Complete Green Production How-To Manual
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Introduction
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This step-by-step guide for Sustainable Production has been designed in collaboration with a group of dedicated Green The Bid member companies.
The costs associated with sustainable production are those of being thoughtful; how to crew up locally to avoid flights, how to build a set that will be reusable, how to minimize the people on set, and how to ensure that everything procured for a production is returned, donated, composted, or recycled.
To manage these processes responsibly requires dedicated staff, and time for them to set everyone up for a successful sustainable shoot.
With that in mind, we recommend that brands add 1% on top of production and post budgets to protect sustainability measures on set and ensure production companies have what they need to get the job done.
Green The Bid was created to support the global commercial production industry in transitioning to sustainable and regenerative practices. Our goal is to encourage and aid a transition to best sustainable practice in every area of production, so that they become industry standard for generations to come.
Thank you for participating in this journey and being willing to make the changes that will make a difference.
Green The Bid
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This document is designed for any production, agency, or brand producer looking to manage a sustainable production without support from a consultant.
Over the following chapters, it will guide producers and production coordinators through all the steps and processes they will need to create a fully sustainable & regenerative production.
This includes but is not limited to:
• What to budget for to ensure that a sustainable production is achieved.
• What to prep to ensure all departments are informed and participating.
• How to report on the measures used, waste avoided, and carbon consumed.
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Knowledge sharing, support, and regular reminders are the key to a sustainable set and help achieve success at each stage of production.
Some of the high-impact and important advance considerations include:
• Where flying can be minimized.
• Organization of the donation of food, props and wardrobe in advance (In many countries, such as the US, there are legal protections for donating food in good faith. Check your country’s legislation if you are not US based.)
• Preparation for the end of life of your set build. A huge number of virgin resources go into set builds and it is important to know, in advance of building, what the plan is for your construction once filming is complete.
These, and the further steps outlined in this manual, are fundamental to reducing a production’s waste and carbon footprint.
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• Minimal Carbon: Reducing carbon as much as possible across your entire production. Flight reduction is the key here.
• Single-use Plastic: Items that are made primarily from fossil fuel–based chemicals and are meant to be disposed of right after use, eg take out cutlery, plastic drinks bottles, straws etc.
• Sustainable: To eliminate further environmental damage, keep things at current conditions.
• Regenerative: Beyond sustainability, improving the environment and community.
• Zero Waste: At least 90% diversion of materials from landfill. This includes compost, recycling, and donations of art department and food.
Creative Considerations
The largest carbon impact in any shoot is the travel.
The Green Spark Group in Canada recently published this one sheet outlining the outsized impact of travel and transport in the productions they oversaw.
For more detailed information about the impact of flying in a typical production you can view their detailed case study at the link here.
Special thanks to the Adgreen calculator for making these emissions calculations and charts possible.
Creative Considerations When Bidding a Sustainable Production:
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When you are bidding a job and looking at where to shoot the production, always keep in consideration whether there is a way to minimize flying for the project. This could include:
• Pitching the project as a local shoot.
• Pitching the project in a location that could be reached by public transit or train.
• When the project requires an overseas or across country shoot, recommending a remote shoot with local crew.
• Alternatively, consider a virtual production on a sound stage that can combine physical and virtual elements using software tools
• Letting your agency know the carbon implications of each additional traveler to a shoot location on your bid letter, so that they can be informed in their choices to fly out their own team or clients.
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When pitching your project, remember that virgin materials (such as wood and textiles) can end up being one of the largest contributors to a projects carbon impact. So always ask these questions of yourselves in the process:
• Could you avoid the use of some virgin materials in your production?
• Could your set build be reskinned from a previously used set, or rentable modular set?
• Could your set build be deconstructed for donation or recycling?
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Bidding
How to Bid a Sustainable Production
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Sometimes the requirement for a “Green The Bid” production will come directly from the brand or agency in your bid specs. If this is the case then it is important to check the expectations with the agency to ensure you know which areas of sustainability are expected and have been budgeted for.
Our bid spec suggestion doc (in the resource section below) has a breakdown of possible agency/brand requests for sustainability.
Green The Bid asks that all agencies and brands requesting to “Green The Bid”, budget for an additional 1% on top of production and post production budget to ensure sustainability is managed.
