Sustainable Production

Written By Herman Phillips

Best practices for reducing your production’s carbon footprint & how Cinapse can help

It’s no secret that global warming and climate change are hot topics in every industry. But the film and television industry, which plays a direct role in the daily lives of billions of people, might have one of the greatest opportunities to encourage sustainability by leading the way with green production practices.

According to a recent landmark study from BAFTA, the British film organization, a single hour of television produced in the U.K. produces 13 metric tons of carbon dioxide - almost as much CO2 as the average American generates in a year (5). And it’s likely a similar number for US and international based productions.

With the rise of scripted shows and continual presence of films, non-fiction television, and other tentpole productions, it’s more important than ever for film and TV productions to prioritize sustainability and include green production practices on a daily basis.

“If we can engage every person [in the industry] and have them bring solutions to the table, that’s how we’re going to see long-term change in the industry,” according to Moana Casanova, HBO’s manager of West Coast productions (4). Implementing best practices and novel solutions across productions can have a monumental impact on reducing the environmental impact of film and television production and also steer viewers towards more sustainable practices in their own lives.

Best Practices for Greener Productions


Many film and television studios and productions are already on their way to greener and more sustainable practices on set and throughout their projects. Here are some of the best methods productions have used to reduce their carbon footprint and environmental impact:

Going Paperless
Going paperless as much as possible and using 100% recycled paper when necessary minimizes the amount of waste on set and could save thousands of trees if the whole industry subscribed to this sustainable production practice. For example, Universal Television and Universal Cable Productions replaced crew start paper packets with a new digital system: 18 series participated and saved the equivalent of 60 trees (7). Productions like Last Christmas from NBC Universal delivered call sheets, scripts, and production documentation electronically with hard copies only issued upon request and any white office paper was made from 100% recycled content (1).

Trade in Plastic Water Bottles for Reusable
Plastic water bottles, that can take approximately 450 years to decompose in a landfill, are easy to mitigate on set by having cast and crew switch to reusable alternatives. On Disney’s set for the film Safety, the team implemented a reusable water bottle policy on set, which avoided the use of 22,000 single-use plastic bottles (3). Not only is a green production practice, it’s also a money saver! Disney implemented the same rule on the set for The Call of the Wild and avoided the use of more than 200,000 plastic bottles, saving over $33,000.

Waste Management Systems/Officers
A great way to increase sustainability on set is by implementing a well managed waste management system and hiring managers, like the Eco PAs from Earth Angel (11), to keep the system running smoothly. On the NBC Universal set of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, the production partnered with a local company (Charlie Spotless - http://www.spotlesslocations.com/) to educate crew and implement a waste diversion program that included recycling, composting, and waste-to-energy. This effort resulted in an impressive 99% diversion rate for on-set waste, meaning zero materials were sent to landfill (1).

Alternative Energy Sources to Reduce Emissions
The fuel used in production vehicles and generators is typically the largest source of greenhouse-gas emissions on film and TV productions, accounting for 48% - 56% of emissions for films and 58% for scripted TV dramas (9). This makes finding alternative energy sources an important task in sustainable production. On the NBC Universal set for The Good Place, the team used solar-powered talent trailers (1). And on Hobbs & Shaw, the production team used heaters that ran on renewable diesel made from 100% cooking oil to reduce carbon emissions (1).

Energy Efficient Lighting
Anyone who has been on a film or TV production set understands the importance of having the right lighting to the visual success of the show or film. The heavy presence of lighting on set makes it a great target area for improvement in sustainability. On NBC’s The Good Place, they used LED set lighting, which is up to 70% more efficient than conventional set lighting (1).

Excess Donations for Food/Costumes/Props/Sets
A great way to minimize waste on set and cut down on the amount sent to landfills, is for productions to donate excess food, costume, props, sets, and other materials. Not only does this create a more green production, it also helps the community. The crew on Disney’s The Call of the Wild donated over 1,500 lbs of food which provided more than 1,250 meals in the local area (3). And over the past year, 33 Warner Bros. departments and productions have donated more than 57,000 material items and 27,000 pounds of food to non-profit groups across North America (7). Talk about doing a lot of good for the people and the planet!

