Sustainable Screens Australia (SSA) has officially signed a deal with the UK-based, Bafta-associated sustainability consortium albert for Australian producers to use a localised version of the toolkit following three years of hard work by a group of volunteers.
Sustainability advocate Maree Cochrane has been appoinetd inaugural executive director and 24 industry seed funders and “foundational members” are now attached.
It is generally acknowledged the Australian production industry is 10 years behind the US and the UK on sustainability but the climate crisis in the form of repeated flooding throughout the country, the 2020 fires and other recent natural disasters, is helping to galvanise action.
Some producers have already calculated their carbon footprint on Australian productions, Fremantle has used albert under a global deal, for example, and others have used bespoke spreadsheets or drawn on what’s available via the US Green Production Guide, but this alignment with the whole tried and tested albert toolkit represents a milestone for reducing environmental impact in Australia.
“The partnership between albert and SSA is the first of its kind to be rolled out internationally by albert,” said SSA co-chairs Sara Horn and Anna Kaplan, adding that albert’s reputation is “unparalleled”. Horn is the chief operating officer for Dreamchaser, a year-old production firm. She was also previously the global chair of Endemol Shine Giving and managed production and operations at Endemol Shine Australia. Kaplan is head of impact production at Regen Studios and co-founded the storytelling and action hub The Regenerators.
Director of sustainability at Bafta and albert director, Carys Taylor, says the calculator and all tools have been fully licensed.
“They’re identical to the tools used by albert but SSA and the Australian industry have the opportunity to use them in whatever contexts are most appropriate to the Australian industry.
“What’s built with them is up to SSA and the Australian industry. It’s a big step for us, and for the future of international cooperation in decarbonising film and television. We’re excited to see what Australia is able to do with the albert toolkit.”
Cochrane’ appointment represents a return to the industry after about a decade. During her time abroad, she studied and worked on digital learning, sustainability, and behavioural changes.
The fledgling SSA will stage its official launch on the 13th of June as part of Sydney Film Festival which opened yesterday (7th June). After rapid growth over the last year, albert has now 20 people in the UK, including freelancers and consultant. It has direct relationships with companies using albert resources in the US and is in regular contact with such organisations as Sustainable Production Alliance.
‘Black Box’, ‘The Dive’, ‘Shock’ among buzzy German titles premiering at Filmfest Munchen
