SUSTAINABILITY IN POST
impacts associated with manufacturing, transportation and products used in modern animation, along with the downstream impacts from streaming’. Almost certainly the most thorough report of its kind to date, it measured the total CO2 emissions of facility operations as 56 tonnes per year. Of that, 33 tonnes were contributed by the energy powering its in-house data centre. A surprise finding was that 268 tonnes of CO2 per year were produced by remote workers. Multiple individuals working out of their own homes, each using their own electricity and heating – primarily from natural gas in this case – causes the emissions per work hour to balloon. TAKING RESPONSIBILITY Increasingly, high-profile post and effects houses are being more public about their sustainability plans. Dirty Looks, with offices in London and Brussels, became a certified B Corp in March, and has partnered with UK data centre company Deep Green, which uses the extra heat from its servers to heat a swimming pool in Exmouth, Devon. The company is committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2040. These ambitions still incorporate carbon offsetting, which – although it can have environmental benefits – has been increasingly discredited in terms of relevance to a business’ carbon reduction impact. Other big players, like Framestore, are also highlighting their green efforts. The company’s Montreal branch operates on local hydroelectric power, its London facility is equipped with solar panels and its Mumbai studio has solar-powered lighting. The company is also working with its LA and Melbourne landlords to switch to green electricity providers. We’re still in research phases with post-production and sustainability. While there are fewer variables than production, which can lead to more effective improvements in the march to zero carbon, the digital world isn’t always easy to measure, and efficiencies can be carbon bombs in disguise. In animation- and effects-heavy productions, post may well be the most carbon-intensive part of the process. A survivable future requires us to move quickly and boldly, but we also need better information about what’s really going on in post.
HIGH-PROFILE post and effects houses ARE BEING MORE PUBLIC ABOUT sustainability plans ”
These are the same issues that face most modern on-premises businesses, and there are endless innovations out there for inspiration. The site of Norway’s Media City Bergen pumps cold water from the nearby ocean through the building for cooling, while The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol is powered by one of the biggest solar arrays of any business throughout England.
In 2023, the Canadian Media Producers’ Association of British Columbia published a report on
sustainability in animation production, with a detailed analysis of a Vancouver- based animation studio. The report focused on capturing the on-site emissions of animation studios, and came with the caveat that ‘there are significant upstream and downstream
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