How Production Agencies Can Stay Green

The film and television industry, a vibrant engine of culture and creativity, faces a profound paradox. While it captures the world’s most compelling stories, its operational footprint is massive. From blockbuster films to episodic television, the process of bringing content to life consumes colossal amounts of energy and materials. The time for voluntary, superficial “greenwashing” is over; production agencies across the globe are now adopting comprehensive sustainability strategies, transforming industry standards to achieve genuine net-zero goals.

The path to net-zero requires a profound shift in methodology, treating environmental responsibility not as an add-on but as a core element of the production process. This commitment is supported by data, which shows that a typical large-budget film generates thousands of metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This undeniable environmental cost highlights why sustainability is no longer optional, it is an essential business imperative for every serious production agency.

Carbon Accounting and Offsetting: Measuring to Manage

Before a production agency can reduce its impact, it must accurately measure it. Carbon Accounting involves systematically quantifying all Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions generated by a project. This scope includes everything from the smallest prep detail, like office energy and remote location scouts, to the largest outputs, such as generator fuel, international flights, and the energy consumed by post-production render farms.

The most widely recognised, trusted industry tool for this calculation is the BAFTA albert carbon calculator, which helps production agencies and filmmakers precisely understand their footprint. Once measured, the focus is two-fold: aggressive reduction and, finally, verified offsetting of unavoidable emissions. Reports indicate that the cost of offsetting a production’s entire carbon footprint can be an extremely modest percentage of its total budget, a minimal investment for maximum environmental return and accountability.

Sustainable Power Solutions: Breaking Free from Diesel

One of the single greatest contributors to on-set emissions, local air pollution, and noise is the traditional diesel generator. Shifting away from this reliance on fossil fuels is a cornerstone of green production. This transition is critical because diesel units not only pollute the air and contribute to climate change but also generate significant noise, complicating sound recording and increasing friction with local communities. Modern production agencies are actively seeking plug-and-play solutions that offer reliable, scalable power without the environmental and acoustic drawbacks of legacy generators.

Forward-thinking production agencies are rapidly adopting clean alternatives to replace diesel units for powering lights, base camps, catering, and other on-set needs. The alternatives focus on either cleaner combustion or complete electrification.

• Battery Power Solutions: High-capacity mobile power units that operate silently and emission-free. Amazon Studios has publicly highlighted its use of these systems on sets like Bosch: Legacy, noting the vast reduction in fumes and noise.
• Hydrogen-Powered Units (HPUs): These large units use hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity, with the only byproduct being water, offering zero harmful emissions. The BBC in the UK, for example, has successfully incorporated HPUs into its operations.
• Bio-Fuel Generators: Generators that run on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), which can achieve a dramatic reduction in net carbon dioxide emissions compared to standard diesel.

This comprehensive move towards cleaner power significantly benefits the environment by lowering the production’s overall carbon footprint, especially during long-duration shoots in remote locations. Furthermore, the use of silent, emission-free alternatives drastically improves the working conditions for the crew and reduces the disruption caused to surrounding neighbourhoods. For any production agency committed to best practices, adopting these sustainable power solutions is a non-negotiable step.

Waste Management and Circularity: The Zero-Waste Set

The typical lifecycle of a film set has historically been linear: use resources, build, shoot, and dump. Green production demands a circular economy approach, implementing rigorous systems to reduce, reuse, and recycle all waste.

Key strategies include eliminating single-use plastics entirely, swapping out disposable water bottles and catering cutlery for reusable alternatives. On one large production, avoiding single-use plastics resulted in a substantial saving. Food waste is managed through composting and donation, with that same production successfully diverting a significant amount of leftover food from landfill. The biggest impact often comes at the end of the shoot. Rather than trashing sets, a robust deconstruction protocol ensures that materials like lumber, props, and wardrobe are donated or recycled. The production of The Matrix sequels famously recycled an astounding portion of their set materials, preventing a massive quantity of lumber from entering landfill and repurposing it for low-income housing construction.

Sustainable Travel and Logistics: Cutting the Kilometres

Transportation is a massive source of emissions in film, often accounting for around half of a tentpole film’s total carbon footprint. Reducing travel is arguably the most effective way for any production agency to lower its impact.

