TV PRODUCTION - GREEN SHOOTS SPROUT UPWARDS!

Albert is the new carbon calculator that's been designed especially for the TV industry. Its purpose is to benchmark the carbon emissions on a particular TV production and over time help TV production companies to work in a more sustainable way and save money.Originally created at the BBC, the calculator has now been 'adopted' by BAFTA who have brought together a consortium of broadcasters and leading independent production houses to make Albert available to the wider TV industry. The consortium includes BBC, ITV Studios, Channel 4, Sky and Endemol, Twofour, Talkback Thames, IMG, Kudos and Shine TV, all of whom have been instrumental in designing an industry-friendly tool which will appeal to production teams.Albert was designed by Aerian Studios, has new functionality courtesy of Sharepoint City and robust statistical data, provided by AMEE and audited by Mason Hardy. Microsoft is generously providing unlimited licences to use the calculator in its first year and the portal will be hosted by Outsourcery.The aims of the project are simple but powerful. Over time the carbon calculator will allow production companies to build up valuable data on the carbon footprint of TV productions and strategically plan how to build sustainability into the production process. Over time, and as more companies join the project, Albert will be able to provide robust information on just how sustainable the TV industry is and where we need to take steps to reduce energy consumption.The BAFTA Consortium hope that Albert will become a focal point for addressing wider concerns around sustainability in the production industry in the UK and maybe even globally. Although already mandatory for most programme makers at the BBC, wider success will depend on take-up by the rest of the industry. Albert will be free to use during 2012, if not longer.And the UK industry is not alone: in Germany a group of film makers have got together to set up Carbon Film Quote, headed up by BBDO’s Stefan Gentis and they are attracting interest from production companies in other European countries and in the USA. In 2011 the Carbon Film Quote (CFQ) was set up as a process by which production companies are able to work in estimates of the amount of CO2 that's generated by their productions and include these figures in their bids.  The pilot program was launched in early 2011 by Gentis among a group of German production houses, including Big Fish, Markenfilm, Who's McQueen, Twin Film and Neue Sentimenal who have been beta testing the system.  Gentis has also been conducting an online survey of production companies around the world, inquiring about their views on green production and what they feel about the value of working CO2 estimates into their bids.  The survey is called the Global TV Commercial Producers Sustainability Survey which you can find here https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GREENTVCFor more details on Albert go to www.bafta.org/albert  And for a short video take a look at http://www.bafta.org/about/sustainability/how-albert-works-in-45-seconds,2021,BA.htmlAnd for Carbon Film Quote go to http://www.sourceecreative.com/news.php?ID=5979