On 22 January, the European Commission (EC) announced the development of a common calculator to assess the CO₂ impact of audiovisual productions.

The EC’s dialogue with relevant stakeholders on a sustainable future for audiovisual productions began in June 2021 and culminated in a joint statement published in February 2022 (read it here). In detail, the statement advocated the adoption of a standardised methodology for measuring carbon emissions.

Through a competitive tender (available here), the EC has entrusted the development of a common carbon emissions calculator to a consortium led by Germany’s Seriotec (a firm specialised in cloud-based applications, such as the production hub Yamdu) alongside KlimAktiv (a consulting firm specialised in systems for calculating the carbon footprint) and green film expert Philip Gassmann.

The development project will kick off this month and will run until December 2027. It has an estimated budget of €650,000, provided by the MEDIA strand of the Creative Europe programme.

According to the official press release published by the EC, the primary goal is to deliver “a common calculation methodology and a user-friendly web application that all producers across the EU 27 member states can use to calculate the carbon footprint of their audiovisual productions”. Moreover, “The application will complement existing and emerging calculators through a common API and data exchange,” although it’s not set to “replace national calculators where deeper measurements might be required”.

The tool will be made available for free. Its main users are expected to be film and TV producers, sustainability officers, crew members in charge of carbon measurement, as well as film funds (in particular those involved in the making of European co-productions). The EC has also confirmed that the tool will be aligned with its Recommendation on the use of Environmental Footprint Methods adopted by the EC in December 2021.

The expected key features include data exchange and comparability “across member states and between existing calculators”, easy adoption “for those new to carbon footprint measurement while remaining compatible with existing calculators for experienced users”, a user-centric interface as well as access to “tangible information” for European policymakers pursuing “greening efforts within the audiovisual sector”.