BFI and BAFTA Publish Roadmap for Sustainable Film Production

(Photo Credit: Vanilla Bear Films, Unsplash)

The British Film Institute (BFI) and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)-led consortium Albert published a report collaboration with engineering and design firm Arup that details how the film production industry could become sustainable.

“A Screen New Deal: A Route Map to Sustainable Film Production” was informed by integrating industry-focused qualitative and quantitative data with global trends and best practices, according to the report authors. Their methodology included papers, datasets, technical experts, industry interviews, workshop attendees, and site visits.

The report analyzed sustainability reports from 19 productions filmed over the last five years in the United Kingdom and the United States for resource consumption patterns and associated carbon emissions. “Tentpole” productions were chosen since they have the largest carbon footprints, the authors noted.

“Data analysis shows that one average tentpole film production — a film with a budget of over $70 million — generates 2,840 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e),” the report said. “Within this, transport accounts for approximately 51% of carbon emissions, mains electricity and gas use accounts for around 34%, and diesel generators for the remaining 15%. Unnecessary material waste is also produced at every scale of production, from studio buildings to props.”

Making the film production industry sustainable will require systemic change, the report authors said. They cite climate scientists who say that collectively is needed to not just reduce negative environmental effects, but increase positive effects.

BFI, BAFTA, and Arup’s collective research highlights five key areas of opportunity for transportation within the industry, along with three corresponding interventions per area:

• Production materials: reuse of materials, buying virgin materials responsibly, and resource-efficient set construction.
• Energy and water: energy demand reduction, sustainable energy sources, and water demand reduction.
• Studio buildings and facilities: repurposing buildings, buying products as a service, and smart building management.
• Studio sites and locations: consolidated movement, wayfinding and communication, and health and wellbeing services.
• Production planning: collaboration tools, virtual planning and shared infrastructure.

“No single filming stakeholder is capable or responsible for bringing about such changes in isolation, so radical cooperation and coordination must be considered the most vital recommendations of all,” the report said. “Changes need to be made across the whole ecosystem. These range from everyday practices and choices that are relatively simple to adopt, to structural industry-wide shifts.”