Albert (stylised as albert) is an environmental organisation aiming to encourage sustainable film and television production. Albert began as a carbon footprint calculator for productions at the BBC, a tool which was subsequently donated to a new Albert organisation headed by

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

in 2011. Albert's strategy and development is supported by a steering group of industry representatives. The steering group currently includes the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, ITV, C4,

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Amazon MGM Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Outline of entertainment, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It was formed from WarnerMedi ...

PACT Pact, The Pact or PACT may refer to: Entertainment * The Pact (novel), ''The Pact'' (novel), by Jodi Picoult, 1998 * The Pact (2002 film), ''The Pact'' (2002 film), adaptation of Picoult's ''The Pact (novel)#Film adaptation, The Pact'' * The Pac ...

, Channel 5 and BAFTA.

Carbon footprint calculator and certification

The Albert carbon footprint calculator allows a production to calculate its predicted carbon footprint from pre- to

post-production Post-production, also known simply as post, is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording indivi ...

. Productions can then go through the certification process, where they implement sustainable production techniques to reduce carbon emissions where possible, and offsets where it is not. Productions that successfully complete certification are awarded a 1, 2 or 3 star certificate and given use of the Albert Certified Production logo on their credits. Currently, all

, ITV,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

UKTV UKTV Media Limited, trading as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through a join ...

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

and

productions in the UK are required to register their carbon footprint using the Albert carbon calculator, and the BBC requires all television commissions to be Albert certified. In 2023, 3,003 productions registered their carbon footprints via Albert, and 2,451 received Albert certification.

Initiatives

Green Rider

In May 2019, Albert launched the "Green Rider" project in association with Spotlight. The Green Rider takes its name from the

Inclusion Rider An inclusion rider or equity rider is a provision in an actor's or filmmaker's contract that provides for a certain level of Diversity (politics), diversity in casting and production staff. For example, the rider might require a certain proportion ...

, as a way to champion climate action through an actor’s contract, calling for good environmental practices to be observed on set. For example, requesting plant-based catering, low energy lighting, or for the production company to agree to a ‘zero to landfill’ policy for its sets.

Creative Energy

Albert started the Creative Energy project in 2017, which enables production companies to switch to a

100% renewable energy 100% renewable energy is the goal of the use renewable resources for all energy. 100% renewable energy for electricity, heating, cooling and transport is motivated by climate change, pollution and other environmental issues, as well as ec ...

supplier. The supplier that Albert partners with is reviewed every year based on ‘green’ criteria. Their previous supplier was Good Energy. However, they are now supplied by the green energy supplier Ecotricity since 2024. Additionally, creative offsets is another upcoming Albert scheme which allows productions to offset/mitigate their environmental impact with carbon offsetting schemes.

Planet Placement

In 2019 Albert launched "Planet Placement", an initiative to include sustainability messaging in media.

Screen New Deal

In September 2020, Albert launched the "Screen New Deal" report in association with the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

and Arup as a route-map to help film production transition to

net zero Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...

emissions by 2050. The report explores and gives examples of how more sustainable practices can be implemented across the film and TV industries.

References

External links

{{Official website 2011 establishments in the United Kingdom British Academy of Film and Television Arts Environmental certification marks Sustainable business Television in the United Kingdom