Adgreen Relaunches in the UK. Co- Founder Jo Coombes Speaks to GTB.
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.
This month, GTB Producer Kat Friis interviewed Adgreen founder Jo Coombes about their big relaunch, sustainability in production, and collaborating with Albert (Bafta’s environmental arm) to take greening our industry to the next level.
K.F. Where did you grow up and how did it inform, positively or negatively, what you do today?
J.C. I grew up in a small town in the south west of England called Salisbury (affectionately known by some as Smallsbury). My parents and my school had a big impact on my ambition - it was assumed I would go to university and no career option appeared to be off the table - as long as I worked hard enough.
K.F. What inspired you to become involved in the sustainability movement?
J.C. It's something I've always been interested in. Here in the UK a favourite kids show is Blue Peter, a sort of magazine show for under 18 do-gooders. I was an avid letter writer and managed to garner a coveted green Blue Peter badge for penning a tale to the presenting team about a Hedgehog rescue I had undertaken. Later this passion for the environment manifested itself in starting AdGreen, which was largely a reaction to the massive amounts of waste I was seeing on set as a production manager. The awareness around the bigger picture issues regarding carbon emissions grew as my understanding of the problem increased.
K.F. What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have when discussing a move to “Green” production?
J.C. That it costs more. One of the biggest pieces of a production's footprint is likely to be travel. If you don't send a person on the shoot and hire locally instead, or don't travel as far (or at all), generally this will cost you less. Agencies and production also teams need to think about the issue much earlier, and consider It during the creative phase. There's only so much you can do to reduce the carbon impact of a production once you've already decided you need to shoot a tropical beach in December and you're based in the northern hemisphere.
K.F. How has AdGreen evolved over the years?
J.C. It's gone from being a website of tips written at my kitchen table between freelance jobs, to something I managed on the side whilst being Head of Production - to what it is today. Last week we announced that AdGreen is now part of the UK's Advertising Association, and has established a strategic partnership with BAFTA to enable us to share resources and information with their Albert project.
K.F. What comes next for AdGreen? What are some key goals for the industry?
J.C. We're working on bringing our two aims to life: measure and reduce. First, we'll create a carbon calculator to enable teams to measure their footprint, and once we have enough data we can begin to make recommendations for reductions. Of course, people are aware of reductions already, but we need to go after the big pieces of the carbon footprint pie, which may well require some infrastructure changes.
K.F. What are some key innovations or products or technology that have changed the sustainability landscape in the industry?
J.C. I'm really interested to see what companies like Portable Electric come up with next. Their technology is really exciting and if we can encourage a shift to renewably powered location shooting, that'll be a big step forward.
K.F. How do you start a conversation with a sceptic?
J.C. I'm hoping I won't meet too many in my new line of work, but I think you have to start by trying to understand why they are skeptical, and show that you are really listening. I think most people are actually afraid, underneath it all. The climate crisis is pretty terrifying to be fair!
K.F. We know how your passion for sustainability manifests in your professional career - how does it manifest in your personal life?
J.C. I think like most people I try to be mindful of my personal footprint. Over the past few years I've cut out meat from my diet, I divested my pension from fossil fuels (something that's now much easier thanks to Make My Money Matter) and switched to renewable energy at home with Bulb. Travel is my vice - I've studied and worked abroad so have good friends in the US, and my boyfriends family are not in the UK so trying to limit air travel is a challenge! Covid has made this easier though I must say...
K.F. What’s something many people don’t know about you, but should? Could be a light as you are a good dancer or as serious as…?
J.C. I've taken up art again during lockdown and started an IG account (as many people have!) - @joeydrawsandpaints. I recently got Procreate and I'm obsessed!
