Producing for the Planet, a first-of-its-kind Canadian climate change initiative for the motion picture and screen-based industries, was announced last Friday at the Canadian Media Producers Association’s Prime Time conference in Ottawa.
More than 40 Canadian independent media producers have come together to form a coalition to support the industry initiative, which “will empower producers in taking measurable action against climate change through collaboration, resource and knowledge sharing, formal commitments, and annual reporting,” a press release says.
“The producer-led coalition will focus on accelerating the adoption of sustainable production practices as well as the production of sustainability-focused content that inspires action and informs audiences,” the release adds.
The producers who have joined the Producing for the Planet initiative include 9 Story Media Group, Amaze Films, Attraction, Banger Films, Blink49 Studios, Blue Ant Media, Boat Rocker Media, Cedar Island Films, Cineflix Media, Conquering Lion Pictures, Counterfeit Pictures Inc., Cream Productions, Eagle Vision, eOne Canada, Frantic Films, Good Measure Productions, Great Pacific Media, Idéacom International, IoM Media, Iylond Entertainment, Kickstart Entertainment, KOTV, Kybele Films, Lark Productions, MG StopMotionGraphics, Muse Entertainment, New Metric Media, Nomadic Pictures, Omnifilm Entertainment, Original Pictures, Panoramic Pictures, Pier 21 Films, Prairie Dog Film + Television, Productions Pixcom, Quadrant Motion Pictures, Remembrance Pictures, River Road Films, River and Ridge Productions, Rusty Halo Productions, Screen Siren Pictures, Seven24 Films, Shaftesbury, Shut UP & Colour Pictures, Silverlight Entertainment, Sphere Media, Thunderbird Entertainment, Understory Films, Wango Films, WildBrain and Wind Sun Sky Entertainment.
Producers joining the coalition are expected to make a formal commitment to take action against climate change in four priority areas and to report on outcomes that will be shared in an annual impact report. Key areas include:
- Action on screen: Placing an emphasis on the creation of sustainability-related stories with the goal of helping audiences worldwide gain a stronger understanding of the current climate crisis.
- Action on emissions: Committing to seizing opportunities to adopt best practices for emissions reductions in production and corporate operations.
- Action on waste: Committing to a reduction in the use of materials and landfill waste.
- Collection action: Collaboration, shared learning and a collective commitment among producers and industry stakeholders.
“Producers face many barriers to changing business-as-usual practices, yet change we must. We believe that by working together and making formal commitments to act, we can accelerate the pace at which our industry adopts green practices on screen and off,” said Marsha Newbery, founder and executive director of Producing for the Planet and vice-president of sustainability and business affairs at Thunderbird Entertainment, in the release. “It’s every producer’s responsibility to operate sustainably, and we invite producers of all sizes and genres, from across the country, to join us in our mission to drive the decarbonization of our industry.”
“Being sustainable is part of how we remain a world-class and resilient industry and Blue Ant could not be more proud to lend its voice to the need for urgent action on climate change,” said Mark Bishop, co-president of Blue Ant Studios.
“There is nothing greater facing humanity than the challenge of climate change,” said Christina Jennings, chair and president of Shaftesbury. “As leaders in the industry, we can force change. For the last two years, Shaftesbury has pushed this agenda at Murdoch Mysteries and are starting to see positive results. In 2024, we are committing to extend this initiative across all of our productions — whether on screen examples or behind the scenes efficiencies. We look to our fellow industry partners to join us in this urgent initiative.”
“We’ve joined Producing for the Planet because we want our productions and stories to do their part to protect the environment we all depend on,” said Damon D’Oliveira, co-founder and president of Conquering Lion Pictures.
“We, at Muse, are excited about this initiative and the prospect of learning and sharing, actionable, sustainable changes in the way we produce our content. Changes that will positively impact our planet and its inhabitants,” said Aren Prupas, president and CEO of Muse Entertainment.
Producing for the Planet’s first project, expected to launch this spring, will be a digital interactive Climate Action Producer Toolkit “that will provide resources, tools, templates and best practices for producers to provide leadership on climate action at both the production and corporate level,” the press release says.
The Producing for the Planet initiative is supported by the Canada Media Fund, the Canadian Media Producers Association, Thunderbird Entertainment, Great Pacific Media and Creative BC.
Photo of Producing for the Planet being announced at Prime Time in Ottawa by founder and executive director Marsha Newbery, alongside representatives of participating producers including Thunderbird Entertainment, Shaftesbury, Muse Entertainment, eOne Canada, Blue Ant Media, Eagle Vision, 9 Story Media Group, Attraction and Cineflix Media. Photo courtesy of Producing for the Planet.
