Avatar’s eco-moments are legendary. Avengers: End Game made headlines for production sustainability. The Hobbit trilogy committed to sustainability from day one. Succession, The Gilded Age, The Man in the High Castle... all part of a global movement towards sustainable TV and film production. Where is Asia on this journey? A new initiative by Canada’s Green Spark Group & India GreenSet plans to upsize the effort in the region. 

Ahead of the ContentAsia Summit in Bangkok on 22-24 August, ContentAsia spoke to India GreenSet co-founder, Anupama Mandloi, about the partnership with co-founder, Sophy VSivaraman. Green Spark Group's Senior Sustainability and Social Performance Expert, Andrew Robinson, joins them on stage during the Summit.   

Where would you say Asia’s production industry is on the sustainability path right now? There is a growing awareness within the industry. Production houses are already taking the initiative to implement waste and plastic reduction in their production process. This is the easiest to implement and creates a virtuous cycle of use of food, scrap and reusables.

What can media companies do in the short term? The media industry can move towards adopting mitigation to reduce its impact on the environment. This can be achieved in various ways, like minimising waste in food, water and electricity; using more efficient and eco-friendly energy sources like LED; using bio-degradable/recyclable packaging for catering; recycling sets and costumes; reducing the use of plastic; sourcing air travel alternatives where feasible; using zoom for prep meetings; and collaborating with NGOs. All of these can be implemented with ease.

Where do TV producers typically begin with a sustainability initiative? The earlier producers start planning and integrating sustainability initiatives into their production process, the easier and more effective it will be. Producers have often started by looking at waste and implementing solutions at the end of the process. However, this does not achieve the transformation the industry needs. It is with planning and thinking about how to integrate solutions at the start that real results are achieved.

 

What would you say is the biggest challenge in making sustainability an essential part of production processes? The biggest challenge is a mindset shift. Everything follows from there. Any change that directly or indirectly impacts budgets becomes a hurdle in implementation. This is why sustainability needs a corporate mandate so that it can be adopted across the value chain. In an industry with tough checks and balances for shoot and delivery processes, it is challenging for production houses to take on the additional task of implementing sustainable guidelines. The initial period requires adjustments. We believe that if corporations set the agenda for change in a phased manner, eventually, there will be no looking back. Who doesn’t want to work in a harmonious environment where people look out for each other, there is parity at work and a larger sense of mission?

What’s the danger of falling into the “greenwashing” trap? Crucially, all processes and commitments must be transparent, third-party assessed and grounded in science to avoid greenwashing.

How do you measure progress? You can’t manage what you don’t measure! Progress is being measured through the number of productions using free industry tools like Albert, by starting to track and measure key impact areas, sharing this data with production houses and big studios and developing case studies. We also start by measuring carbon emissions and this leads to insights into the consumption of material and fuel, how to plan for transportation, what to eat, etc.

Progress for us would mean seeing more debates and discussions around sustainability... we want to make sustainability a fun and creative process. After all, this is the space where imagination, vision and innovation are a natural fit.

We saw a similar transition of the industry-wide shift from analogue to digital when all stakeholders came together. It meant a change in equipment, processes, and budgets. That was a visionary move by leaders who came together and drove this change.

When corporations and production houses go the last mile by taking sustainability to the end worker in the chain of a creative project, and we see it inspire action on the ground, that would be huge progress.

You've started with India... How would you describe that market's current adoption of sustainable practices? The international counterparts of several Indian media corporations like Sony Pictures and Netflix, have pledged a commitment to ESG and sustainability. However, we have yet to see this translate into clear and actionable goals in India.

India is the third largest emitter of CO2 in the world. The current government’s commitment at COP26 is to meet 50% of the energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030 and achieve carbon net zero by 2070.

This is not in line with the Paris Agreement that proposed 2050 as the target for net zero. However, it is a beginning.

Some companies in India have already begun their migration to more sustainable practices like reducing dependency on coal and plastic, adopting water conservation, investing in renewables and installing solar power systems. While this is encouraging, according to a Deloitte survey, only 27% of Indian companies feel equipped to meet their ESG compliance guidelines. The supply chain – where most emissions are to be found – is even less so. Surprisingly, the media industry isn’t among the top exemplary ESG practitioners.

