When it comes to the very topical and very real issue of climate change, it can be hard to imagine in our fast-paced and often disposable industry how we can really make a meaningful difference. The matter is often met with a silent groan, but when planning a production it’s an exciting opportunity to ensure that your biggest impact is on your audience & not on the planet.
The good news is that it doesn’t have to cost you the earth and can even save you a few bob! Here’s some easy ways to save money & the plant, because what the hell are we going to film if we destroy it!
1. First things first ‘declare’ it.
Tell everyone involved that your set / production is going to be a ‘green set’. It will get everyone involved, motivated and excited. People might even have their own ideas that they can run with about how to make things greener.
2. Ditch the plastic bottles.
A thirsty crew is a sad & grumpy crew, so hydration is very important. Let people know ahead of time that you won’t have plastic bottles on set, ask people to bring a bottle to refill or provide one people can re-use. If you’re away from a tap on location you can buy one big refillable water cube which you can reuse or sell on after the production. You will be quids in with no water costs and it will save you hauling crates of water about.
3. Local & low waste food.
We all love a Dominos. Fast food can seem a simple & a very tempting choice for lunch, but it can be expensive & wasteful. See what’s local, a cafe or a restaurant nearby might be able to serve up super filling and delicious pasta or stew for a fraction of the price of pizza. Ask them how it will be packed & ensure they have sustainable containers that can be composted or re-used. It means supporting a local businesses & food producers, reducing waste & saving you money.
4. Keep waste separate.
We all do it at home so why not on set, provide two bin bags to keep landfill from dry recycling.
This can work right from a tiny micro budget production to multi-million features. While filming Dolittle in London, the production made huge environmental efforts including a system for separating waste for recycling and composting & managed to keep 100% of set waste from going to landfill.
5. Second hand or scrounged!
While this is a staple skill of any hardened micro budget producer – its worth thinking about whether you can get any costumes / props / building materials etc second hand, hired or borrowed. Hunt your local pages on eBay, facebook marketplace, preloved & freecycle. Whether you are after a scream mask, vintage ski-suit or a pink ukulele – someone will be getting rid of it or be willing to lend it.
6. Resist the taxis & car share.
Resist the idling Addison Lee! If a car is a must – see if one of the crew would act as driver. Saves a seat in the taxi & therefore pounds and emissions. It might be that a bus / train / tube / walk with just one taxi or car for the kit that can’t be carried will work. Where you have a number of people all driving to set, see if you can organise a car share & cut your travel spend.
7. Cut out printing where you can.
If you have reams of scripts, call sheets, contracts etc to print the costs in paper & ink can be very high. You also have to post & then store & keep track of all these documents. See what you can keep electronic – contracts can be signed digitally, call sheets, schedules & scripts can be sent by email. And then just print (double sided) if you really need something as a hard copy. It also much easier if you need to make last minute changes.
The average office worker uses around 10,000 sheets of A4 paper each year. And it’s not just the trees, considering it takes around 5 litres of water to produce one sheet of A4 paper, this means each employee is using around 50,000 litres of water per year just on paper.
8. Switch to LED on set.
LED lighting can save masses of energy compared to a tungsten equivalent fixtures, usually using around 1/4 of the energy of tungsten which will reduce energy bills dramatically.
Environmental calculations show that tungsten-based lighting in a single news studio can dump a staggering 200,000+ lbs. of CO2 into the atmosphere annually. Also, as many broadcasters have discovered, LED lights generate virtually no heat so the requirement for air conditioning in a studio environment is dramatically reduced, helping to provide further energy and cost savings. The lack of heat makes the lights incredibly easy to position and handle, allowing camera crews to work more quickly and efficiently, again saving time and money.
And no-one wants to sweat next to a tungsten light (think of the deodorant savings!)
9. Carbon offset.
You’ve gone digital, banned water bottles, used electric cars, brushed with bamboo, eaten local & you’re still wanting more? Do not fear, you can offset your currently unavoidable impact on our planet through tree planting.
Every year we chop down about 15 billion trees (Jesus) and a good way to put back in the meantime is to support tree planting schemes around the world. Tree-nation is just one of the many companies making it easy for productions to plant trees on behalf of a particular project.
I know it’s not going to save the planet alone, but lots of little actions can add up. If you want to offset even more carbon try investing in the less glamorous marshlands & peat bogs.
Interested in your footprint?
For anyone feeling keen, you can measure the carbon footprint of your production with a free tool specifically designed for film production. Once you can estimate what you might use, you can see where you can make improvements or offset. Albert’s free calculator is here.
https://wearealbert.org/production-handbook/production-tools/
The albert website is amazing for getting inspiration, and a quick google will leave you full of sustainability ideas! Can you inspire us & add to the list? Have you had success with any of these ideas? Leave a comment below.
