Sustainability in the studio and on location

In France, the use of sustainable production practices is picking up pace. Film studios are investing in energy-efficient measures to minimize their carbon footprint as well as their operational costs. Studio managers are reusing and recycling set decorations, while eco-managers are supporting green production practices.

 

Green production is getting a real boost”, says Joanna Gallardo, Ecoprod Coordinator, which first introduced sustainable production measures in France. Backed by members such as the French Film Institute (CNC), the Île-de-France Film Commission, the broadcasters TF1 and France Télévisions, the Agency for Environmental and Energy Management (ADEME), the French film commission association Film France, the Pôle Média du Grand Paris as well as the French Image and Sound Superior Technical Commission (CST), Ecoprod’s tools and training sessions succeeded in reaching film professionals.

 

Since 2018, French production companies have been able to rely on the expertise of Secoya, an eco-consulting group founded by former location manager Mathieu Delahousse and producer Charles Gachet-Dieuzeide. This company helps productions harmonize their economic and eco- logical requirements. “My approach is to develop sustainable solutions to reduce costs, improve the working environment as well as the company’s image, and anticipate up-coming laws and regulations”, says Mathieu Delahousse, President of Secoya.

 

One of their first clients was Rectangle Productions, which produced Valérie Donzelli’s comedy Notre Dame. Wonder Films hired them as eco-consultants for Marilou Berry’s Quand on crie au loup, which was shot entirely in one single building in Paris. “We powered the location with renewables and avoided plastic dishware.” Waste management is also an important issue on Season 2 of the Find Me in Paris series. For example, Secoya avoided more than 250 kg of food waste on the Cotton Wood Media production.

 

Various sustainable measures have already been implemented at Studio Kremlin. Located on the outskirts of Paris, this studio complex is pow- ered by renewables. Incandescent lighting has been replaced by LEDs; K-cup coffee pods and disposable flatware have been banned. “Over the years, production teams became more receptive to sustainable measures, and some production managers even became eager to choose the mostsustainable movie studios ”, emphasizes Orion Clisson, Floor Manager at Studio Kremlin. “We made it easy for them to sort waste more effi- ciently.” At Studio Kremlin, set decoration also gets a new lease on life. “We work with La Recyclerie des Arts, which recycles used set decorations.”

 

Thanks to smart engineering, the Provence Studios in the south of France are comprised of nearly zero-energy buildings. Equipped with 28,000 square meters of photovoltaic panels, the studio facility generates 3.2 MW of power. Incandescent lighting has been replaced by LEDs; rainwater is collected for watering green spaces; insulation is optimized by green walls; and all the sound stages are cooled by a ventilation system instead of air conditioning.

 

 

“We’re enjoying the concrete benefits of producing more energy than we consume, by reducing electricity and water consumption, and by lowering film production costs”, says Olivier Marchetti, Director of Provence Studios. Set decorations are recycled. The studio provides separate waste management bins for wood, plastic, cardboard, and iron, while grass and leaves are composted. “It’s an ecological as well as economic ecosystem”, sums up Marchetti.

 

Photos: © Seyoya, Orion Clisson/Studio Kremlin, Provence Studios

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