff
  • Aggregate budget lines from multiple productions for company level decarbonisation actions. See the company level decarbonisation section above 

Further resources

Help and support for producing sustainable content, on and off-screen Find out more

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