A HIGH ENVOIRONMENTAL PRICE IS PAID FOR SCREEN CONTENT

A high environmental price is paid for screen content

EVERY PIECE OF screen content is unique, but two recent international reports both found emissions were significant.

The UK’s albert commissioned a screen new deal: a route map to sustainable film production, which analysed 19 films made in the UK and the US in the five years prior to 2019 for more than $US70 million each, and found average emissions to be 2,840 tonnes of CO2e. (The term CO2e, means carbon dioxide equivalent. It encompasses other greenhouse gases with the potential to warm Earth. To ascertain CO2e levels, the global warming potential of these other gasses is used to calculate what the equivalent amount of CO2 would be.)

Fuel accounted for about half average emissions and, of this, 70 per cent was associated with car journeys and 30 per cent with the diesel used in generators. Energy was the second largest contributor, accounting for 34 per cent of emissions, with the vast majority from the electricity that powered production activities – gas was also used. Some of the energy, however, was the result of accommodating people in hotels and rented apartments.

The report notes that, for a typical tentpole film:

• Energy consumption could power Times Square for five days

Fuel consumption could fill an average car tank 11,478 times

• The air miles equates to 11 one-way trips from Earth to the moon

• Waste generation equates to the weight of 313.5 blue whales

• Plywood use amounts to the volume of 2.5 cargo planes

To produce the report, albert collaborated with the British Film Institute and London-based professional services firm Arup to produce the report, which notes that global film revenue was $US43 billion in 2019. Clearly, behind those dollars is a lot of damage to the environment.

Based on the other side of the world to albert, there is another group helping the production community reduce its negative environmental impact. The Sustainable Production Alliance (SPA) represents the biggest names in production and distribution in Hollywood and sits behind the Green Production Guide, created in partnership with the Producers Guild of America Foundation’s green committee.

The SPA report Carbon Emissions of Film and Television Production, released in March 2021, found that the average carbon footprint of members’ tentpole films was 3,370 metric tons, or 33 metric tons per shooting day. As with the albert research, tentpoles were defined as having budgets of more than $US70 million. There were 161 films examined from the years 2016 to 2019. (Tons and tonnes are technically different, but note the use of the word “metric”: the terms are interchangeable in this case.)

The SPA report found that fuel usage made up 48 per cent of the average footprint. Air travel and utilities, including water and power, generated about the same level of emmissions, namely 24 per cent. Hotels and housing contributed about six per cent. The less expensive the film, the lower the emissons.

The report also examined television. From a sample of 159 one-hour scripted dramas, it was found that the average carbon footprint per hour was 77 metric tons. Again, fuel was a big factor. In all, 266 scripted and unscripted television drama series were examined. The average footprint of the half-hour scripted dramas (26 metric tons) was disproportionately lower not just because of the shorter production period but also because they were less likely to be filmed on location. Air travel made up 61 per cent of the emissions on unscripted television.

The average footprint of a tentpole film

48% FUEL

24% AIR TRAVEL

22% UTILITIES (INC. WATER AND POWER)

6% HOTELS AND HOUSING