This involves strategic, low-emission planning: favouring rail travel over domestic flights, and using hybrid or electric vehicles for local crew transportation. Furthermore, the advent of new technology allows production agencies to “virtualise” logistics. Using video conferencing for creative meetings and employing detailed 3D models for remote location scouting significantly reduces the need for extensive pre-production travel.

Green Sourcing and Catering: Conscious Supply Chains

A sustainable production starts with the materials it uses. Green Sourcing means consciously selecting suppliers and materials for sets, props, and catering. For construction, this involves prioritising recycled content, locally-sourced materials, certified lumber, and non-toxic paints.

On the catering front, the focus is on reducing the carbon footprint associated with food production and transport. This means sourcing local, seasonal produce and offering more plant-based or low-carbon menu options. This shift has a dual benefit, often resulting in fresher food and supporting local small businesses, which aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Virtual Production (VP) for Emission Reduction: A New Frontier

No innovation has transformed sustainability in film as rapidly as Virtual Production (VP). By using large LED volumes, high-resolution screens, and game engine technology to create realistic digital environments on a soundstage, VP drastically cuts out the need to travel to multiple physical locations. The technology allows filmmakers to capture stunning visuals that would otherwise require flying hundreds of cast and crew members to distant and diverse locations, along with large volumes of freight and equipment.

This concentration of work into a single soundstage drastically reduces the emissions associated with location travel, accommodation, and complex logistical movements. Furthermore, it cuts down on the need for extensive physical set building, saving on materials and waste.

• Emission Reduction Potential: VP has the potential to reduce production carbon emissions by a substantial percentage compared to traditional filming methods.
• Travel and Freight Savings: VP directly addresses the source of nearly half of a typical production’s output by eliminating the need for international travel and the movement of equipment.
• Case Study Data: A study on a short-form production using a VP LED stage demonstrated a vast reduction in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent compared to the average traditional short-form production footprint.

The ability to eliminate significant air travel, lodging, freight, and extensive physical set building makes VP a powerful tool for achieving sustainability goals. It allows production agencies to move away from the traditional model that required a massive physical footprint. While VP introduces a new power demand for running the large LED screens and render processing, the net saving is substantial, offering a revolutionary path for every modern production agency to achieve near-zero location emissions.

The Eco-Stewardship Role: Implementing Accountability

All the technology and planning in the world are meaningless without effective implementation. This final pillar involves establishing a formal role on set, such as a Sustainability Lead or Eco-Supervisor. This individual is responsible for implementing, managing, and auditing all green initiatives.

As an eco-manager has stated, the success of a sustainable production often depends on who is in charge. This highlights why this formal role is essential. It provides the necessary accountability, ensuring compliance with the production agency’s sustainability policy and, crucially, fostering a culture of environmental responsibility among the entire cast and crew.

The Future of Storytelling is Sustainable

The movement toward sustainable production is a testament to the industry’s capacity for innovation. The seven pillars, from carbon accounting and green power to virtual production and eco-stewardship, provide a clear, actionable roadmap for every production agency committed to a net-zero future.

Drawing from its foundation in photography and video production since 2012, Oliver Karstel Creative Agency has evolved into a full-service, business-to-business content agency. It leverages a generalist approach to offer a comprehensive arsenal of services across both inbound and outbound content marketing. Key expertise includes specialised content fields such as Animation, 3D Modelling, Virtual Reality, and E-learning Development, alongside technical services like Graphic Design, Web and E-Commerce Development, and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Managed by a tight-knit team, our agency applies these diverse skills to assist a broad clientele, from medium-to-large businesses to multinationals and government organisations across various complex industries, including mining, engineering, and financial services.This is not simply about being good, it is about being smart. These practices lead to cost savings, better operational efficiency, and a stronger, more responsible public image. At Oliver Karstel Creative Agency, we believe that the most powerful stories are those that protect the world they are filmed in. Contact us today to discuss how we can integrate a net-zero strategy into your upcoming production, making sustainability a seamless part of our creative process.