How to write a sustainability plan for a film or TV production

What a sustainability plan is

It is the working document that turns the intention of making a production more sustainable into verifiable commitments. It sets out the environmental goals, each department's measures, the people responsible, the indicators and the evidence that will show each measure has been applied.

It is also the basis for collecting data, calculating the carbon footprint and preparing the documentation required by certification schemes or funders, where the project needs it.

When it should be prepared

In pre-production, once there is a rough shooting schedule but locations, suppliers and budgets are still being finalised. Prepared too early, it will lack information; prepared with the shoot already looming, many measures will no longer be possible.

If the production is applying for certification, it is worth reviewing the requirements before drafting the plan, because some standards require the planning to be in place before shooting begins.

Information to have before drafting it

• Format, running time and schedule for pre-production, shoot and post-production.
• Planned locations and whether they will have grid power.
• Crew size and how many people will travel or stay away from home.
• Main suppliers: transport, catering, equipment hire, construction.
• The certification or standard being targeted, if any.
• Commitments already made to platforms, co-producers or public bodies.

The workflow, step by step

1. 1

   Assessment

   Review the script, shooting schedule, locations and budget to identify where the greatest impact will be.

2. 2

   Goals

   Define what you want to achieve in the areas that weigh most, clearly and realistically.

3. 3

   Measures

   Translate each goal into concrete actions by department.

4. 4

   Owners

   Assign each measure to a person or head of department who knows what is expected of them.

5. 5

   Indicators

   Choose measurable data that shows whether the measure is being met.

6. 6

   Evidence

   Decide which documents or records will substantiate each measure and who collects them.

7. 7

   Monitoring

   Review progress during the shoot and close with a results report.

How to set goals and turn them into measures

Goals

A useful goal refers to a specific area and can be checked: for example, reducing generator use, organising shared crew transport or avoiding plastic bottles on set. A few well-chosen goals are better than a long list nobody reviews.

Measures

Each goal becomes measures owned by a department: production requests grid connections, locations groups sets by area, art department prioritises hire and reuse, catering adjusts portions and uses reusable tableware. If a measure has no clear department, it will probably not be applied.

Owners and indicators

Each head of department must know what is being asked of them, how to report it and to whom. Overall coordination usually falls to the EcoManager, who acts as the link between production and departments.

Indicators must be data that can genuinely be collected on a shoot: litres of fuel, kWh used, kilometres travelled, accommodation nights or kilos of waste handed to the contractor. If an indicator is impossible to measure, it is better to change it before starting.

What evidence to collect

• Fuel invoices and receipts, with date and litres.
• Electricity bills or meter readings for studios and offices.
• Transport orders and vehicle hire contracts.
• Rooming lists and accommodation invoices.
• Delivery notes or certificates from waste contractors.
• Dated photos of measures applied on set: recycling points, water stations, reused materials.

This evidence is the same you will later need to calculate the carbon footprint, so collecting it properly from the start saves work at wrap.

A plan used throughout the production

The plan is not a document that is handed in and filed away. During the shoot locations change, days are added and new suppliers come on board, and the plan must be updated to reflect this. Reviewing it regularly with production makes it possible to spot measures that are not being met in time.

Nor is there one plan that works for every project: a three-day commercial and a months-long series need different measures, indicators and levels of detail. At La Tribu Verde we design and support plans tailored to each project (explained on our services page) and organise their monitoring in MERA, our tool for centralising measures, data and evidence.