• Be sure to confirm this with the agency/brand producer when you bid.
• In addition, you may be asked by the agency/brand to provide carbon information for the completion of an industry calculator (Adgreen {global}, Pear {USA}, or Creast {Spain} among others).
This is an additional work load and we recommend that you bid this as an additional sum on top of the 1% sustainability budget.
You will find links to these calculators in the resource list below.
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Often a “Green The Bid” production is something that you want to propose and will need to enroll the brand or agency in paying for.
If that is the case, we recommend beginning by mentioning this at the start of the bidding process and asking the agency or brand if they would be aligned with you including the sustainability costs in addition to the bid.
Let them know that these would be likely to be around 1% on top of production budget.
You can also share with them the Green The Bid Brand Deck (in the resources below) to explain more about the initiative.
If you’d like to have your own explanation of your sustainability commitments you could also create a simple guide, like the one from The Lift (also linked below), to explain what sustainable production means to your company.
If the agency/brand is aligned with you adding the 1% and the sustainability measures then continue as outlined in the rest of this document.
If the agency/brand is not aligned, please go to the section at the end of the manual where we show how to achieve a more sustainable set without substantial additional costs.
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How Sustainability Should Show Up in Your Bid?
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You can be much more detailed in your sustainability explanation in your bid cover letter. Consider including the following information:
• Let your agency/client know which elements of the production will be done remote, eg casting callbacks, PPM, and post-production.
• Use the cover letter as an opportunity to show the agency and client the overall carbon impact of each person flown to set.
• Also, consider using the cover letter to open up a dialog with your clients about any areas they would also like to request to support the sustainability of the production.
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Your sustainability measures should be highlighted and outlined throughout the bid, beginning with the bid cover letter.
You could describe your sustainability measures in the miscellaneous section.
Alternatively, you could choose to attach a complete company eco-policy to every bid, outlining your full sustainability position (example in the resources adjacent).
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In the bid itself you can either adapt each affected line to show the sustainability measure associated with it, or put all additional costs for sustainability on a single line as shown below.
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Green line shown as it would appear in a bid.
Complete sustainability quote broken down in a budget
When The Job Awards
What to do When the Job Awards
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Make sure as soon as the project awards that whomever is responsible for sustainability on the production is embedded as early as possible in the planning and prep stages.
They will need to understand production resources and crew dynamics, how to coordinate with department heads during prep and shoot, be educated on how to make the production sustainable, and have passion and energy around the topic.
Without a dedicated sustainability point person or crew, it will be impossible to achieve a truly sustainable set.
• At this point it is good to have them begin to work through the Sustainable Production Timeline doc (in the resources below).
• If a carbon calculation has been requested by the brand or agency, be sure to create your account with the chosen calculator for the production.
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• Begin communicating with your HODs about your expectations for a sustainable production.
• The sustainability coordinator should ensure that each HOD has received a link to their Department’s Checklists (link in resources below).
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How to Enroll and Work with your Crew
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When you first speak with your HODs about the sustainability measures for the production, begin by reviewing with them their Checklist (linked in the resources below).
• Always make sure you remind each HOD to prioritize (wherever possible) reduction of their travel and fuel consumption on the project.
• Be sure they are clear with you about what can and cannot be achieved from the checklist.
• Develop a specific sustainability plan with each department on how to implement all the actionable sustainability measures in their remit.
• Communication is key. Pass all relevant information on to your production team. Get them involved and encourage them all to contribute to the GREEN production practice.
• The priority is always to reduce the waste that each department generates. Work with your HODs to plan for reduction, reuse, donation or recycling of everything that any department purchases.
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When you first speak with your caterer/crafty about the sustainability measures for the production, begin by reviewing with them their Checklist (linked in the resources below).
• Always make sure you remind your caterer/crafty to prioritize (wherever possible) reduction of their travel and fuel consumption on the project.
• Discuss with them how to minimize food waste in the production both before and during the shoot.
• Request they limit meat options to chicken or fish, rather than beef or lamb, and offer at least two vegan or vegetarian meal options. Or go all in and suggest a meat free shoot!
• Check that your caterer is able to provide either reusable or paper wrapped, compostable bamboo cutlery and dinnerware. Offer to provide these if they cannot supply them themselves.
