SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION: CASE STUDY

THE YOUNG OFFENDERS SERIES 2 & 3 prepared by Sharon Cronin and Sacha Dillon

While shooting the second and third series of The Young

Offenders, we aimed to get certified as an environmentally

sustainable production through BAFTA’s Albert scheme.

Albert is a collaborative BAFTA, indie and broadcaster

backed project that provides the film and television

industries with the necessary expertise and resources to

incorporate sustainable practices into productions. Albert

seeks to ‘enable every part of the screen industry to

eliminate waste and carbon emissions from production and

empower industry creatives to make editorial content that

supports a vision for a sustainable future.’

During production, we decided to hold Eco Week - one

intensive week to educate and engage the cast and crew

with the Albert Scheme.

We constructed the week as a competition to see which

department could be the most eco-friendly. Our aim was

to make the week easy for everyone to participate in

alongside filming. Departments were encouraged to get

creative and find ways to improve and become more

environmentally-friendly.

This document details how we created Eco Week and what

it entailed. It will also demonstrate the various actions that

different departments undertook to be more sustainable

which helped us achieve our 3 star certification from Albert

as a sustainable production.

Who takes part in

Eco Week?

We broke our departments down as follows:

• AD’s

• Art Department / Props / Construction

• Accounts / Edit

• Cast

• Costume

• Camera

• Hair / Makeup

• Electrical

• Sound / Script / Medic

• Transport / Facilities

Make sure that each department has a similar amount of people.

Smaller departments can be combined if necessary.

We decided that because the Production and Locations departments

were implementing many of the environmental policies it would be

unfair for them to take part. Instead they oversaw the competition and

awarded the points.

How does Eco Week work?

The points system is displayed below. Each good activity earns a department points while each negative action removes points.

Keep the points system simple so departments can easily follow the rules.

POSITIVE ACTIONS

TWO POINTS

• Using a keep cup.

• Refilling a water bottle.

• Recycling and composting correctly.

• Reusing waste items.

FIVE POINTS

• Carpooling.

• Walking / cycling to work.

10 POINTS

• Department Initiatives (eg using second hand materials, LED lights, rechargeable batteries).

NEGATIVE ACTIONS

MINUS TWO POINTS

• Using throw away cups.

• Using incorrect bins.

• Littering on location (rubbish and cigarette butts).

• Bringing cars to set unnecessarily.

• Using single-use plastics.

• Coffee runs without keep cups.

• Abandoning rubbish.

Keep track of a department’s points using a leaderboard which is displayed somewhere everyone can see it - we found the best place was the set table / tea and coffee area.

We made our leaderboard with the help of old materials from the production office and art department.

Make sure it is sturdy and not too big so that it can be easily transported between locations.

Who

gives out

points? Our eco week was run through the

production department and we

designated our production trainee,

Sacha Dillon to assign points throughout

the day.

How do you know when to give a

department points or remove

points?

We encouraged people to send photo proof via a designated

WhatsApp group.

This works as an easy way to make sure everyone gets the correct points.

Its also shows cast and crew what other departments are doing to be

more environmentally conscious and acts as a great motivational tool for

the competition.

Similarly, everyone can send photos of opposition departments

engaging in environmentally destructive activity resulting in negative

points!

What’s the

prize? There has to be an incentive. For our Eco Week the prize

for the winning department was a lunch delivery from a

locally owned restaurant of their choice.

We also awarded two spot prizes each day. The first was

presented at lunch to an individual who was making a

particular effort to reduce their carbon footprint.

The second was awarded on wrap for ‘Department of the

Day’. This was usually given to the department that was

leading the competition.

SOCIAL MEDIA We created a hash tag for Eco Week so that cast, crew and the industry could

follow along. Ours was #TYOECOWEEK

Type to enter text

TOP TIPS! Eco Week was hugely successful in engaging the cast and crew in

making the production more environmentally friendly. It empowered

people and showed them the difference they could make through small

but effective changes. Most importantly though it really got everyone on

the set discussing how they could improve their departments in the

future. Crew members who worked on The Young Offenders have also

carried what they learned on Eco Week onto subsequent productions.

Our key tips are:

• Choose the week you hold Eco Week wisely - make sure its not a week

where people are overly busy.

• Give people plenty of notice, circulate an email detailing your plans for Eco Week and then speak to people about it so that everyone knows what the aims are.

• Communication is key - start a group chat where all the cast and crew

can send their ‘proof photos’. This encourages everyone to get

involved, keeps momentum going and is a great way to track the

week.

• Keep momentum going - message people over breakfast about the

day’s prizes so they have something to aim towards. Midweek is when

people can lose interest so offer ‘bonus points’ for achievable

activities.

• Don’t be too hard on people. Eco Week is all about educating people

to contemplate how they can change their actions. While giving out

negative points is part of the week make sure people know how they

can improve.

