Logotipo Film Madrid

Filming in the Region of Madrid

SUSTAINABLE FILMING

Environmental Sustainability in the Audiovisual Industry


The integration of environmental sustainability criteria in audiovisual productions is part of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals . The production and distribution processes of the audiovisual industry generate an environmental impact that could be significantly reduced by establishing more environmentally friendly practices.

Film Madrid is committed to the need to incorporate sustainability criteria in audiovisual productions, promoting and providing information on sustainable practices from an environmental, social and economic point of view at the various stages and for the various departments involved in the production of an audiovisual work.

  1. Script (the message that transcends)
  2. Include green values not only in your day-to-day work, but also in the sequences of your film. Show environmentally responsible behaviours through your characters: recycling, drinking from reusable bottles instead of plastic ones and others daily actions.

  3. Suppliers(looking for eco-solutions)
  4. Whenever possible, choose green suppliers that provide their services and products minimizing their environmental impact. Sustainable catering, renewable energy, eco-friendly office supplies...

  5. Team (creating synergies)
  6. Raise awareness among the team, appoint a green runner to organise and coordinate the process and set common environmental goals. Implement motivational initiatives such as rewarding "green" people on set.

  7. Accommodation (looking for eco-alternatives)
  8. Choose hotels or accommodation close to the main filming location. Prioritize sustainable hotels that have a clear environmental policy and measure their carbon footprint.

  9. Compensation (taking care of the environment)
  10. Offset your carbon footprint, either implementing your own reforestation project at the main filming location or following the advice of the environmental authorities or NGOs about solutions to offset your carbon footprint.

  11. Spaces (leaving everything as it was)
  12. Choose locations responsibly, considering factors such as proximity, environmental regulations, etc. Organise waste separation, set up accessible recycling points to leave the location as it was.

  13. Transport (organising efficiently)
  14. Whenever possible, choose electric or hybrid transport, organise the team to share transport, for example carpooling in high-capacity vehicles. Additionally, organise all your journeys efficiently.

  15. Reduca, reuse, recycle (core values)
  16. Mainstream these values into all your film projects. Try to minimise resources using only those that are really necessary; reuse sets, costumes or donate them; and recycle as much as possible.

  17. Communication (talk about it)
  18. A sustainable production is not only a fundamental action for the environment, but also gives added value to your film. Communicate it on your website, social media and to the press, promoting the visibility of your audiovisual project.

  19. Evaluation (being aware)
  20. Be aware of the environmental impact of your production, assessing your carbon footprint as well as the resulting carbon footprint after implementing green measures. Share your knowledge and experience with industry peers.


Guidelines and Tools for Sustainable Productions


We are collecting information on various initiatives carried out by institutions and organisations that are actively working on the development of tools and content to facilitate the implementation of environmental sustainability measures in audiovisual productions.

The Spanish Film Academy's Green Stamp is a new certificate granted to the Spanish film industry so that it can become a benchmark in sustainability. It is a series of tools aimed at protecting the environment and reducing the negative impacts of the audiovisual industry.

Among the resources included in this initiative, there is a guide of good practices to reduce the environmental impact and to compensate the carbon footprint. If an audiovisual production applies these good practices, provides evidence of the reduction of the carbon footprint and an assessment of the results obtained, the production will obtain a sustainability report accrediting that it complies with the Academy Green Stamp protocol.

Green Screen is a European project that aims to reduce the environmental impact of the audiovisual industry through the collaboration of various countries and entities in the search for policies and measures for change. The project involves the participation of seven European partners, including the Spanish public entity ProMálaga, and is financed with the ERDF Funds.

As part of its dissemination efforts, Green Screen offers guides for sustainable filming to raise awareness among audiovisual companies so that they introduce in their productions sustainable and environmentally responsible practices, encouraging them to become agents of change.

Carbon footprint calculators are one of the most useful working tools for assessing the environmental impact of audiovisual productions.

There are different proposals for calculators designed by institutions and companies that are currently working to incorporate sustainability criteria. We highlight the calculator developed by ProMálaga within the framework of the Green Screen project, which has a complete user manual


Training in Sustainable Production


Film Madrid collaborates with initiatives providing training on environmental sustainability such as Another Way Film Festival , a film festival on sustainable progress held in Madrid.

Another Way offers a selection of recent films that are more committed to environmental sustainability and has included in its programme a section on productions that have been filmed in a sustainable way and have the green stamp.

The Sustainable Audiovisual Production Training Day is organized since 2019 in collaboration with Fiction Changing the World and the environmental consultants Creando Redes . This training day for professionals in the audiovisual sector is organised with the support of Madrid Film Office and Film Madrid with the following objectives:

  • To understand the direct and indirect impacts of a sustainable audiovisual production both per department and in general.
  • To discover the assessment tools and to learn about the existing incentives to implement these new practices at the European and national level and within the private sector itself.
  • To learn how each department can contribute by implementing sustainable practices to achieve an overall sustainable production.