• Request that crafty bring only aluminum or glass bottled drinks so that they can prep that in advance.
• Let them both know you will be providing bins and signage for placement near catering and dining areas for clear separate disposal of trash, recycling and composting.
• Remind the caterer that all surplus, untouched food will be donated and form a plan with them about how this will be achieved. (see resources below for US food donation map).
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The sustainability of the studio you are shooting in matters, so when you first speak with your studio or stage about confirming the stage for your production, be sure to ask them the following questions:
• Is the Studio participating in the Studio Standard program? (link to initiative provided in the resources below), and if so can they share their reporting?
• Does the studio have facilities for recycling and composting on site or will production need to arrange this separately?
• If the studio is providing your lighting equipment, what % of that light can be LED?
• Is the studio is running on a Green Energy Plan or Solar? - (Although this is currently rare to find, the regular requesting of it will be a good spur for them to switch).
• If you are completing a carbon calculation for your production, ask your Best Electric during tech scout if they are able to give you either meter readings before and after each prelight, shoot, and strike day, or ask the studio for the average KWH usage per hour for the stage that you will be shooting on.
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Production Prep
Production Prep Procedures
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• Utilize digital, streaming storage platforms to record and share any and all casting and performances.
• Limit the printing of size cards, headshots and resumes. This includes paper headshots from the talent.
• Encourage remote casting to help reduce emissions from having to drive to and from the casting facility.
• If casting is in person please check in with them on the following points regarding catering the casting call:
•• Request they limit meat options, or go completely vegetarian in their offering
•• Discuss with them how to minimize food waste during the casting call.
•• Check that they are able to provide either reusable or paper wrapped, compostable bamboo cutlery and dinnerware. Offer to provide these if they cannot supply them themselves.
•• Request that wherever possible all leftover, untouched food will be donated and form a plan with them about how this will be achieved.
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• Utilize rechargeable batteries for any walkie talkies or transmitters
• If one-time use batteries are used, make sure they are recycled correctly at a facility.
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Careful and creative planning can reduce set-related waste dramatically. Always design and build with strike and wrap in mind.
Request that all sets building materials be:
• Recycled, eco-friendly or sustainable building materials
• Use paints, sealants and lacquers that are low (or no) emissions
• Reuse materials where possible and discuss with the production designer and set shops about donating all props, paints, and other materials to organizations in need.
• Pull as much as possible from rental houses that can reuse props and wardrobe, instead of purchasing new products.
• When props and wardrobe are bought new and cannot be donated to non-profits, consider contacting local theatre companies and artist organizations to make the donation.
• Any wardrobe that cannot be returned should be donated to a local shelter or charity in the area.
• Reuse any hangers needed for wardrobe fittings and set.
• Whenever possible, plug into the local power grid instead of using generators.
• Utilize LED or low voltage lighting whenever available.
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Production companies need to contract a waste haulage company for dumpsters that can take trash, recycling and composting.
• Be sure to check with them exactly what items can and cannot be recycled and composted at their facility. Often these centers will only be available for drop off during normal business hours, so it is always best to organize pick up or drop off waste before close of day.
• Plan waste management for everything that any department acquires or builds, be clear with your department heads about how it will be reused, donated, or recycled at the end of shoot, and coordinate with your chosen non-profit (if donation) or haulage company (if composting or recycling) to ensure there is a clear plan for how it will be collected or dropped off. The aim is to pollute as little as possible.
• If composting is not available with your haulage company, search out separate composting facilities or organizations in the area of your shoot and make a plan for composting pick up or delivery.
• Be sure to check with them exactly what items can and cannot be composted at their facility. Again, if they’re not open past normal business hours, strategize with production on the most efficient ways to achieve this delivery
There are increasingly more local regulations around composting and recycling, so these are requirements by law rather than just nice things to do.
(Supporting documents for e-waste and composting can be found in the resources below).
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• Well in advance of filming, identify and contact local food banks, food donation services, or community shelters in the area of your locations or stage, that will accept any left over catering, craft service and/or beverages.
• Liaise with the donation receiving organization and your caterer/crafty regarding how the food is going to be collected or delivered.
