The animation industry's environmental impact took center stage at MIA Market on October 9, where Maria Rua Aguete, Head of Media and Entertainment at Omdia, moderated a groundbreaking panel on "Green Animation." While animation might seem environmentally neutral due to its digital nature, the reality is starkly different. Modern animated productions require massive computational power for rendering, with feature films consuming energy equivalent to hundreds of households over multi-year production cycles. As streaming platforms drive unprecedented demand for animated content, the industry's carbon footprint is expanding rapidly.
The panel featured leading European voices spearheading sustainable animation practices: Linnea Merzagora from Green Film/Trentino Film Commission (Italy), Adrien Roche from Ecoprod (France), Valentina Hučková from CEE Animation (Czech Republic), and Pedro Citaristi from Redmonk Studio (Italy). Together, they outlined how Green Film, Ecoprod, and CineRegio are collaborating to create the first common sustainability certification for animation, addressing the sector's unique workflows, energy consumption patterns, and environmental challenges.
"The animation industry is one of the most innovative areas of entertainment, and now it's showing the same creativity in tackling sustainability," said Rua Aguete. "This initiative marks a turning point: sustainability is no longer a nice-to-have, but an industry standard that can drive innovation, efficiency, and accountability."
The animation sector faces distinct sustainability challenges that traditional film metrics can't adequately measure. Energy-intensive rendering processes, extended production timelines spanning years, and the increasing use of AI-assisted animation tools create a complex environmental equation that requires specialized solutions.
The discussion covered the upcoming Green Animation Guide, regional readiness for sustainability standards, and practical strategies for smaller studios to adopt eco-friendly practices without inflating budgets or adding operational complexity. "What's powerful here is collaboration," Rua Aguete emphasized. "When you have industry players from France to Italy to Central and Eastern Europe working toward common goals, it signals the industry is ready to evolve."
This initiative will enter beta testing in 2026, with plans to establish industry-wide standards by 2027. The program invites film funds, festivals, and studios to endorse a shared framework for greener production practices across Europe's animation landscape.
Rua Aguete highlighted the critical role of industry events in driving systemic change: "Markets like MIA provide the platform where ideas become collaborations. They bring together policymakers, producers, and creatives—the people who can turn sustainability goals into real industry transformation. Without these exchanges, progress would be glacial."
The timing couldn't be more urgent. As animation production scales globally and computational demands intensify, establishing sustainable practices now could prevent the industry from following the same environmentally costly path as other entertainment sectors. "Change starts with awareness," Rua Aguete concluded. "Animation is proving that sustainability can be creative, scalable, and truly international."
The initiative represents the first coordinated European effort to address animation's environmental impact, potentially setting a global precedent for an industry whose digital nature has long masked its substantial carbon footprint.
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