Using Sustainable Materials
Another way to establish a more sustainable production is to use sustainable materials when building and decorating sets when possible. On the NBC Universal set of Us, the construction department purchased Forest Stewardship Council (https://us.fsc.org/en-us) certified plywood for their set walls (1). The FSC stamp of approval ensures that products come from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social, and economic benefits (12). A different approach, Screen Gems partnered with Emagispace to use their building block technology to create sets on Proud Mary (7). Glenn Gainor, President of Physical Production for Screen Gems, said this innovative practice allowed them to build 20 foot walls in half the time of traditional lumber sets, and allowed them to save the blocks for future productions - a win-win that reduced time and waste by 50% (12).

Other Creative Solutions
There are dozens more ways to make your production green. Here’s a few more creative sustainability solutions:

Having on screen characters model sustainable behaviors and placing eco-messaging on-screen can help normalize the behaviors - influencing viewers to increase sustainability in their own life (8). In Netflix’s Lupin, Lupin’s crew is pulling off a heist at the Louvre with their getaway driver idling outside (10). A police officer approaches the car and tells the driver to turn off his engine if he’s not driving and to “think of the planet.” The driver happily agrees, relieved to not have been caught.

Sony Picture’s Screen Gems made a pledge to plant a tree for each day of production in any city in which it shoots (2). This simple commitment helps offset each production’s carbon footprint.

Other productions have decreased the amount of beef served on set since these types of foods require more water to produce and create more carbon emissions. For example, Sony reduced the amount of beef served on the set of A Dog’s Way Home by 17% to increase their production’s sustainability (4).

Other Companies Supporting Sustainability in Production

As the industry shifts to a greater focus on green production and sustainability, there are more great companies and resources to support your production’s sustainability goals. We love these payroll and continuity solutions:

GreenSlate: All in one production accounting and payroll web app.
Scriptation: Script reading and annotating app for going paperless.
Cast & Crew: Solutions for Payroll & Human Resources, Accounting & Financial, and Workflow & Productivity.
Entertainment Partners: Payroll, Budgeting, and Finance solutions.
Wrapbook: Production payroll, made simple.

How Cinapse helps your production reach its sustainability goals


Cinapse is here to help your production reach their sustainability goals! Our features support green film and television productions with:

Digital Documents

Through the Android, iOS, and desktop friendly Cinapse app, production teams can send digital documents easily and quickly from anywhere they work. Implementing digital documents instead of hard copies reduces paper waste on set. It also reduces overall emissions since hard copies are often transported via vans from production office to set, and back. Mari Jo Winkler, co-founder of the Producers Guild of America Green, stated that “Transportation and energy usage in content creation of any kind is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.” (9). Using digital document distribution is a great way to help productions reduce their carbon footprint.

Digital Updates

Easily send updates to executives, producers, and everyone else on the crew through our Web, iOS, and Android-friendly platform. Streamlining communication creates incredible efficiency across the team which can lead to shorter days on set. And shorter days mean less energy expended on lighting, heating, electricity, and anything else keeping the production running.

Production Analytics

Our Live Metrics feature tracks time for each facet of your production and provides you with detailed data on the efficiency of your sets, broken down by set-up, shooting, changeover, delays, and soon, daily labor costs and much more. Quickly understand where changes can be made to keep each production on-budget and on-schedule. Use time more efficiently on set and waste less resources overall.

Pre-ordering food/resources (Coming soon!)

A new feature in the works, Cinapse will allow cast, crew, and other production staff to pre-order food for meals on set. Craft Services will have a clearer understanding of how much food to buy, prep, and cook. This new feature will help cut down on food waste and unneeded energy usage.

Now more than ever, the entire film and television industry needs to band together and implement green production practices to increase sustainability. Luckily, there are many established ways and resources to achieve a lower carbon footprint on your production.

Cinapse is here to support your green production needs and solve your on-set issues.

Reach out to us today for a demo and see our FAQ here!

Herman Phillips
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