• Remember food for their lunches will be coming from your breakfasts, and food for their dinners will be coming from your lunches, so plan pick up or drop off with these times in mind.
• Some (but not all) organizations can take your dinner service too, if it can be picked up or delivered by 8pm, but make sure you have confirmed this with the organization you are donating to.
• If they are unable to take evening meals, make sure you have a plan for that food - either to be taken home by crew or composted.
(Link to food donation map can be found in resources below).
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Preproduction Meeting and Tech Scout
Everything Before you Shoot
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• Send a welcome letter digitally before the arrival of the client, letting them know the steps you will be taking to manage the sustainable set and encouraging them to participate in supporting the effort (an example letter can be found in the resources below).
• If delivering the agency or client a Welcome Pack, consider carefully the likelihood of longterm use of any product you give them, you could instead offer to support a climate friendly project in their name.
• If your agency or client are flying in for the shoot, arrange for their transport or hire car to be electric vehicles (or hybrid if electric vehicles are unavailable in your location).
• Encourage them to bring their reusable bottles to set and only print essential documents.
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• If you are making a complete carbon calculation of your production you will need to confirm in advance the number of people traveling to the tech scout.
• Once your crew arrive at the first location or chosen production base, consider traveling everyone in people movers or pass vans to eliminate the use of individual cars. Whilst Covid is still a factor in production this may not be possible but, if it is allowed, have everyone wear masks and keep the windows open to have air circulating.
• Remind everyone to bring their water bottles with them.
• Bring light snacks and drinks in aluminum cans/ bottles for all crew members to reduce unnecessary waste.
• Avoid plastic wrapping and meat based products where possible.
• If meals are required, order them individually to reduce unnecessary waste. Make sure to request that there is no plastic silverware or individually wrapped condiments with the orders.
• Make sure all documents are kept in digital form and accessed via phone or iPad rather than printed.
• If you are making a complete carbon calculation of your production, keep a record of the distances traveled between locations and how many vehicles make the journey, as this will need to be added in your final calculations.
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• Wherever possible, request that the PPM is attended virtually, and where PPM needs to happen in person, encourage people to attend virtually where they can.
• Paper PPM books should not be printed unless specifically requested by the client.
• If a paper PPM book is requested, stick to double sided printing of black and white copies only with no tabs, and no heavy paper, plastic binders or folders.
• Do not offer plastic water bottles at the PPM. Instead use pitchers and glasses. If your PPM is unable to take place somewhere where these are available, use aluminum single use water bottles.
• If Covid protocols allow, request that the agency group travel together and the client group do likewise (i.e. PPM, Fittings, Shoot…)
• If food is ordered in for the PPM make sure to request that there is no plastic silverware or individually wrapped condiments with the orders and utilize reusables in the production office or PPM location instead.
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Make sure to include a paragraph outlining the sustainability measures that have been included on the production. (Suggested language doc linked in the resources below).
Make sure that in your PPM you outline:
• Overview of agreed sustainability processes for all departments.
• Basic logistics for correct waste disposal and removal.
• General expectations for all crew regarding travel, vehicle idling, e-waste disposal, water stations and other general waste practices.
• Brief overview explanation of sustainable wrap and return/donation/ recycling process.
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Shoot
Shoot
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Begin by including a paragraph at the beginning of your sustainability section to let people know that this will be a green set (Suggested language can be found in the resources below)
Additional suggested sustainability information you can add to your call sheet includes:
• A reminder to not idle your vehicle.
• A reminder that all documents will be in digital and not paper format.
• A reminder to place all waste items into the appropriate and corresponding waste station.
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• Introduce the “Green” production coordinators and assistants who will be implementing and overseeing all green set protocols including recycling, composting and the donation of leftover food products.
• Inform crew and talent of the various water stations on set and your policies with regards to trash, recycling and compost.
• Talk people through the signage for composting and recycling so that they are clear which items will go where.
• Remind people that plastic water bottles will not be purchased for set. If single use water bottles are non-negotiable (by talent, brand or agency demand) let them know you will provide aluminum single use water bottles instead of plastic.
• Ask crew to walk from basecamp to set (when possible) to limit number of passenger vans or individual vehicles in use.
• Let all trucks, vans and cars know that they will be asked to shut their engines off and that there is a no idling policy on set.
