Celebrating Green Crew Heroes! Carmen Amos, Executive Producer at Juice Films in South Africa
Green The Bid Crew Heroes is a series that highlights individuals who bring sustainable practices to any area of the production process, and seek to inspire others to do the same. Production can’t happen without all crew-members (both on set and off), and the same is true of their support of Green The Bid.
Green The Bid’s Jessie Nagel spoke with Carmen Amos, Executive Producer at Juice Films in South Africa about experiencing extreme drought in Cape Town, and recognizing the direct actions needed to tackle not only carbon impact, but also food and water waste.
J.N. Where are you based and how has your location and where you grew up influenced how you do your job today?
C.A. I am based in Cape Town, South Africa, which I think is one of the most beautiful places on the planet!
Growing up I spent most of my childhood running around barefoot on beaches, hiking, swimming in dams and lakes, and generally surrounded myself in our beautiful mountains and nature. Living in Africa makes you appreciate the natural beauty of this planet; it’s simply spectacular.
My parents instilled an ethic in our family that our actions and behaviours have an impact on the world around us. I try to uphold this ethic in my personal and professional life by trying to be mindful and aware.
J.N. You have an ethos page on your company website. Why did you decide to make this front and centre in your communication?
C.A. We have had a green and social impact policy at Juice Film for many years. My partner, Martin Jacobson, and I, have always held these principles close to our hearts, and so this is woven into the culture of Juice Film.
Our people know that its ‘meatless Mondays’ at the office…Our green policy has always been distributed to crew, suppliers and often to our clients, however we felt we needed to take the next step and really state what we believed in and create further awareness in the industry. It’s about putting our money where our mouth’s are and continuously striving to do better and to educate ourselves and others. So what better place to state who we are and what we believe in than on our website.
J.N. What does this mean in practice?
C.A. Reduce, recycle, reuse, redistribute, educate and BE KIND.
I will keep it short and go through a few actions we have put into practise which were not difficult or costly to implement and yet can make a huge difference.
Create a green policy, it forces you to think and act!
Create a recycling policy in your office and on set
Educate crew, suppliers and clients with the actions you are implementing and what your expectations are
Encourage people to bring their own reusable water bottles and coffee cups to set
Reduce or eliminate your use of plastic bottles on set – use reusable bottles or a Soda Stream on set (rather than plastic bottles if folk need sparkling water)
Reduce printing | recycle any paper used
Recycle e-waste
Use earth friendly cleaning products in your office, on set and in your home as far as possible.
Plant trees or donate to gardening schemes! If you have clients flying in, try to offset some of their carbon footprint by planting trees. We plant tree’s when we feel we have printed excessively and because we just should!
Utilise the resources and knowledge of sustainability consultants and employ teams to do waste management on set. We have a number of incredible ‘eco warriors’ doing this in Cape Town – Wrap Zero and Eco Ninja’s.
Compost organic food waste and where possible redistribute leftover food
Evaluate your social impact policy and the organizations you align with. We have so much we can redistribute once we have finished shooting that is often overlooked or thrown away… “one person’s waste is another’s treasure”
Keep client / supplier gifting locally sourced and as sustainable as possible, there are amazing options available which don’t harm the planet and support community upliftment programs. Often the best gift we can give, is one which ‘pays it forward’.
J.N. What changes do you see in terms of how the industry in South Africa is considering sustainability in production?
C.A. We were all made VERY aware of the scarcity of our natural resources a few years ago when we had a really serious drought in Cape Town, that seriously threatened the City’s ability to provide potable water. I think this event was a catalyst for many companies rethinking their water usage on set. Why would one ever use potable water for a wet down or to create a big puddle when there are non-potable options? There is definitely momentum in the industry towards working more sustainably, from having water coolers on set, management of on-set waste, recycling and a general education happening.
Sadly we are not doing enough. Traditionally producers have been driven by cost, and in particular in service we have a ‘what the client wants or will pay for’ attitude instead of finding ways to make sustainability a priority and thinking about changes we can and HAVE to make.
I have found that many of the polices we have put into practise save money, time and energy whilst making a more positive impact on our surroundings i.e.. Call sheets – these are all digital now, but I remember as a young co-ordinator printing piles of booklets late into the night only to have them land up unread in the recycle pile!
J.N. What do you wish more companies and individuals would adopt?
C.A. Common sense when it comes to preserving our environment and to practise kindness. We can all be kinder, on ourselves, to others, to the creatures and to our planet.
A quote I have seen as a poster on @cariumgreentips which I think sums it up:
J.N. As a production services company, how do you communicate with your production or agency clients about your implementation of sustainability and the other aspects of your ethos?
C.A. We put it front and centre on our website☺
We have green policy documents we send out, and most of our regular clients know how we feel and many feel & act in the same way. We have clients who bring their own water bottles from home, many donate and visit the communities we support and a couple have received a ‘tree fine’ if we feel the job has too much printing. www.greenpop.co.za
J.N. If you could have another job in the industry or otherwise what would it be and why?
C.A. I LOVE WHAT I DO and the people I work with and meet. So this is my chosen path and I would not change it! I do dream of living on an island with a great left hand surf break, but that is a chapter for later in my life #retirement.
J.N. What or who influences you the most when it comes to considering production’s impact on the environment?
C.A. I find it incredibly scary and sad to see what we humans have done to the planet. That in itself is a huge influencer. I am committed to making changes and learning however small my actions may seem.
J.N. Who is a hero to you?
C.A. I have many! My husband, George is definitely one of my heroes. He is an avid surfer and a lover of nature. We spend most of our holidays exploring beautiful surf spots (usually left hand breaks) and always try find less frequented places to take our sons to.
Nothing is too much effort for him whether it’s taking his own water bottle & packed lunch box to set, creating big compost boxes in our garden, planting succulents and water-wise plants, connecting our rain tanks to our plumbing and ensuring our recycling is washed and done 100% properly etc etc etc. The list goes on. He does these things because he cares, and that for me is huge!
----- Are you a crew hero or do you know one? We want to hear from you!