The urgency of this mission is evident today. Half the globe is burning up and on fire while the other half is drowning. The increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters are wreaking havoc on people and property across the globe. The effects of climate change are no longer hypothetical or distant.

The power of media companies in not only reaching a large audience share, building awareness, implementing ESG mandates across their supply chain, and adopting sustainability goals is too sizeable to ignore. We believe they can lead the change.

What are you hoping to achieve with your new company – India GreenSet – and partnership with Green Spark? "Our company India GreenSet, a partnership between Sophy vSivaraman and me, was conceived on the back of our individual, media and corporate journeys with a subsequent transition to independent documentaries, impact and climate spaces. We combined our work experience and aligned values and initiated India GreenSet. We are here to support organisations in adopting sustainable practices.

Our connection with Green Spark Group has been delightfully serendipitous and fortunate. They are a Canadian/U.S. company with a decade of experience in sustainable film and television production. Some of their green productions range from the film Avatar to the series Succession and the TV series X Files. Knowing we have a partner that can support and enable us to implement steps they have piloted and tested across North America eases our entry into this space. A combination of their skills, training workshops and knowledge of where meaningful impacts are achieved combined with our industry reach and production experience, makes us better equipped to offer a holistic service in India. Together, we hope to work with partners and spark a culture of a responsible and eco-aware industry."

What progress do you think is achievable in sustainable production practices in India and in what timeframe? What would you be happy with? I would love to say yesterday in terms of timeframe! Production houses to fully adopt sustainability also requires an entire ecosystem in place to replace the energy-intensive conventional vendors, and the shift is largely dependent on those resources being in place. Production houses cannot do it alone.

Still, several steps can be implemented with immediate effect. The big studios and organisations can introduce an ESG clause in their contracts with production houses. Alternatively, big studios can start requiring tracking and measuring specific data that speaks to carbon emissions and material consumption. They will respond! It will be instrumental in creating an ethical shift in business practices.

Organisational leaders are in a position to empower and inspire production houses to transition to greener alternatives by providing them with access to agencies that can guide them, equip them financially towards electrification of vehicles, switch to LED as a light source, and use renewables for batteries, generators and vanity vans.

These are just a few examples of shifts along the supply chain. Some changes will be applicable across the board, and some will be specific to the nature of production. For example, a VFX-heavy production dependent on technology and software or a travel show shot outdoors in secluded or protected environments will have different priorities for reducing carbon emissions.

Vendors need to be supported in migrating towards the use of eco-friendly materials and in following the waste hierarchy of refuse, reuse and reduce to minimise waste to landfill.

All of this can begin with training workshops to build a mindset shift.

Production houses can learn what questions to ask their vendors to ensure they are meeting green targets. This will create a culture of pride, responsibility, and commitment to humanity and the planet we call home. Training workshops and seminars over one year can trigger the shift to more widespread action and implementation.

Crucially, all these processes and commitments must be transparent, third-party assessed and grounded in science to avoid greenwashing.

Is there any production in India you can point to as a good example of implementing sustainable processes? Different people are initiating change in areas that they are either familiar with, are equipped to or understand best. Sony Liv introduced a section in "Shark Tank 2", where business ideas with sustainable solutions were pitched.

Some companies have waste management audits at shoots. For example, Fremantle India deployed an industry-specific carbon calculator called Albert to track emissions on the production of "Indian Idol season 13". Information they gleaned from this helped them successfully eliminate food wastage. The hotel for the contestants was partly powered by solar power and all of this was tracked in the calculator.

Some productions are initiating and implementing green measures, but there is no talk about these initiatives. Others offset their carbon emissions by planting trees as the first carbon-neutral film "Aisa Yeh Jahaan" did in 2015.

Sony Pictures Networks, India, in April 2022, pledged zero environmental footprint by 2050.

An edited version of this interview appears in ContentAsia's September 2023 magazine