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When you set up at the start of the day make sure you have:
• Either 5-gallon water stations, or aluminum water bottles, in all common areas around set (by camera, craft service, breakfast/lunch areas).
• Clearly labeled trash, recycling and compost bins in high traffic areas around set. Label them clearly along with what items are appropriate to put in each bin (Green The Bid Signage available in the resources below).
• Clearly labeled PPE collection point for used masks and tests.
• An e-waste collection point with a jar for batteries and a box for larger items (Green The Bid Signage available in the resources below).
• “Green” production assistants that are ready and available to coordinate with craft service and catering to ensure that the proper separation of items is known, followed and implemented.
• Make sure you have non-toxic cleaning supplies for on set cleaning.
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All these recommendations need to be prepped in the preproduction stage to be managed on the day, so make sure your caterer is clear on all these expectations in advance of the shoot:
• Identify and contact, prior to filming, local food banks or community shelters in the area that will accept any left over catering, craft service and/or beverages.
• Arrange for how the food is going to be collected by, or delivered to, the food bank or shelter. Remember food for their lunches will be coming from your breakfasts, and their dinners will be coming from your lunches, so plan pick up or drop off with these times in mind.
• Where possible (local Covid protocols allowing) use only non-disposable plates, glasses, mugs and silverware that are reusable (e.g. glass/ceramic plates and cups with real utensils).
• If you must purchase any single-time use plates, cups or utensils, buy only paper-wrapped, bamboo or untreated cardboard paper items that can be composted at the end of the day with the food waste.
• Avoid purchasing any products that come in a plastic containers and look for options that come in paper or other highly recyclable materials.
• Ensure crafty has placed only glass and aluminum bottled drinks in the coolers.
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Whenever possible:
• Avoid unnecessary generator usage (i.e. shut them down during lunch, etc.)
• Turn off any air conditioning and heating units when not in use.
• Utilize rechargeable or solar lights over plug-ins, where available.
• Utilize recycled layout board or layout mats when possible for indoor locations.
• Turn off all idling non-electric vehicles, both production and personal.
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Strike and Wrap
What to do During Daily Strike and Final Wrap
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Reporting is a requirement on paid-for sustainable production, so it is important that at wrap you manage collating the information that will be required:
• Weigh each category of material waste in their bags (recycling, compost, landfill & PPE) .
• Co-ordinate with your haulage and composting vendor for the collection or drop off of all separated waste.
• Manage the rehoming of all art department and wardrobe donations, and make sure to collect receipts for all charitable donations for inclusion in the sustainability report (see sustainability report guidelines in the resources below) and return to agency if requested.
• Photograph and document sustainability measures and wins on set - including a narrative of what worked and didn’t work is a vital part of the reporting process.
• If you have been asked to complete a carbon calculation for the production, collect all receipts from carbon associated purchases, so that they can be easily inputted into the calculator.
(Reporting Guidelines can be found in the resources below)
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If the brand/agency has allocated the proper budget to have a sustainable production, they will expect to see measurable results in return for their investment.
The reporting guidelines in the resources below will give you the information about which areas of production should be included in the reporting.
In addition, we have also added some examples of reporting from some other Green The Bid member production companies for reference.
Reporting is expected to be complete within 3 weeks of shoot, so make sure you are working on it while you wrap the production.
Share your sustainability report with all the stakeholders of your production; client, agency, and crew. Seeing the difference that a sustainable production can make inspires people to perpetuate their sustainable behaviors.
Finally, arrange a meeting with the agency to go over the contents of the report to identify key wins, areas for improvement and recommendations for more effective sustainability processes in future productions.
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Carbon Calculation and Offsetting
What to do if you are Asked to Complete a Carbon Calculator
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Calculating the carbon on a production is an important part of understanding the environmental impact of a project.
There are several production calculators available for this process (links in the resources below), and you may be asked by your agency or brand to work with a specific one. Granular carbon calculation of a shoot can be requested from a consultant or production house, but should be funded separately and in addition to, the sustainability 1% on top of budget.
Make sure you have acquainted yourself with the calculator from the moment production starts and have a plan for how you will collate the required information.
The carbon calculation, if requested, will be delivered to client or agency along with the general sustainability report.
