The entertainment industry in Canada contributes to pollution, waste, gas emissions, and energy consumption. With this in mind, a new media industry coalition and an annual production forum are working to increase awareness of sustainable issues and decrease the entertainment industry’s environmental footprint.
Green Frame launched
Canada’s most significant Crown corporations, federally funded organizations and CRTC mandated screen-based content funds have formed a new coalition called “Green Frame” which strives to reduce the environmental impact of Canadian TV and film production.
Green Frame will collaborate and encourage sustainability throughout a production’s lifecycle — starting from when a piece of content is commissioned to when it is produced, financed and distributed.
Spearheaded by CBC/Radio-Canada, the group is made up of the the Bell Fund, the Black Screen Office, the Broadcasting Accessibility Fund, the Canadian Independent Screen Fund for BPOC Creators, the Canada Media Fund, the Independent Production Fund, the Indigenous Screen Office, the National Film Board of Canada, the Shaw Rocket Fund and Telefilm Canada.
“How we produce our series and films matters as much as what we produce,” Catherine Tait, President and CEO, CBC/Radio-Canada. “That’s why I’m delighted that 10 of Canada’s most prominent screen organizations have joined CBC/Radio-Canada in committing to work together to reduce our industry’s environmental footprint. Together, we’re going to make a real impact in making our industry more sustainable.”
Green Frame aims to move the needle on the industry’s sustainability progress through harmonizing our actions so that creators and producers are better equipped to implement new sustainable practices. Green Frame will:
- collaborate on guidelines, requirements, tools, best practices and training, where appropriate, to make sustainable content creation, production and distribution more impactful, easier, faster, and less costly;
- share and leverage resources to support industry research, joint initiatives and information exchange;
- engage underrepresented communities that are disproportionately affected by climate change including Indigenous peoples, Black people, People of Colour, Persons with disabilities and 2SLGBTQIA+communities; and
- expand its network of collaborators both inside and outside of Canada to learn and share learnings about sustainability and build towards more impactful change.
In addition to the above goals, each member of Green Frame has committed to a set of initial actions including for each organization to generate its own corporate sustainability plan, to work together and share publicly available carbon calculator results and sustainability plans, and to collaborate annually on how to accelerate the decarbonization of production through current and future incentives; common requirements and/or minimums.
“In the same way we support our country’s storytellers, we also have a responsibility to protect the world in which their stories are told. Through Green Frame, we are forging a united path toward sustainable production, ensuring that our industry’s environmental practices evolve as dynamically as our content,” said Valerie Creighton, president and CEO of the Canada Media Fund.
To ensure maximum impact and minimum overlap, Green Frame will collaborate with other industry coalitions that are committed to advancing sustainability including Canadian Broadcasters for Sustainability, Producing for the Planet, Reel Green, Ontario Creates and On Tourne Vert.
Sustainable Production Forum underway
The Sustainable Production Forum (SPF), the annual global hybrid conference with a mission to reduce the carbon footprint of the arts and entertainment industry, is back for its 9th year of championing a greener future for filmmaking.
SPF24 takes place in Toronto on September 23 at the CBC Toronto Broadcast Centre, Vancouver on October 8 at the Roundhouse, and virtually on October 23.
The conference features panels, workshops, and more with industry leaders and innovators. Award-winning science journalist, filmmaker, and Daily Planet co-host Ziya Tong will be on-site in Toronto and Vancouver to deliver a special keynote on microplastics.
“As climate change intensifies and the demand for content soars, it’s never been more urgent to advance sustainable thinking and practices in the entertainment industry,” says Melanie Windle, executive director at Sustainable Entertainment Society (SES).
“We’re thrilled about what’s on at SPF24. We have an exciting program that not only educates and illuminates, but provides real solutions to help professionals decarbonize—something relevant across all industries, not only film and television.”
SPF24 Toronto includes a fireside chat with Mary Anne Waterhouse, a producer at Quadrant Motion Pictures, about the sustainability efforts made on her latest Netflix production, achieving a 91 per cent diversion rate. Meanwhile, Vancouver’s Climate Science and Story is a multi-format event with filmmakers and scientists to convey the urgency of climate action through fusing science and storytelling. Participants include Dr. Cherisse Du Preez, Marine Biologist and Deep-Sea Explorer at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
New highlights at SPF24 include:
- The Education Partnership is a knowledge-sharing collaboration designed for faculty and students in film, media-arts, culture, and environmental sciences.
- The Sustainable Entertainment Society will announce its inaugural Advisory Committee.
- The Sustainable Production for Entertainment Certification (SPEC) is the first industry-standard environmental certification. Amazon MGM Studios and U.S. Green Building Council California are partnering on the initiative, and the inaugural session culminates at SPF Toronto. Thirty individuals will be certified as on-set sustainability managers and coordinators.
By advancing sustainable practices and thinking, SPF is a vital forum in the effort to accelerate decarbonization in the face of climate change—in film, television and beyond.
SPF24 is open to the general public. Tickets are available online now.
Featured image credit: SPF
