In TV/Film as in all industries, we have to work to do our part to lower our carbon footprint. As a shooting PD based in the US working primarily for British productions, there is an inherent reduction in carbon, allowing for shoots to be carried off locally rather than sending out UK staff to film here. I was already filming and setting up shoots over zoom before the pandemic, but now we all have worked out how to remotely film in ways we never could before which hopefully will enable that reduction of carbon footprint for productions to continue.
As well as those logistical based solutions, I also have put in place the following efforts to lower my carbon footprint for productions.
Solar
I have installed 6 full size solar panels on my home/office so all batteries charged when shooting in New York are charged with 100 percent renewable energy. We are actually giving back to the grid so any electricity used in our home is considered carbon neutral.
Offsetting
I know that offsetting isn’t as effective a solution as trying to consume less carbon, but in an effort to help lessen the impact of the carbon we can’t avoid, I currently offset 45 tonnes of carbon every year through Project Wren. When choosing the amount, I aimed to triple my predicted carbon output to maximise impact. That’s equal to 40 flights from LA to Paris per year.
Vehicle
Although not electric or hybrid, instead of a van, I use a VW Golf station wagon which gets up to 39mpg on the highway. I am aiming to switch to a fully electric vehicle in 2023 depending on options that can fit the necessary equipment.
LED Lighting
I have recently switched all of my film lights to be Aputure LED’s which consume much less electricity than traditional lighting.
Ecosia
All computers and phone are set to use Ecosia as the default browser. If you haven’t used it, it’s highly recommended and so far, over two years, our search activity has enabled the planting of over 7,000 trees.
You can help do more
When taking jobs, if I need to fly and the company is willing, I will ask that the flights be offset when purchasing which enables the above offsets to continue to be extra on top.