SPF21: Committing to Clean Energy and Building Accountability

By: Zena Harris, Andrew Robinson and Samantha Leigh

Acknowledging a problem is the first step required in order to begin implementing change. At this year’s Sustainable Production Forum (SPF21), panelists and participants alike clearly acknowledged the significant amounts of energy and resources required as a result of current film and television production methods. Clean energy technologies for productions and the infrastructure needed to improve access to them was a priority topic, as noted in our Shifting Productions to Clean Energy article last week. In fact, over the course of a week, almost a third of our panelists emphasized the need to accelerate use and adoption of clean energy on productions.?

Many solutions already exist, helping us electrify and decarbonize today. And more solutions are just over the horizon.?

After acknowledgement, our industry now needs to commit to change. We know we have a problem. We can see we need to shift and the opportunity space created through industry practices that are future-fit. It’s up to our professionals and practitioners throughout the production ecosystem to seek out, be vocal, and loudly signal a commitment to clean energy to accelerate this transition.??

In this second of a series of articles that builds on the key points that emerged from SPF21, we build on the discussion to flesh out the transition to clean energy.?

Global and Local Shifts?

Moving away from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy is inevitable. It is the pathway for all industries across the globe over the course of this century. The Statement on International Public Support for the Clean Energy Transition that emerged from last month’s COP26 clearly outlined this direction, with signatories agreeing to end most public spending on fossil fuels to remain on a pathway to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Further, the Glasgow Climate Pact expressly signals the beginning of the end for fossil fuels and will help accelerate the transition to low-emissions energy systems. The entertainment industry, as major consumers of fossil fuels, has an important role to play in this global shift toward clean energy. So what are some ways in which we can assume that role?

During SPF21’s “Getting to 2030! No Excuses!” panel, Linda Breggin (Environmental Law Institute) declared that the biggest starting point for developing clean energy infrastructure is that “policy-makers and elected officials really need to hear from businesses that this is what would be helpful, this is what they want.” All levels of governments have competing priorities. When industry stakeholders communicate their clean energy needs and clarify some key starting points, they empower local governments to take action and make changes.

This is where our industry can provide a powerful market signal - we cannot find all the solutions ourselves. Our productions work in and across multiple municipalities - an increasing number of which have declared climate emergencies. At last count, 2,047 jurisdictions and local governments in 37 countries have declared a climate emergency. By stepping into our power, studios, productions, and industry organizations have the opportunity to communicate to local governments our clean infrastructure needs and potential barriers they could help address. In doing so, cities can respond by developing or incentivizing clean energy opportunities and reducing barriers to access. Importantly, such opportunities support not only our industry’s needs, but municipal government climate objectives as well, which benefit all stakeholders.?

At Green Spark Group, we are increasingly seeing local governments respond to support our industry’s shift to clean energy. Vancouver, for instance, is one of several jurisdictions that are connecting productions to clean grid power. Geoff Teoli (Vancouver Film Office) shared in SPF21’s “Clean Energy Cities” panel that efforts “really did all start with the industry coming to council and saying this is what they wanted. I would say that when our council heard that, it was a unanimous and easy decision for them.” As a result, Reel Green, industry stakeholders and the City of Vancouver collaboratively spearheaded the exploration and development of over 30 grid tie-in power kiosks.?

Today, Vancouver has become the leading clean energy city for film productions as they now have access to clean power at a growing number of locations - helping reduce emissions, noise and contaminants from expensive fossil fuel generators. Recognizing the potential to accelerate a clean energy shift, the Vancouver Film Permit office established a further incentive by providing a 50% discount on daily film permits when productions replace diesel generators with clean power (i.e. portable battery packs or grid tie-ins).?

Cities Want Clean Energy, Too.

Many cities have or are developing policies like the London (UK) Assembly’s Clean Air movement, and Metro Vancouver’s Clean Air Plan 2021, which prioritize reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) and air contaminant emissions that harm human health. As such, cities such as London and Toronto are being proactive, helping to meet their emission reduction needs while collaborating with our industry to align their efforts for mutual benefit. In the UK, Film London has been developing their Grid Project to connect productions to clean energy while filming on city locations. Michelle Jenkins (Film London) during the “Clean Energy Cities” panel, acknowledged that the push to develop electrical grid tie-ins for productions has been prioritized by the city and also driven by residents who “are insisting that they don’t want any diesel generators on their street, full stop.”?