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Most of the information that you need to complete a carbon calculation will be in your budget actual and on your movement order.
• Most importantly, you should record all the flights taken to manage the production (including flights by agency and brand). These are always the largest carbon impact of any shoot.
• If you are working in a studio, you will need the size of your stage and the number of days for prelight and shoot.
• If you are shooting on location, you will need the distances between locations and who traveled where.
• You will need to know the number of crew and how many days they prepped, shot and wrapped.
• Accommodation, meals, trucking, generators, honey wagons, art department, wardrobe and set build information may also be required so make sure you have support from your HODs to collect any information not managed in the budget.
We have a complete carbon tracking workbook linked in the resources below.
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Green The Bid Carbon Tracking Workbook
The primary production calculators:
What to Consider when Offsetting
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Carbon offsetting is “an action or activity (such as the planting of trees or carbon sequestration) that compensates for the emission of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere” - Miriam Webster Dictionary
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The carbon market is relatively new, and some organizations adhere to stricter standards than others.
In addition, the price of the carbon in an offset can vary hugely from organization to organization.
Currently, there is no scientifically agreed way of quantifying how much it would cost to remove your production’s tonnage of carbon from the atmosphere, so it is important to be clear that your carbon offsetting is not a substitute for carbon reduction.
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The Social Cost of Carbon, is a predictive economic calculation of the environmental harm done by each ton of carbon sent into the atmosphere.
You can find out more about the history and current position on how the Social Cost of Carbon is calculated in the resource links below.
Recently the EPA released a draft paper suggesting the Social Cost of Carbon could be as high as $190 per ton.
We recommend considering this figure as a benchmark for your suggested production offset cost.
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In Case of emergency…break glass.
How to do a Sustainable Production on a “Challenging” Budget
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When a client does not allocate sustainability funds to your project, it is still possible to put together a green plan, if you’d like to.
Below is a one stop how-to for when you are keen but unfunded.
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• Dupilcate the production timeline here and work your way through it, bearing in mind the Top 5 Things You Can Do.
• Put together your sustainability plan and talk with your production team about how you will achieve it.
• Decide how much of the reporting and calculating you would like to cover and decide who (client, agency, crew) you would like to share that reporting data with.
• Go through the complete checklists with your HODs and decide how much you can manage on the shoot without incurring additional costs.
• Keep a log of everything you achieve on the shoot and photograph your successes.
Green The Bid believes that appropriate costs incurred on a sustainable shoot should be paid for by the client requesting the shoot, and we also understand that for many production teams, they want to shoot sustainably regardless of whether they are funded to do so or not.
We salute you, you glorious, fearless beasts, and whatever you need, you can drop us a line for support!
General In Office Practices and Guidelines
General In-Office Prep and Wrap Sustainable Practices :
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• Encourage staff to bring their own refillable water bottles, and have water-refill stations in the office to replenish the bottles.
• Separate the trash, recycling and compost into the correct bins.
• When ordering lunch or other meals to the office, utilize reusable plates, cups, serving and personal utensils.
• Let the take out restaurant know not to include plastic items or sachets in the order. Never use Styrofoam!
• Where possible, ask for minimal packaging when ordering supplies.
• Limit the amount of paper printing. If printing is required please print double sided. Only purchase recycled paper made with a 100% post consumer recycled content.
• Promote electronic communication and limit paper usage when specifically requested, including pre-pro booklets and call sheets.
• Distribute only digital timecards, mileage logs, kit rentals and associated paperwork to cast and crew. Do not utilize paper timecard unless absolutely necessary!
• Dispose of batteries and compact fluorescent light bulbs as hazardous waste with a certified hazardous waste vendor, and donate or recycle electronic equipment. We have a list of North American waste vendors in the resources below.
• If at all possible and available, please take public transportation or use ride sharing to travel to and from the office. Production company can reimburse any costs associated with bus or train fares.
• Encourage the crew to view tech scout documents on their phones or tablets and, unless circumstances prohibit, avoid printing full tech scout packs. Printed shooting boards for a director's notation may be unavoidable and this is understood.
• Turn off all lights and sleep all computers when not in use.
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Acknowledgement for their incredible support in building this document goes to:
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