CBC sets carbon footprint requirement for all original productions

Following the historic UN Climate Change Conference COP26, CBC is taking a leading role in advancing sustainable practices within the Canadian media industry by introducing a new carbon footprint requirement for all original Canadian English-language productions. The new requirement builds on the national public broadcaster’s five-year environmental sustainability strategy, Greening Our Story, which was released in June 2021.

Beginning January 3, 2022, CBC will require completion and delivery of a carbon footprint on all original Canadian productions from independent producers with budgets over $400,000 using albert, a film and television industry tool that calculates the carbon emissions of productions. CBC was the first media company in Canada to use albert, first using it this past spring to complete a carbon footprint for the CBC Kids’ in-house production, Gary's Magic Fort. Since then, CBC has expanded use of the calculator on additional in-house productions including Family Feud Canada, Marketplace and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and will accelerate the pace at which in-house productions need to deliver carbon footprints next year.

“Climate change is the challenge of our lifetime, and the time to act is now. With the ever-increasing pressures on our climate from human activity, every decision we now make about any aspect of CBC’s business will be put through an environmental lens. In addition to the ambitious goals we have already set internally to make our work more environmentally sustainable, we are now broadening our scope to include our external partners. By working with Canadian independent producers to track carbon footprints across our original productions, we will better understand their environmental impacts and create opportunities to advance more sustainable practices,” Barbara Williams, Executive Vice-President at CBC, said.

To support Canadian independent producers with the new requirement, CBC recently posted a newly created Environmental Sustainability Lead role, which will support independent producers in their creation of a carbon footprint. In partnership with the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO) and the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), CBC has created and released three video training sessions on greening productions, which include frequently asked questions from producers and a demo of the albert carbon footprint calculator. Additionally, CBC has collected resources to help independent producers with their transition to more sustainable production, which are available here.

Furthermore, as a temporary measure to support smaller independent Canadian producers who feel they are unable to complete a carbon footprint, CBC will accept a sustainability plan for independent productions with budgets under $400,000. CBC has created a sustainability plan template that offers options on how to make productions more environmentally sustainable.