How to Shift Productions to Clean Energy
Co-authored by Zena Harris, Andrew Robinson and Samantha Leigh
The entertainment industry’s current production methods require significant amounts of energy. But how exactly does that contribute to the climate emergency? And what can we do to reduce, if not reverse, those impacts?
Clean energy technologies, and the infrastructure needed to improve access for productions, lie at the core of each Sustainable Production Forum. You can purchase tickets to this year’s event here.
To paint a picture: In the UK, an average tentpole film emits 2,840 tons of CO2 equivalent over its lifespan — the equivalent produced by nearly 900 passenger vehicles, or that would be absorbed by 3,700 acres of forest in one year.
Broken down per day, films typically produce 33 metric tons of CO2 equivalent each day of shooting. In contrast, the average US household produces 6.8 metric tons of CO2 equivalent over the course of an entire year.
Fuel use on set often contributes to more than 50% of emissions, a finding backed by data from Green Spark Group. The evidence is clear: to contribute to climate solutions, film and TV productions need to rapidly shift away from fossil fuels and toward clean, renewable energy.
How will the entertainment industry achieve this ambitious yet necessary goal? Who needs to be involved, and what do they need to do?
At our SPF events, we explore possible solutions. In essence: our industry must accelerate the use and adoption of clean energy on productions to help achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible. Strategies include decarbonization, electrification, and pursuing carbon negative solutions.
What do electrification and decarbonization actually look like in the entertainment world? Here are some key points and calls to action that identify next steps for our industry and policymakers:
Decarbonization and Electrification
Our emissions are typically discussed in terms of metric tons of carbon, and more accurately carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent, primarily resulting from fossil fuel consumption. This is why the move towards clean technologies and away from fossil fuels is often summarized as ‘decarbonization’. The objective of decarbonization is to eliminate human-made carbon dioxide emissions.
Whether it's for the entertainment industry or the broader world, decarbonization and electrification are two targets that track together. They are related but require distinct actions to achieve. For instance:
Decarbonization requires reducing the carbon intensity of all energy sources. In the near term on production, this could mean running a generator or truck using renewable diesel rather than regular diesel, a practice championed in the Green Production Guide. We’ve seen increased investment on studio lots in Los Angeles for renewable diesel, and pilot programs have been successfully deployed in Vancouver. This provides an easily adopted strategy to significantly reduce emissions without purchase of new technologies, although market conditions for broader accessibility still must be addressed. At a larger scale, decarbonization can involve switching a municipal power grid system to renewable energy such as solar, wind, and hydrologic power. Speakers at past forums have consistently noted that both changes reduce how much carbon is emitted throughout the energy production process; that is, the lifecycle carbon emissions of energy.
Electrification means switching fuel-powered technology or systems over to electric systems. In the case of productions, immediate options currently available include tying into the local electric grid or using portable battery units for energy rather than noisy, carbon-emitting diesel generators. We’ve seen an increasing number of productions in LA, Vancouver, Toronto and New York adopt and deploy battery units from Portable Electric, MBS Equipment Company and Whites for everything from base camp needs, crafty, sound, and lighting. And as we’ll discuss in subsequent articles, more and more municipalities are improving access to their grid power in an effort to support the clean growth of our industry. Importantly, electrification is only as clean as the power that supplies it, which is why all electric grids also need to decarbonize.
In addition to these two targets, energy efficiency remains important to pursue in our production processes as any reduction in energy use also contributes to decreased emissions. Over the next decade or two, however, complete energy decarbonization will require a total shift away from fossil and other fuels to renewable energy.
A Promising Clean Future for Productions
Productions can both decarbonize and electrify by tying into a clean grid, using electric vehicle fleets, and deploying portable battery units. At SPF events, producers, crew, vendors, suppliers, facilities owners, and government representatives regularly share insights on grid and battery power. The increased availability and diversity of these options are arguably the most pressing priorities for the industry as it shifts toward carbon neutrality. And there is also the increasing promise of hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cells playing a role in our productions.
Full-scale development and deployment of clean technologies is imminent. As we’ll explore in subsequent articles, next steps for our industry include:
Establishing and committing to clean energy targets;
Influencing and enabling our diverse supply chain toward clean tech;
Cooperating and collaborating with industry stakeholders on clean energy development; and
Working with governments across scales to develop the clean energy infrastructure we all need.
Conclusion
Governments around the world and industries like ours are striving to reduce emissions and keep global warming below the crucial threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Decarbonization and electrification will be key industry shifts in the coming years. Stay tuned as we continue to spark discussion on clean energy and plug into key clean energy takeaways from SPF23.
In the meantime, you can revisit previous SPF panel sessions or check out Green Spark Group’s sustainable production tips on its YouTube channel. And as ever, please reach out to us with any comments or questions at hello@sustainableproductionforum.com.