EXCLUSIVE: The grades are there and the film and television studios taking part in the BAFTA albert climate assessment have done their best over the past year.
BAFTA’s climate and sustainability arm, Albert, launched the Studio Sustainability Standard in 2022. The voluntary standard is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and provides studios a way to calculate and report their environmental performance.
2023/24 is the second reporting year and the results show that over half of the registrations achieved a grade of “very good” or better. The studios’ average score was 70%, an increase of 15% over the previous year. Each studio receives a customized action plan based on their results. So grade inflation suggests that the proposed changes are being implemented.
The number of studios signed up to the program increased from 12 in the first year to 29. Studios are evaluated on various themes – climate, circular economy, nature, people and management – and on a scale of “participated” rated up to “excellent”. Of all the topics measured, climate is the one with the highest weighting.
BAFTA and albert are based in the UK, but the Studio Sustainability Standard is open to anyone. Eight of the participants come from outside the UK, including North America, Belgium, Hungary, Germany and Italy. UK studios achieved an average score of 72% and non-UK studios achieved an average score of 63%.
The detailed findings will be detailed in a report released later today, but was seen by Deadline ahead of publication. In the report, Albert will say: “Studios’ increased commitment reflects the industry’s recognition of the severity of the climate crisis.”
All results are anonymized, but the participating studios are free to disclose the grade. Sky Studios Elstree told Deadline that it was rated “outstanding.” The company works with manufacturers to help them make sustainable decisions and can even track the waste volume of a production down to the kilogram.
Producers increasingly want to work in spaces that have solid sustainability credentials. Albert acknowledges this in his report, noting: “Productions are becoming increasingly vocal about their desire to work with studios that align with their sustainable values.”
“Participating studios have put climate action above commercial needs to help each other move towards net zero,” said Matt Scarff, managing director of BAFTA Albert. “Over the last two years, we’ve seen studios come together to share best practices. I hope this collaboration represents a positive future towards decarbonization for the industry.”