• Not everyone wants to be part of Eco Week - some departments or individuals will not be interested.

• Make sure your prizes are environmentally friendly - we had succulents, plants, bamboo toothbrushes and reusable makeup cloths.

DURING

THE

SHOOT

Production

Department

Sustainability was not just encouraged during Eco

Week. In order to encourage an eco-friendly ethos

throughout the production we felt it was important to

begin with how the Production Department

operated.

Throughout the shoot a paperless policy was

implemented when it came to crew contracts, time

sheets, mileage forms and petty cash forms. As

much as possible was done electronically using

digital signatures and we consulted our legal

representatives early on to ensure that the digitally

signed crew contracts would be legally binding. We

had an opt-in policy for printed scripts, callsheets,

and schedules. This dramatically reduced the

amount we spent on paper and ink. It also

decreased the amount we had to pay on recycling

and shredding.

In the kitchen there was Ecover washing up liquid

and dishwasher tablets used to reduce pollution. To

cut our emissions we also tried to arrange as many

Skype meetings as possible to avoid travelling.

The production department installed a comprehensive recycling and

composting system in the production office. There was extensive signage

to encourage and educate people on proper recycling and composting.

There was also a list of what items are recyclable in Ireland to help

eliminate ‘wishcycling’.

Introducing a recycling system also saved the production money when it

came to our waste collection bill. Panda Greenstar, who were our waste

collection company, charged €15 for an 1100L recycling bin whereas an

1100L general waste bin cost €30 per collection.

CATERING We used compostable cutlery and plates for our meals however if

possible using proper plates and cutlery and having a dishwashing

system in place is best.

The trays which the evening sandwiches came in were returned to

the catering company who reused them and any leftover

sandwiches were donated to Simon and Penney Dinners to reduce

our food waste.

With regards to the set table all the snacks were palm oil free and

vegan.

REUSABLE COFFEE

CUPS AND WATER

BOTTLES

The production also supplied reusable coffee cups and water bottles to

each crew member, meaning we had no plastic water bottles on set and

very little coffee cups.

We also encouraged our cast and crew dailies and our background extras

to bring their own reusable cups and bottles.

This helped eliminated the use of disposable plastics and also cut down

hugely on our waste.

LOCATIONS

DEPARTMENT It is impossible to run a green set without the support of

the Locations Department.

Our Locations team were very dedicated to ensuring

that there was a proper bin system in place.

We used the Glon three bin system which encompassed

recycling, composting and general waste.

COSTUME

DEPARTMENT Eco Week provided an opportunity for departments to

tell us about what they were doing to be more climate

conscious and got them more involved in the

certification process for Albert.

Our Costume Department had some great initiatives in

place.

They used Ecover washing detergent to avoid putting

harmful chemicals into the water system.

They air-dried all the costumes and avoided using

tumble dryers unless absolutely necessary.

Compostable clothes and shoe bags were used rather

than plastic ones. They also used biodegradable baby

wipes.

They sourced a huge amount of costumes second hand.

This reduced our carbon footprint as well as saving the

production money.

They used fabric offcuts to make accessories and reused

old sides to make labels for hangers.

ELECTRICAL

DEPARTMENT The Electrical Department had many green practices in

place which earned them numerous points during Eco

Week.

They used LED lights which led to a three fold decrease

in our energy consumption! This also dramatically

reduced our dependence on generators.

The Electrical Department repaired all their own

equipment which reduced our WEEE waste.

They also recycled all their batteries and bulbs and

reused all their gels.

ART & PROPS

DEPARTMENTS

The Production Designer reused the set build from their

previous job which saved the production money and

encouraged a more circular economy. The set build was

then taken onto the Lighting Designer’s next job.

The Props Department sourced second hand props when

possible and donated any usable props to charities on wrap.

They also used VOC and water based paints where possible.

CERTIFICATION After submitting all of our evidence to Albert and calculating our

carbon footprint we were certified as a sustainable production

with a three star rating!

Accommodation was our biggest contributor to our carbon

footprint. After this disposal, office energy use and transport were

our next biggest contributors. We could have mitigated these by

hiring more local crew, reducing our waste, using a renewable

energy provider for the office electricity and avoiding flights for

cast and directors. These are all measures which we can

implement on future productions.

However, rather than just calculating a production’s carbon

footprint on wrap it is much more effective to keep track of it

throughout the shoot. This way you can consistently be working

on lowering your production’s carbon emissions.

Now that the Irish version of the carbon calculator has been

launched our hope is that more productions will start

implementing sustainable measures and use the calculator as a

way to track their efforts.

Running a more environmentally friendly production does not

have to be a mammoth task. Hopefully this case study has

demonstrated that with simple behaviour changes and planning

the carbon footprint of a production can be reduced. With

more support and willingness from everyone working in the

industry we can continue to reduce the impact of filmmaking on

the environment and strive towards a carbon neutral screen

sector.