Producing for the Planet, a first-of-its-kind Canadian climate change initiative for the motion picture and screen-based industries, was announced earlier this year at the Canadian Media Producers Association’s Prime Time conference in Ottawa.
So far 65 Canadian independent media producers have come together to form a coalition to support the industry initiative, which “will empower producers in taking measurable action against climate change through collaboration, resource and knowledge sharing, formal commitments, and annual reporting,” a press release says.
The producer-led coalition will focus on accelerating the adoption of sustainable production practices as well as the production of sustainability-focused content that inspires action and informs audiences.
“Producers face many barriers to changing business-as-usual practices, yet change we must. We believe that by working together and making formal commitments to act, we can accelerate the pace at which our industry adopts green practices on screen and off,” said Marsha Newbery, Founder and Executive Director, Producing for the Planet and VP, Sustainability & Business Affairs, Thunderbird Entertainment. “It’s every producer’s responsibility to operate sustainably, and we invite producers of all sizes and genres, from across the country, to join us in our mission to drive the decarbonization of our industry.”
Producers joining the coalition are expected to make a formal commitment to take action against climate change in four priority areas and to report on outcomes that will be shared in an annual impact report. Key areas include:
Action on screen: Placing an emphasis on the creation of sustainability-related stories with the goal of helping audiences worldwide gain a stronger understanding of the current climate crisis.
Action on emissions: Committing to seizing opportunities to adopt best practices for emissions reductions in production and corporate operations.
Action on waste: Committing to a reduction in the use of materials and landfill waste.
Collection action: Collaboration, shared learning and a collective commitment among producers and industry stakeholders.
Producing for the Planet’s first project, expected to launch this spring, will be a digital interactive Climate Action Producer Toolkit “that will provide resources, tools, templates and best practices for producers to provide leadership on climate action at both the production and corporate level,” the press release says.
The Producing for the Planet initiative is supported by the Canada Media Fund, the Canadian Media Producers Association, Thunderbird Entertainment, Great Pacific Media and Creative BC.
To learn more about the initiative and/or join the roster, visit: https://www.producingfortheplanet.com/