Anatomy of a sustainable production

It starts before
the first call sheet.

Dozens of small decisions can lead to a big impact, one way or the other, but the sooner you can start to think about those choices, the better your chances of making the right ones.

Pre-production
Shoot
Wrap & beyond
Scroll to follow the production →
Pre-production
Script & development
Can the story support sustainability?
Consider locations close to base. Think about whether the edit requires 30 setups or 15. Sustainability starts in the editorial and it doesn't need to limit creativity either; many of the best films out there stick to one location and showcase the local.
Crew & hiring
Hire local. Reduce travel at source.
Transport is often 50% of a production's carbon. Hiring crew near the location where possible can help reduce your footprint and support the local economy.
~50% of CO2e is transport
Equipment decisions
Talk to your gaffer and DOP early
Favour LED over tungsten. Choose cameras and codecs with lower power draw. An ARRI Alexa Mini LF draws 58W; a RED V-Raptor draws 100W. Same story, different footprint. These conversations need to happen before the kit is booked.
-33% switching to LED
Catering & waste
Find local vegan cafes. Plan for leftovers.
A plant-based meal is 0.9 kg CO2e vs 3.5 for meat-heavy. Source from local cafes: less transport, better food, supports the community. Partner with a food charity to collect leftovers. No single-use plastic on set.
-73% with plant-based
Green Memo
Set expectations before Day 1
Send a crew-facing sustainability brief with the call sheet. Power budget, transport guidance, catering commitments, waste plan. When crew know in advance, they show up prepared.
Shoot
Power on set
Mains over generator. Battery over mains.
A diesel generator produces 0.49 kg CO2e/kWh. The grid is 0.233. A DJI Power Station charged from mains is better still. Every location, ask: what's the cleanest power source available here?
Track everything
If you can't measure it, you can't improve it
Log equipment draw, battery swaps, catering choices, travel. Use a tool that can actually track your real impact (like Latitude Footprint), rather than relying on an exhausted post-shoot memory and twenty different spreadsheets. The data is the evidence for next time.
On-set behaviour
Turn it off when it's not being used
Lights between setups. Monitors at lunch. Charging batteries you don't need yet. It sounds obvious, but on a busy set, things stay powered on for hours between uses. A 600W light left on for 2 extra hours is 1.2 kWh wasted.
Transport
Shared vehicles. Train where possible.
One person in a diesel car: 0.17 kg CO2e/km. Four in a shared van: 0.04 each. A 90-minute train journey produces roughly the same as 30 km in a diesel car alone. Car-sharing boards, crew minibuses, and public transport make a real dent.
Location care
Leave it better than you found it
Walk the location before you leave. Pick up everything. If you used a field, check with the landowner. If you were in a house, read the electricity meter at start and wrap. Be mindful of protected environments and the financial consequences of damaging them.
Wrap & beyond
Set & costume
Recycle. Re-use. Give new life.
Costume doesn't need to go in a skip. Donate to theatre companies, schools, charity shops. Set flats can be stored or passed to the next production. Props can be sold. The circular economy starts here.
Post-production
Track your computer hours and AI usage
An edit suite running 10 hours a day for 6 weeks adds up. A single large AI query uses ~0.003 kWh. If your VFX team is running GPU renders overnight, that's real energy. Log it. It all counts toward the total.
Every kWh counts
Give back
Volunteer. Offset. Support charities.
Offset what you can't reduce through verified carbon projects. Volunteer with local conservation organisations. Donate leftover food. Partner with a tree-planting charity. The production's legacy doesn't end at delivery.
Report & PR
Tell the story of what you did
Export your production carbon report. Share the data with commissioners, funders, and albert. Talk publicly about what worked. Sustainability in film gets better when productions share what they've learned, not when they hide it.
Next production
Every shoot gets better than the last
Your data carries forward. Your kit lists improve. Your crew remembers. The conversations get easier. Every production that tracks properly makes the next one better for everyone.

Every production has a footprint.
The question is whether you know yours.

Latitude Footprint gives you the tools to track, report, and improve — shoot day by shoot day.

Start tracking free → Latitude Film School →