Sustainability Document

Myths & fallacies surrounding

sustainable productions

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

Common myths about Sustainable Production

Introduction The Media and Entertainment industry in India produces a staggering 200,000 hours of content annually. This includes over 1,700 films, 3,000 hours of premium OTT 1

content, and 20,000 songs. (ME report by E&Y 2024)

The impact of this production scale is inevitable on overall carbon contribution. As an influencer of culture, this is a unique opportunity for the M&E industry to lead and effect change by incorporating sustainable production processes, behaviour.

Industry folk are often overwhelmed by what seems to be a challenging shift. India GreenSet, Green Spark Group and Aavashyak have created this handbook to dispel myths and fallacies around sustainable production. We hope it provokes conversations and leads to actionable steps toward a clean, green industry trend.

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

green infrastructure, and a culture of sustainable

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

Sustainability cannot happen till the studio mandates it.

This is not true. Many practices

we have products and services right now in the market to enable sustainable production.

If there is a perceived cost barrier,

then choose the practices that do not have an upfront cost. In our experience, all studios and production companies will advocate for sustainability when asked, but this may not trickle down to the production or the Head of Department.

We cannot afford inaction when there are simple, low or no-cost solutions that can be employed in production today. (Eg: planning for reuse of all materials as a default, donating food and other materials if there's excess, taking steps to reduce the use of single-use plastics)

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

Myth 1

can be incorporated right now;

Myth 2 We are seeing that many Sustainability Coordinators hired on productions

mostly focus on waste and are not adequately trained or empowered

implement the full scope of sustainable production. Though to

waste management is a key piece, it

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

does not cover all of sustainability.

Sustainable production works best when the entire crew is engaged, and the production leadership is invested in making the production sustainable.

The coordinator can help with this systematic vision, but they alone will not make the production sustainable, especially if they only focus on waste.

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

Production needs to hire a Sustainability Coordinator to be effective

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

We recycle, therefore we are sustainable

Myth 3 This is not true. When incorporating a circular economy approach to production,

recycling is one of the last options for waste. Many productions focus on recycling at the "output" part of the production the "input" side of the production system. What materials are we bringing into the system, how are they used, and how will they remain in the system after production is finished with them? We love this quote from a colleague:

We cannot recycle our way out of climate change.

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

system. The focus really should be on

Myth 4 It does take time to gather and input data into a carbon calculator, but for those productions that plan for it and know what they'll be tracking, this doesn't require another

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

full-time position. A round of training equips productions to use a carbon calculator like Albert independently once they understand what is needed for the calculation.

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

We'll need to hire another body to calculate our carbon footprint

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

Sustainability is the last item on everyone’s agenda

This statement

inaction. Frequently, people have systems in place in their homes and use them faithfully but are discouraged when they set up the production office and find those systems don’t exist or

The disconnect between work life, home life, and values can be demoralising, and it may seem that crew do not care. In reality, many do care. They are inaccessible.

simply have not been given the agency to think and act with sustainability in mind. Training helps to provide them with this agency and support people as they shift their mindsets and workflow.

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

Myth 5

normalises

Some may believe that sustainability is more relevant to industries like manufacturing or agriculture and less applicable to the media sector.

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

However, for the M&E industry to thrive into the future, sustainability must be part of the thinking and action.

People are at the heart of the sustainable transition and how they work will determine the level of planning, energy consumption, procurement methods and materials consumed and then what is done with that material.

Currently, media production involves significant resource consumption, like electricity for equipment, plastic for packaging, props and sets, and paper for scripts, call sheets, etc.

Implementing energy-efficient equipment, reducing paper usage, and optimising resource consumption are all relevant sustainability measures for media companies.

Myth 6

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

Sustainability has no relevance to Media Production

myth

6

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

Our audience is not interested

Myth 7 There's a misconception that audiences are not interested in sustainability-related content or initiatives. A Global Network survey conducted by Yale Centre for Business and Environment

2

indicates that an increasing number

especially younger generations, prioritise sustainability and expect the brands they engage with to demonstrate

environmental and social responsibility.

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

of consumers,

Myth 8

Some may believe that

individual actions

or initiatives within the

media industry

will have a limited impact in addressing global sustainability challenges. Leadership often comes from one person and can then influence a movement.

Here’s a fun video that highlights the difference one

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

person can make!

Click to see the video

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

What difference can one person or company make?

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

Sustainable production costs more

We have found that while

certain practices may cost more upfront (e.g. a premium on hybrid or EVs, electric generators),

Myth 9

productions consistently save money. overall,

sustainability in mind, every decision can be made with a "sustainability lens" and this allows for sustainable practices to be integrated into production instead of seen as an extra or "bolt-on" practice or cost. All that is required is a willingness to make it part of the routine.

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

When planning with

Addressing Myth 9 This is one of the most common questions we hear about sustainable production.

And for good reason! It’s important to keep projects on budget, and to ensure that money goes on screen rather than ending up as waste or emissions. But the A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

answer varies by production and region, which makes pinning down an absolute cost for sustainability impossible. Thinking about existing practices and shifting them to default to sustainable options will help integrate sustainability into existing decisions and budgets.

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

How much will Sustainability cost?

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

Tips for Sustainability Budgeting

•

Example: Renting a mobile battery power station usually costs more than renting a generator.

However, when the additional costs of running the generator (fuel, labour) are included, batteries become cost-neutral, and sometimes net positive.

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

Budgeting needs to be done holistically with a sustainability lens.

Instead of adding sustainability expenses as extra line items, shift existing descriptions of line items so they include sustainable practices. Think through the system of production. You are in control of the budget, so you decide whether to spend it on wasteful, high-emissions practices or cleaner, green alternatives.

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

We don’t yet pay for the real costs of energy usage.

Fuel is increasingly expensive, and the associated greenhouse gas emissions are more costly than what gets paid at the pump. Some productions choose to offset unavoidable carbon emissions.

•

Example: When productions offset their emissions, fuel use contributes to around 50% of the emissions and therefore the cost of offsets. By reducing fuel consumption with alternative power, productions can cut emissions and save on fuel and emissions costs.

Waste and materials are two sides of the same decision-making process.

•

Example: Sourcing reusable or secondhand material can be cheaper than purchasing new. When these materials are reused or donated after production, there are little or no disposal fees for them.

•

Example: Buying in bulk is a quick win for cost savings! Replacing single-use water bottles or coffee pods with bulk refills shows immediate savings.

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

Everything that is bought for production eventually has to be disposed of by production.

A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

Partners

1 2

https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_in/topics/media-and-entertainment/2024/ey-in-india-s-media-e ntertainment-sector-is-innovating-for-the-future-03-2024-v1.pdf) Yale School of Management. (2022). ‘Global Network Survey Finds Students More Urgently Focused on Sustainability.’

Retrieved from https://som.yale.edu/story/2022/global-network-survey-finds-students-more-urgently-focused-sustainability

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A discussion document for the India Sustainable Entertainment Alliance

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