A new report found that each major budget feature film had a carbon footprint of over 3,000 metric tons. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this is the equivalent of over seven million miles driven by a regular car.

Source: TEDx Talks/YouTube

The report by the Sustainable Production Alliance (SPA) highlights how the industry could become more sustainable. They found that smaller movies had a footprint of around one million metric tons, which is equal to one million miles driven. The report says that the biggest contributors to these large emission numbers were fuel, mainly for generators and vehicles. The report also factored in housing, air travel, and utilities for a complete number of carbon emissions. They found that the use of fuel in TV series was also responsible for over half of their emissions.

Forbes reported that the SPA has now prioritized initiating procedures, including promoting more renewable energy sources such as hybrid and electric vehicles.

Deforestation is also a huge problem in the film industry. Building one soundstage can lead to 4,000 hectares of deforestation. Lightweight plywood called lauan is incredibly desirable in the industry. It’s easy to move around, which makes building and then relocating sets convenient. However, the regulations surrounding lauan are subpar. Usually, lauan is gathered from rainforests rather than carefully controlled and monitored forests which would help regulate and monitor the film industry’s excessive lumbar consumption.

Amazon Studios, Disney, NBC Universal, Netflix, and Sony Pictures Entertainment are all part of the Sustainable Production Alliance and have documented efforts to change their procedures to lower their carbon footprint. Netflix, for example, has released its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by the end of 2022.

Source: WeAreNetflix/YouTube

It’s not unusual for an industry to push environmental responsibilities on the consumer, but when it comes to the entertainment industry, it has very few places to hide. It will be interesting to see how the industry minimizes its environmental impact… or if it will at all. We may begin to see a significant shift in the way films are produced, or we may be bombarded with carefully-marketed greenwashing.

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