A huge focus of today’s society is becoming more environmentally friendly and using sustainable products. It’s not just businesses who focus on this; people, cities and countries are all pulling together to save the environment.
This article looks at film productions’ biggest environmental issues and possible solutions to reduce their environmental impact and support sustainable practices.
Let’s jump straight into it!
What’s the biggest issue surrounding film production and sustainability?
Diesel generators – on both small and large-scale productions as well as thirty vehicles on set at one time, occasionally even more.
Providing power to these comes at the cost of 80 litres of Diesel every 12 hours to keep powering a film set.
When out on location, so not filming in-house, a production company will establish a base. It’s a unit base where hair & make-up, catering, props, costume, and all other facilities are stationed.
The problem lies with the diesel engines used to generate power for these functions. Diesel is terrible for the environment and is not sustainable.
Diesel generators are noisy and produce greenhouse gases and carcinogenic particulates that pollute the set environment.
But what’s the solution? Potentially the Grid Project!
How can the Grid Project resolve this issue?
What the Grid Project looks to supply renewable energy through the mains network directly to eight key filming locations in London.
This project aims for film productions to plug into renewable energy supplies and avoid using diesel-powered generators.
As there are considerable benefits to moving the film industry away from relying on diesel-powered generators, this project will gradually change the way the industry works.
In addition to the environmental benefits, financial benefits to the production as they’ll save on diesel costs and can actively review their usage via energy monitors.
As the project is still relatively fresh, they will roll this out over London and refine it until it’s ready to be rolled out into other filming locations across the UK.
Film London leads the project but a variety of establishments and agencies back it:
- London Boroughs
- BAFTA
- Royal Parks
- the GLA
- TfL
- The Production Guild
- The Mayor’s Office
When was the Grid Project established?
The Grid Project started with the Green Screen European partnership project, which Interreg Europe funded.
This partnership consisted of organisations from eight different countries.
- Belgium
- France
- Poland
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Spain
- Sweden
Now the UK via Film London has started to roll the project out to boost the film industry’s sustainability.
Tips and advice for becoming a more sustainable film production:
Here are a couple of ways to improve the environmental impact of film production.
Immerse yourself in the world of solar power
Solar power has two benefits; it’s a renewable energy source – improving your production’s impact on the environment and saving your production money on energy costs.
It’s cost-effective, installing solar energy is affordable – and the reduction in energy bills recuperates the initial investment in a matter of months.
Solar panels have a lifetime of 25-30 years, so once you recuperate the initial cost of the solar panels, you essentially have a free energy source.
Compare green energy suppliers
Comparing green energy suppliers will allow you to compare the latest market rates and see how much you can save on your current usage. This is great for film production companies connected to the grid.
You can use AquaSwitch’s green energy comparison tool to check out the latest green energy prices.
What are the benefits of renewable energy?
There are plenty of advantages to using renewable energy. Here’s an overview:
- By using renewable energy, you can help combat the volatility of the energy market as you will not be reliant on importing non-renewable resources.
- The maintenance cost of renewable technology such as solar power is much lower than gas-fired power stations.
- It’s brilliant for the environment! You will significantly reduce the carbon emissions pumped out into the atmosphere.
- Renewable energy will never run out.
Tom is an avid film fan and filmmaker studying filmmaking at Morley College. Tom’s work includes the award-winning short film “Magnetic”, “The Frame”, and “I May Destroy You”.
