Planning for the Planet

The key to sustainable production is planning - as early as possible.

If you wait too long to think about sustainability, it will be vastly more difficult to orient yourself and your team to new sustainable practices.

Planning for sustainability should start early. Ideally at the development stage when scripts and shooting plans are being written and when budgets are being built.

The key is to be realistic about what is doable and break goals down into bite-sized tasks. Start with low-hanging fruit because stacking up wins feels great, plus it’s an effective strategy to build momentum and change.

The Sustainability Plan

A Sustainability Plan is something you should start working on in development and complete in pre-production. It outlines the key environmental goals for your specific production and actions you plan to take towards achieving them.

Approach sustainability planning as diligently as you would any other aspect of production. Would you simply skip out on getting permits for locations or have actors sign contracts? Remember: Sustainability doesn’t happen by accident - it takes forethought and planning.

(Customizable templates for sustainability plans, wrap reports and other are at the bottom of this page, and in our Knowledge Hub.)

‍Planning Quick Tips:

Start as early as you can. Make sustainability part of your thinking from day one.
Ask your talent and crew members how they feel about sustainability, and let them know that you want to hear their ideas on how the project can be more sustainable.
Add sustainability to the agenda in development and production meetings.
Connect your team with free training opportunities to inspire ideas and empower action.
Don’t boil the ocean! The point of planning isn’t to try to do it all. Try one thing on this production…something new on the next, build your sustainability muscles over many productions so it’s not overwhelming.

Quick Tip: The Telefilm standard budget template includes specific lines for sustainability, making it a little easier to plan for sustainability costs. If you’re using the Telefilm Micro-Budget Template for your production, use the sustainability lines from the standard template to give you ideas on where sustainability can be accounted for in your budgets.

7 Must-Haves for your Sustainability Plan

Sustainability Team (Champions!): Who will be responsible for sustainability or is it a shared team effort?
Carbon Footprint: How will you track and calculate your pollution and waste?
Creative Elements: What elements of the script or creative plan support sustainable messages? Will you show behaviours or solutions on screen to help normalize sustainable practices? Refer to the Climate Storytelling chapter for inspiration [link]
Emissions Reductions: How will you eliminate or reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Refer to the tips list at the end of this guide for inspiration;
Waste Reductions: What are the ways your production can eliminate or reduce waste, specifically food waste and materials going to the landfill. Refer to the tips list at the end of this guide for inspiration.
Reducing Environmental Harms: When shooting in a natural environment, how will your production protect the natural eco-system and cause as little damage as possible?
Managing Climate Risks: How will extreme weather, extreme heat, or wildfire smoke impact the production? Safeguard your production and the health and safety of your team by pre-planning how you will manage climate events if they happen.

Further reading

Green Wrap Report Template (Low Budget)

Customize this template to create your own unique sustainability wrap reports.