PGGB and Sky Studios Elstree to host Sustainability Behind the Lens

The Production Guild of Great Britain’s (PGGB) Sustainability Committee announce a second edition of “Sustainability Behind the Lens”, an open day for all industry professionals, including PGGB members and non-members alike, to meet and network with cutting-edge green technology suppliers, in association with Sky Studios Elstree and supported by The Generator Project.   The full day event will take place on Thursday 6th June (11am – 5pm) at Sky Studios Elstree, the ideal venue for such a showcase, with its credentials as a green pioneer in the global studio landscape, recently garnering a ‘95% – Outstanding’ score on the BAFTA ALBERT Studio Sustainability Standard for 2023/24 which represents the highest rating of all 29 participating global studios.

The event is supported by The Generator Project, a collaboration between film and TV crew, production companies, film offices and equipment suppliers who want to help speed up the industry’s transition to an enery-efficient lower carbon future.

“Sustainability Behind the Lens” will see a selection of cutting-edge eco-friendly suppliers demonstrate and discuss new technologies at the forefront of sustainability within the film and TV industry, as it moves towards the goal of cleaning up sets, reducing the impact of greenhouse gas emissions, and protecting the health of crews.  Over 20 companies are already confirmed including CAMA, Location One, Neptune Sustainability, Olio, Sunbelt Rentals and Supply 2 Location.

PGGB’s Sustainability Committee is headed up by Amelia Price, whose passion for leading the charge to make UK production more sustainable and cost effective, has helped bring this important event to fruition.   Commenting, she said: “This event was established to give crew on the ground the opportunity to come and learn about new technology first hand.  If we want our team members to adopt new ways of working, we need to support them, and our suppliers by connecting everyone together so that we can really learn from each other with practical solutions.”

Earth Day in April 2023 marked the formation of PGGB’s Sustainability Committee, and it serves as a central hub for agreements, development and advice on sustainable filmmaking initiatives across the film and TV landscape.  Key resources include the Sustainable Production Toolkit, a regularly updated open-source set of documents initially created by NBCUniversal.

Sky Studios Elstree is powered by 100% renewable energy, a majority of which comes from the 3-acres of solar panels across the rooftops, with rainwater harvesting, LED lighting, EV charging points and an all-electric operations vehicle fleet.

Noel Tovey, Managing Director, Sky Studios Elstree added: “Sustainability has always been at the heart of everything we do at Sky Studios Elstree. It’s great to be recognised by BAFTA albert as the world’s most sustainable film and TV studio following our first full year of operation. We’re excited to continue to partner with major film and TV productions to give them a world-class facility, all while reducing our impact on the environment.”