Sustainability Requirements for Film and TV Funding in Spain: 2026 Guide

Requirements differ from one call to another

Not every call sets the same conditions. Some require environmental documentation, others score sustainability measures as part of their evaluation criteria, and there are also grants specifically designed to fund environmental actions.

This guide looks at the requirements identified in four specific cases — the ICAA, the Basque Government, the Junta de Andalucía and the ICEC — and explains how production companies can prepare to meet them. It is not an overview of every Spanish region: we only include cases whose environmental requirements we could confirm in the official calls.

What sustainability requirements can funding include?

Calls use different terms that are not interchangeable. It helps to tell them apart before preparing anything:

• Production sustainability plan: a document prepared in advance that sets out the actions the production intends to implement to reduce its impact. See how one is structured in our guide to the sustainability plan for a production.
• Environmental strategy: a general approach to how the production will integrate environmental criteria, usually included in the project report or dossier.
• Report on environmental measures: a document describing the actions actually implemented, normally at the end of the production.
• Environmental impact measurement system: the method or tool used to record and quantify the production's impacts.
• Carbon footprint calculation: quantifying the production's greenhouse gas emissions. We explain it in detail in how to calculate the carbon footprint of a production.
• Supporting documentation and evidence: invoices, consumption records, photographs and other material that back up what has been declared.

Sustainability in ICAA funding

The Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA) includes an environmental requirement among the project requirements in two 2026 calls for the production of feature films on a project basis. The wording is not identical in both.

Ayudas generales para la producción de largometrajes sobre proyecto (2026)

According to the published extract of the call (Resolution of 13 May 2026), projects that receive funding must include “a report setting out the environmental and sustainability actions implemented and/or a system for measuring environmental impact and carbon footprint” (our translation).

The requirement applies to funded projects and refers to actions already implemented, so it relates to the stage after the grant is awarded rather than to the application. The exact procedural step at which it is submitted is set out in the full text of the call, published in Spain's National Grants Database (BDNS 905549).

Ayudas selectivas para la producción de largometrajes sobre proyecto (2026)

The extract of the selective call (Resolution of 29 December 2025) states that the project “must implement environmental and sustainability actions and/or a system for measuring environmental impact and carbon footprint” (our translation).

Basque Country: sustainability plan and environmental measurement

The Basque Government's 2026 grants for audiovisual production (Order of 22 April 2026, Department of Culture and Language Policy) list among the application documents a “sustainability plan setting out the actions to be implemented and/or a system for measuring environmental impact and carbon footprint” (our translation).

We verified this requirement in three strands:

• Production of fiction feature films.
• Production of creative documentary features.
• Production of short films.

For fiction features and creative documentaries, the final grant payment also requires a “report on the sustainability measures adopted for the production of the funded work, or a certificate confirming them” (our translation). In other words, a plan is required when applying and a report on what was done when closing.

Andalusia: environmental strategy and scoring criteria

The regulatory bases approved by the Order of 15 May 2026 and the 2026 call from the Agencia Andaluza de Instituciones Culturales (Resolution of 1 July 2026) for the production of feature films, documentaries and other audiovisual works include sustainability in two different ways.

Mandatory documentation

In all three strands of the call, the project dossier template — which must be submitted with the application — has to refer, among other content, to the environmental strategy.

Scoring criterion

The evaluation criteria for all three strands include “submitting strategies to ensure a more sustainable and environmentally friendly industry”, worth up to 2 points (our translation). The strands are:

• Line 1: fiction or animated feature films and TV films directed by new directors.
• Line 2: fiction or animated feature films and TV films that promote the development of the Andalusian industry.
• Line 3: production of documentary projects.

These requirements belong to this specific call. Other Andalusian audiovisual grants may set different conditions.

Catalonia: grants to improve the environmental sustainability of the cultural sector

The Catalan case is different. Here the Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals (ICEC) does not require environmental documentation to obtain production funding; instead, it funds sustainability actions as part of its Pla_C* Cultura pel Clima.

Actions that reduce environmental impact

The 2026 line for “actuacions que redueixin l'impacte ambiental, i que fomentin i millorin l'accessibilitat” funds non-investment actions by cultural companies and organisations in several fields, including audiovisual. It had a budget of €225,000 and an application window from 23 April to 14 May 2026.

Environmental diagnoses, drafting sustainability plans and environmental consultancy are excluded, except for carbon footprint calculation and decarbonisation plans (offsetting emissions is excluded).

Environmental diagnoses

The ICEC 2026 grants calendar also includes a specific line for carrying out environmental and accessibility diagnoses.

Comparison table

Check the requirements and documents required for each call with the Film Funding Sustainability Requirements Finder.

How to prepare the environmental documentation

1. 1

   Review the rules of the call

   Read the regulatory bases and the full text of the call, not just the extract.

2. 2

   Identify the applicable environmental requirements

   Separate what is mandatory from what is scored, and note when each document is due.

3. 3

   Prepare the sustainability plan or strategy

   Adapt the document to the terminology and scope each call asks for.

4. 4

   Define environmental measures and targets

   Set realistic actions for energy, transport, accommodation, catering, materials and waste.

5. 5

   Organise data collection from pre-production

   Assign responsibilities and define what data will be recorded and how.

6. 6

   Record consumption, transport, accommodation and other data

   Keep records throughout the shoot, not only at the end.

7. 7

   Calculate the carbon footprint where required

   Choose the right tool, such as the MEDIA Carbon Calculator or other industry calculators.

8. 8

   Prepare the required evidence and reports

   Gather invoices, records and documents that support what the plan declares.

The documentation must be tailored to each call. Planning it from the start of production is far more effective than reconstructing data at the end, when much of the evidence is no longer available.

How can La Tribu Verde help?

At La Tribu Verde we support production companies in preparing and following up their environmental documentation:

• Preparing sustainability plans.
• Environmental strategies for film and TV funding.
• Carbon footprint calculation.
• Monitoring measures during shoots.
• Collecting data and evidence.
• Preparing environmental reports.

Discover our audiovisual sustainability services.

Sources and updates