41 GENIUS INTERVIEW Aaron Matthews, BAFTA
However, we’re not necessarily seeing that with other streaming media organisations. I don’t know if UK video offerings like BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub are hosting in carbon-neutral environments, but the fact I don’t know leads me to believe they’re probably not. People just have to ask the question of their suppliers. Whenever you’re enlisting any kind of product or service, you have to ask what the carbon footprint of it is and take responsibility for it. There are options for everyone with regards to carbon-neutral hosting and it’s not that much more expensive. FEED: Isn’t choosing a sustainable company going to be a lower priority for people when they evaluate whether to work with someone? AARON MATTHEWS: People understand broadly, now, that we’re facing huge environmental challenges. As a result, they want to be associated with a brand that is moving in the right direction. Sky, for example, has been managing its carbon footprint with great success. It’s a huge part of the Sky brand and what it means to work at Sky and everyone there knows it. They’re proud to work there and to be working towards that agenda. Whereas at other organisations, it just isn’t really a part of their culture. However, there’s no
make and how we portray sustainability. For example, it’s OK for the BBC to do climate change reports and some factual programming around the issue of sustainability and climate change. But if it’s also pushing an opposite message in its entertainment, drama and current affairs, then that’s not necessarily helping. At the moment, we’re working with all the broadcasters to help them understand how they can use entertainment, drama and comedy to inspire sustainable living. Our impact as an industry isn’t huge – as you say, we’re not horribly polluting – but our opportunity is in being storytellers, in the content we put out there. It’s how we portray sustainability – whether it just feels like something very leftist and inaccessible or whether it’s a part of the everyday narrative. There is no one-size-fits-all approach – it has to be specific for each genre – but the main thing is authenticity. It’s got to feel right for the programme. One key way is to talk about the human elements of it. There is some great stuff happening in the continuing UK dramas ( Eastenders , Coronation Street and Emmerdale ) who are just weaving it into the narrative in an authentic way, which allows people to understand it’s OK to talk about it. We’re at such a critical point of change, with such monumentally important climate limits, if you’re putting content that hasn’t
reason why every organisation can’t do it themselves. Every organisation within the industry can tackle their environmental footprint in a meaningful way and do well out of it. We’re seeing massive spikes in the number of companies who want to be put on our suppliers list. It’s becoming business-critical: to be demonstrating action positive for the environment. FEED: Media isn’t a major polluting industry likemanufacturing or agriculture. Howmuch impact can it have? THERE ARE OPTIONS FOR EVERYONEWITH REGARDS TO CARBON-NEUTRAL HOSTING AND IT’S NOT THATMUCH MORE EXPENSIVE
AARON MATTHEWS: The principle impact we have is via the content we
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