Fossil fuel-burning generators are key sources for both GHGs and air contaminants. Reducing their use is a priority. Michelle expressed hope that London’s Clean Air movement “will be an appealing factor [for productions], and they’ll be part of that and want to be part of that.” This will also broadly appeal to crew members working on production. As Bobby Donches (City of Toronto) noted in the same panel, the crews who work on productions are often residents of the city in which they are filming and would probably “love to participate in reducing their own emissions at work, and home, which is the same place.”?

When government jurisdictions enact clean air policies, they engage all relevant stakeholders to prioritize infrastructure development. But even when cities move first, productions can support this change by asking about the city’s clean energy tie-in options. Michelle noted that productions are starting to ask questions about clean power and municipal grid access before they even arrive in London. This expression of interest adds important momentum to the city’s infrastructure development projects.?

The possibility space for collaboration and commitment to clean energy solutions within a municipal grid content generated unabated enthusiasm and robust discussion at SPF21. At Green Spark Group, we’re seeing the clean energy signal emerge from the noise. Film and TV productions are increasingly engaging local governments, participating in planning processes, enquiring about green incentives, and leading the demand for clean energy infrastructure in a range of cities. By committing to a clean energy transition and working collaboratively to find solutions, this powerful market signal accelerates sustainability progress across the industry and makes it easier for governments to implement change.

Committing and Building Accountability Within?

Committing to decarbonize and shift to clean energy also requires building accountability within our industry. Every party in the entertainment industry has a role to play in advancing clean energy. The need for productions and production studios to clearly commit and be held accountable to prioritizing clean energy use was underpinned in all discussions of electrification and decarbonization at SPF21.?

A number of options to build accountability within and across our productions were explored, including the role of studio and production-level policies. For instance, production studios have the ability to hold their productions accountable to using clean energy through specific mandates and requiring them to report back on what was and wasn’t possible to achieve on set. Notably, such policies have the power to shift thinking as it relates to sustainable practices. Instead of requesting that productions provide examples on how they “opted-in” on clean energy solutions by providing a rationale or business case to do so, productions could be requested to provide information on why they “opted-out” of pursuing sustainable solutions. This shifts the narrative from potential finger pointing (i.e. why weren’t green solutions pursued?), to one of production specific accountability.?

Productions, in turn, can hold their crews accountable by setting a carbon or fuel budget and request a rationale whenever clean energy options such as battery units from Portable Electric, MBS Equipment Company and Whites are not pursued. Unions and guilds can support and enable broader education and training policies to increase sustainable production literacy for their members. This provides the foundation for crew and the industry at large to normalize the shift toward clean energy. Every industry stakeholder should take responsibility to advance clean energy use, and hold their industry partners accountable as well.

As the opportunities afforded to us by exploring this policy space unfold in the near future, committing to clean energy and building accountability on-set can also begin by simply adopting industry best practices from resources such as the Green Production Guide or albert. Production studios and producers can also become signatories to the Creative Industries Pact For Sustainable Action and follow the simple road-map provided. The first step in building accountability is equally simple: transparently communicate sustainability and clean energy objectives with vendors, suppliers, facilities, and our crews. By committing publicly to using clean energy, productions can hold themselves and their partners accountable to make real progress and achieve them.

Conclusion

Governments around the world and industries such as ours are striving to reduce emissions and keep global warming below the crucial threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius. The global shift toward clean energy is inevitable. As fossil fuel consumers, the entertainment industry can help amplify market demand to develop electric infrastructure. This is already happening. In Vancouver, Geoff Teoli (Vancouver Film Office) says that the industry is a lot closer to achieving fully electric productions than we think: “I think that if a producer wants to do it now, they could probably get close to 100%, maybe not quite. And by 2030, I don’t see it being a challenge - if they want to do it, we’re going to be there.” Productions just need to ask. The more productions that do, the louder the signal becomes and the quicker that clean energy infrastructure can be used to cut emissions.

Stay tuned over the coming weeks as we continue to spark discussion on clean energy and plug in to some of the key clean energy takeaways from SPF21.