Change the industry
Like every industry in the UK, film is going to have to change to meet the challenge of climate change, and to conform with UK and EU laws. By taking an early lead the film industry can:
- Minimise cost and disruption
- Save itself money
- Give itself a competitive advantage by offering filmmakers the greenest facilities in the world
- Inspire other industries.
Working in partnership with Green Screen London, the major studios, the Cinema Exhibitors' Association and the Film Distributors' Association, the UK Film Council is planning a Sustainability Committee to:
- Understand the carbon footprint of the industry and identify the best opportunities to become more energy and waste efficient
- Recruit industry champions to engage individuals, companies and trade associations in reducing the industry's carbon emissions
- Develop alliances with other industry and environmental bodies to look for synergies in research and policy implementation
- Meet with the British Standards Institute to discuss the development of a dedicated BS for the film industry.
The Sustainability Committee is a response to a report commissioned by the UK Film Council in 2007,
Developing an environmental strategy for UK film, which proposed that the UK Film Council should:
- Formulate an environmental strategy which is innovative and proactive with strong messages and clear guidance
- Set its own house in order by developing an environmental policy and an environmental management system which includes long-term goals
- Work with the whole industry to define a vision of environmental sustainability which sets out an overall vision and targets.
As a Non-Departmental Public Body, the UK Film Council is required by its sponsoring department in government, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to put in place policies to reduce its own reliance on energy form fossil-fuel sources and to reduce its waste as part of its contribution to the Government's Sustainable Development Action Plan.
