The Environmental Impact of Film & TV Production: Water Bottles, Meat, Idling Engines and More

If you’ve ever seen a TV show or film set on location, you know that production—with its rows of trucks and trailers, power generators, and catering services—is often the equivalent of a small city setting up shop.

A quick tally makes it obvious that non-trivial amounts of waste and greenhouse gases are generated on any set. As people become more environmentally conscious, anything and everything from plastic cutlery to idling vehicles become opportunities to implement sustainable production practices.

This episode of the podcast I host deals with the 'greening' of film and TV production with Zena Harris, a sustainability expert and the president of Green Spark Group.

Highlights include:

• The origins of growing worries over environmental sustainability on TV and film sets (1:54)
• Some key contributors to a production’s environmental footprint (5:33)
• Productions of all sizes and shapes can go the green route (11:50)
• Industry leaders demonstrating how production greening is done (13:13)

Download a transcript of the episode

Additional links:

• 2019 report by French think-tank The Shift Project titled “Climate Crisis: The Unsustainable Use Of Online Video” 
• Creative BC’s Reel Green initiative
• Sustainability Could Play Leading Role in the Film Industry”: Green Production Guide
• Why This Production Company Wants to Make the First Carbon-Neutral Hollywood Film
• From Battery-Powered Sets to Finessing Craft Service: How Hollywood Is Reducing Its Carbon Footprint
• The CMPA's Green Screens Guide
• Sustainable production tips and resources from Sustainable Media Production Canada