If you’ve been paying close attention to the credits on your latest Netflix binge-watch, or kept a keen eye on the Rugby World Cup coverage in October, you might have noticed this surreptitious purple logo. Albert, stylised in minimal lowercase, are a BAFTA subsidiary and the go-to source for sustainability in film and TV. Since 2011, albert have guided industry professionals in minimising the climate impact of their work. Alongside the information on their website for writers and other creatives, they host free training sessions for producers and editors to bring people together and learn to make a difference.
While we continue to see an increase in extreme climate events, from the record-breaking heatwaves in the UK to the devastating flooding in Libya contributed to by Storm Daniel, the collaborative “Screen New Deal” report from Arup, albert, and the BFI puts the emissions from an average large film production equivalent to releasing 2,840 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Albert’s surge in recognition comes just as the spotlight falls on entertainment to reduce its climate impact. In 2022, the organisation trained 3,600 industry professionals, and certified 1,933 productions, making huge gains on 2020/21 figures. Albert training has been made mandatory both in the UK and abroad, including for BBC productions in the UK and TG4 in Ireland. Changes have already been seen with the BBC’s Winterwatch named as the first large scale outside broadcast to be powered entirely on hydrogen fuel
Albert have taken a huge step this autumn by releasing their new biodiversity guide for production, highlighting ways the industry can avoid ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss. The 2023 State of Nature report presents the alarming reality of a “nature-depleted” UK, with average decreases of more than 12% across animal species, and up to 54% in plants. Albert recognise the relationship between climate and biodiversity in their unprecedented new guide. While some of the proposed actions are vague (e.g.,“only carry out changes which can be remediated”) they make many useful directions including filtering out microplastics when washing costumes and consulting local experts on wildlife breeding patterns. The report confirms albert’s commitment to go above and beyond carbon measures.
However, it’s not all rainbows: while UK broadcasters Sky and BT have been albert-certified, their Rugby World Cup coverage was tarnished with controversy this October as Greenpeace released their “TotalPollution” campaign targeting RWC sponsor TotalEnergy. The video, which currently has 47,000 views, shows the Stade de France submerging players and fans with oil, highlighting that an equivalent amount is used by the fossil fuel industry every 3 hours, 37 minutes. Although event sponsorship is outside albert’s purview, in an atmosphere where consumers are more sensitive than ever to greenwashing and increasingly cynical toward company PR mixed signals can create extreme backlash.
Nonetheless, albert’s strong commitments to reducing the impact of media production speak for themselves. Creating behavioural change not only for the production of film and TV, but shaping the stories told through these mediums, has the potential to bring powerful results for climate action. Albert are one to keep an eye out for in all your favourite shows.
